The Bridge of Flowers is blooming and blooming, ready for admiration, but you can see that greens are important too. Azaleas are just beginning to blossom, and Solomon's seal is still blooming. Iris season is just beginning. That's a dramatic combo with a yellow iris and orange azalea. The Bridge of Flowers loves azaleas. Surely it is clear by now that the Bridge of Flowers does not depend on a single type of flower. The bulb season is…
This is a close up of the old white lilacs that were on our property when we moved here in 1979. They are the earliest of all the lilacs we have and I can usually count on having them in full bloom by the 15th of May. Not this year. You can see not all the buds are open. But I only know that because keep this blog means I have pretty good records for the past three…
For more Wordlessness click here.
Yesterday I attended a reunion of the book club I helped found in 1965. The book club continues, and the book under discussion was Per Petterson's I Curse the River of Time. I very much enjoy Petterson's books, and indeed many of the chilly books of the Scandinavian writers, but it is ironic that this book of lonliness and the failure of emotional ties was the topic among a group of women friends meeting over tea and cake…
I don't think I have ever had this Bloom before on my blog. Several forsythia bushes were here when we bought they house : they are so old and entrenched that we have never been able even to contemplate the work it would take to pull them out. They rarely bloom, but they sure do grow. But this year! Not spectacular, but a regular profusion. A milder winter? Global climate change? I have no idea why, but the…
The Bridge of Flowers is a blooming wonder. Starting in April and through October it is in flower from the bright crocus and daffodils of early spring, through rose season and then dahlia season. I could not possibly give you a list of all the flowers that take their turn on the Bridge, bulbs, annuals, perennials, blooming shrubs and trees, all making life in Shelburne Falls a delight and attracting over 35,000 visitors from across the country and…
More spring promises every day. The rugosas are the first roses to leaf out. This is Dart's Dash. The Thomas Affleck rose in front of the house is leafing out, too. But look what is budding up . . . alliums - I don't remember which one. Lilacs. These are the old white variety here when we bought our house. Troillus. I know there will be troillus at the Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale on Saturday. Soon the…
The appearance of the first dandelion means spring has really and truly arrived. It also means that lawn mowing will not be far behind. Because of a family obligations, and a joyous publication party for Carol Purington and Susan Todd's poetry anthology, Morning Song: Poems for New Parents, Saturday was taken up with family and friends. On Sunday we were eager to go out and play in the dirt. Some of the seedlings I have had out in…
The snowdrops that are still blooming at the End of the Road give you some hint of the weather here. Temperatures did get over 70 the other day, but this morning we are back to frost. This is not an impressive photo and neither is the plant, but I am just thrilled that it survived the arid Summer of 2010. I chose this particular witch hazel because I love the color of the twirly blossoms and because my…
Temperatures soared above 60 degrees and this was the first weekend we could actually work outside, so let me give you a brief tour to set the scene. The snow is still melting and revealing that the winter has been kind to the rhodies. No breakage. Lots of buds. The "Limelight" hydrangea was not so lucky. The snow plow dumped a lot of our enormous snowfall at the edge of the lawn and broke more than half this…