Lilian Jackman is one of the presenters at this year's Western Mass Master Gardener's Spring Symposium, When Lilian Jackman was 22 she worked in the gardens of three elderly Vermont women. They each had their own way of gardening in their old age. One woman was very angry because she wanted the garden to stay exactly the same – and of course she was not successful. Gardens never stay the same. This made her critical, and unhappy. The…
The theme of this year's Smith College Bulb Show is The Evil Garden of Edward Gorey. There is more black and white in this show than usual, but the tongue-in-cheek tableaux next to various Gorey drawings, a dark but humorous look at the garden. The photo above is a reference to a Gorey drawing Great Uncle Franz being strangled by a snake. But I ask you - how evil could any garden be with all that fragrant pink?…
The Mt Holyoke College Flower Show, with its theme The Emerald Isle includes the fragrant spring flowers that we can enjoy in our own New England spring. The fresh fragrance that meets you as you enter the Flower Show greenhouse is the perfume of spring. I wonder why more of us, including me, don't think how easy it would be to enjoy that scent in our own houses. A few pots of hyacinths, and may a couple of…
Who knows what weather tomorrow will bring? We are living in New England. No telling what the weather will be from one minute to the next. All I know is that we are getting closer and closer to spring, which means thinking about how soon we can possibly get out into the garden, and possibly wondering how long it will take us to feel that all of a sudden we are way behind in our chore Charlie Nardozzi,…
I got a surprise when I dug around in my pantry - and found this sprouting red onion, reaching for spring in the dark. I hope it is a good omen, but today the temperature did not get above freezing and the breeze was bitter. Too much false spring this year. I am eager for true spring, the season for planting onion sets.
One of the goals we had for our new Greenfield garden was to make it lawnless. We certainly did not want a wild lawless garden, but we did not want large areas of grass that would need mowing. To prove his devotion to this goal my husband bought an inexpensive power lawn mower and said that it would probably last two years. He was giving me two years to design and plant a garden that would not include…
The reflections in the garden this morning make make concrete the challenge we face. Recently I gave a talk about The Making of a New Garden. I mentioned several times that the main challenge of this new garden is how wet it is. The soil is clay and the garden is slightly lower that the three adjoining properties. Lots of talk, but before I closed I showed a picture of one instance of flooding - there was an…
What excites you in the vegetable garden? For some gardeners it is competition and the desire to grow the biggest, most beautiful beet or squash or cabbage. Jodi Torpey’s book Blue Ribbon Vegetable Gardening: The secrets to Growing the Biggest and Best Prizewinning Produce (Storey Publishing $16.95) will help all those competitive gardeners out there, while some gardeners might think it is time to take up the challenge and enter their vegetables at the Franklin County Fair this…
I missed my chance to plant spring blooming bulbs in the fall, but I am ready for those summer blooming bulbs. Last spring my husband and I travelled down to Texas to be present when our grandson Anthony was presented with his Boy Scout Eagle Award. There was an impressive ceremony and we were so proud of this whole Eagle family who had jointly done so much for the community. Besides our family celebration, daughter Kate and I…
The ground is covered with snow, but we gardeners can feel our hearts beating faster as we sense spring and the special events that will remind us of the delights and work waiting for us. Here are the dates for some enjoyable and instructional special events. February 17, Wednesday 7 pm - The first event is my own talk on The Making of a New Garden at the Shelburne Grange, Fellowship Hall, 17 Little Mohawk Rd, Shelburne. I'll…