Compared to Heath, Seattle has a mild climate, and yet gardeners there share some of our problems. Generally, it does not get hot in Seattle. Gardeners go to great lengths pampering their tomatoes in an attempt to achieve juicy ripeness. Shelagh Tucker has a small greenhouse in her sloping back garden, but she also grows her tomatoes in a raised bed sort of hot house to provide the heat tomatoes require. Behind her, in another raised bed are…
I have not done with posts about my great trip to Seattle to tour amazing gardens with 70+ garden writers and bloggers, but I am so happy to be home and to see the glories of lily season. Our Daylily Bank is now in full bloom and it got a lot of attention when the Heath Gourmet Club was here on Saturday night to enjoy a delicieux dinner a la Francais. The Black Beauty lilies have been blooming…
It was good-bye to the daylilies at the End of the Road . . . and hello to airports in Hartford, Chicago ---------------- and Seattle! Seattle Gardens are on the schedule for the next few day in the company of dozens of garden bloggers. Keep watching.
The Queen of the Prairie looks more like the Queen of the River in this photo. She is attended by hundreds of handmaids and courtiers. As a member of the Bridge of Flowers committee many people ask me about when it is open and when is the 'best' bloom time. Those questions are easy to answer. The Bridge of Flowers is open every day, all day from April 1 to October 30. There is no 'best' season. The…
Its been a busy weekend with our Annual Family Meeting on Sunday. There was so much talk that I never even thought about the camera until we were half way home with a new pair of grandsons, Anthony and birthday boy Drew (13!) from Texas. Then, yesterday while 'The Major' organized the boys to set up the blueberry frame, mow the lawn, and relax in the Cottage Ornee, a friend and I drove over to The Mount, Edith…
Three perennials that get A plus grades in my garden are achillea, otherwise known as yarrow, antirrhinum or snapdragon and astilbe. My first awareness of achillea was the roadside weed, or wildflower, depending on your point of view. Roadside yarrow is usually white with the typical achillea flat topped cluster of tiny flowers. The ferny green foliage is pretty even when the plant is not in bloom. When I began to learn about perennials from my garden mentor…
Daylily season has begun here at End of the Road Farm. The Daylily Bank is going to have it's first spectacular year. My idea was to have a collection of pale and pink daylilies on the Bank. Still, I couldn't resist some of the deeper colored daylilies. Each day more are blooming and each day I am happier with this project. I thought I could count three bloomers in one photo - 'Connecticut Yankee' delphiniums, shasta daisy and…
A visitor on the Franklin Land Trust Farm and Garden Tour last weekend noted that one of the benefits of local garden tours is they allow us to see what lies hidden behind the beautiful flower beds, fields and forests: creativity, art, industry, history, and strong community. On the weekend of July 9, all of these elements will be in full view as the artisans, conservationists, and creative gardeners of Hawley, Colrain and Greenfield open their worlds to…
Sometimes I get lucky. I moved this rosy achillea to the Herb Bed in front of the house last year. It is blooming right next to a large clump of golden marjoram and makes a beautiful little plantscape. Have you had any lucky juxtapositions?
Edward Steichen (1879-1973) was one of our most famous photographers: especially known for his black and white photographs of famous people. I was amazed to learn that this man who I imagined dreaming in black and white had a passion for blue - a passion for delphiniums. He cultivated acres of delphiniums at his Connecticut home. In 1936 when he was Director of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, then housed in a…