Commonweeder

Greenfield’s Winter Fare – February 21, 2015

Post published:02/19/2015
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Greenfield's Winter Fare is more than a Farmer's Market. Last month I attended the first Winter Farmers Market of the year, held at the Greenfield Middle School. I came home with two heavy bags full of apples, winter squash, watermelon radish, golden beets, bread and frozen ground lamb. And wonderful bread from El Jardin bakery. Walking into that space was like walking into Ali Baba's cave full of jewels. A little brighter, but with so much wealth spread…

Sampler of White Flowers for Summer and Fall

Post published:02/16/2015
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Last week I talked about some of the white spring flowers, but a whole array of white flowers bloom well into the fall. I can only mention a few. White Flowers for Summer One of the more unusual white flowers that grows in my garden is Artemesia lactiflora. Most of us think of artemesias as having silvery foliage and insignificant flowers. My Artemesia lactiflora grows in a very upright clump with reddish-maroon stems and very dark toothed foliage.…

Bonnie Kate’s Wedding

Post published:02/14/2015
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On this Valentine's Day I'd like to share the story of daughter bonnie Kate's wedding, a chapter from my book The Roses at the End of the Road. Bonnie Kate’s Wedding Our daughter Kate was never much interested in the garden, but when I planted the first roses in 1981 and laid out the plan for the Rose Walk, she did express a romantic desire to be married amid the roses. On a June Sunday in 1994 it…

Street Art: The Audubon Mural Project

Post published:02/12/2015
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The February Audubon Newsletter features an amazing art project - painting portraits of all 314 climate threatened or endangered birds on the roll down security gates in the Hamilton Heights area of NYC, where coincidently, John James Audubon once lived. This is the brainstorm of gallery owner Avi Gitler, and artist Tom Sanford. Street art to spread the word about the plight of these birds. The New York Times thought this was a great idea too. The Newsletter…

Bright and White and BarelyFreezing

Post published:02/11/2015
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It is bright and white and barely freezing. The snow has stopped. The plow arrived. One car got out. The snow has fallen and drifted into the Sunken Garden, half burying the Sargent Crabtree. The western wall is over six feet high - also buried. If you look closely you'll see a tiny branch at the right of this photo, hinting of the three hydrangeas now buried - and probably damaged. Sigh. We are really really happy that…

White Flowers That Bloom in the Spring – Tra la

Post published:02/09/2015
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As I look out at the newly white fields, I cannot help but think about the white flowers that bloom in the spring. There are so many, from shrubs, tall perennials, and low blooming groundcovers. White flowers bring a cool serenity to the garden and they are visible after sunset in the gloaming. Many of us have a desk or a favorite chair by a window where we read or do other close work like quilting. When we…

From Heath to Cambridge, MA

Post published:02/06/2015
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On Thursday the snow stopped long enough for me to make my escape from Heath, onward to Cambridge, MA for a visit with my son and a writer's workshop organized by the Garden Writer's Association. And what did I see when I got to Cambridge, MA? Snow. And ice. And icy icy sidewalks. I should have brought my YakTrax. I think snow is more of a problem in a city, but the trip was more than worth it.…

Sastrugi Finally Forms at the End of the Road

Post published:02/02/2015
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It hasn't been a great winter for the formation of sastrugi. The snow has been heavy and wet, not much given to drifting. But this last snow storm brought frigid temperatures and high gusting winds. The result is the first sastrugi of the year forming at the western lip of the Sunken Garden. The word sastrugi is from a Russian word which means snow wave or caves. We have all noticed them. More now. The sastrugi shifts and…

Conifers, Cone-bearing Evergreens in the Garden

Post published:01/31/2015
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Pines, firs, junipers, spruces and others are all conifers, cone-bearing evergreen trees. Within this large family there are many sizes, from low growing groundcovers, to very tall trees, with many types of foliage and many foliage colors from green to blue-green to gold. Evergreens like pines, firs and spruces have needles, while junipers, cedars and arborvitae have scalelike foliage. Recently I visited two friends with conifer collections. Both bought their plants locally at different nurseries so they could…

Weather Review for 2014 at the End of the Road

Post published:01/29/2015
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A year ago I determined that I would keep a Weather Review for the year. The purpose of the Weather Review was an aide memoire because I can never remember whether last summer was droughty - or was it the year before. I wasn't able to stick to a strict schedule of photography, but here we go for a quick run through the year. January 2014 was a month of extremes with early morning temperatures that ranged from…