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…
Bread is called the staff of life and bread means wheat. With our huge wheatfields in the midwest we take wheat for granted. We don't think about the possibility of the supply diminishing or about the changing nutritional value of the wheat. Eli Rogosa and the Heritage Wheat Conservancy,which she founded is collaborating with the Northeast Organic Wheat and UMass Extension to hold a Grain Conference on July 14 and 15. The first day will be held at…
The rains began Wednesday morning. Two and a half inches by the end of the day. You all know what happens to peonies in pounding rains. They droop. Even those who are supported by wire rings. Will they perk up before visitors come on the Franklin Land Trust Farm and Garden Tour on Saturday and Sunday? Will the roses have any petals left? Another half inch yesterday - and showers promised for today. No matter, the landscape is…
The old joke goes that if you don’t lock your car doors in August you’ll return and find the back seat filled with zucchini. You might be happy about this if you don’t have a vegetable garden, after all zucchini is a versatile vegetable that can be used in a number of delicious ways, is nutritious supplying protein, vitamins A and C and numerous other good elements but no cholesterol, and contains only 20 calories per one cup…
The large Luna Moth is a beautiful creature. The Luna Moth (Actias luna) here was badly damaged and missing its long tail, but it was alive when my friend found it in her back yard. She put it in a casserole dish and began her researches. Her moth was a female and even in its ravaged state it began to lay eggs. Ordinarily females will lay between 100-300 eggs about 4 to 7 at a time on the…
I hope this photo give some sense of the amazing bloom of the Sargent crabapple. It is not 15 feet tall, but it is at least 15 feet wide and was planted about 15 years ago. It thrives in the Sunken Garden even though it is very wet in the spring. It is now in full flower - almost a single tree-sized blossom at this point. This apple tree, name unknown, produces apples but they are not the…
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…
We live in a fortunate part of the world. Recently my husband and I were counting our local blessings: good neighbors, relatively benign bureaucracies, easy traffic, and beautiful landscapes with hills and streams, woodlands and meadows. Those landscapes have changed in a major but subtle way over the 30 years since we moved to Heath. The dairy farms that were here in Heath have all disappeared as have many dairy operations in other towns. A few farm stands…
My lawn might not inspire anyone who demands fine turf, but it is safe for the children who play on it, and my water supply. It has lots of clover which is very green and beautiful. How did clover become a 'weed' in the garden? I do not know. Canada has been more aware of the dangers of lawn care chemicals for longer than the U.S., but that is changing. With organizations like Safe Lawns and the Lawn…
The June/July issue of Organic Gardening Magazine has an excellent article by Wes Hunsberger about the benefits and delights of rugosa roses. I know whereof he speaks because I have been growing rugosas for more than 20 years. Think of the beach roses thriving on sandy dunes, lashed by wind and salt spray, lovely and fragrant with pink or white single blossoms. Hybridizers have brought that beach rose hardiness and disease resistance to the garden. "Apart" with its…