Walter Cudnohufsky – Cultivating the Designer’s Mind

  • Post published:03/29/2019
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Walter Cudnohufsky says “Design is Optimism Personified.” I saw Cudnohufsky’s design and optimism myself, one day about 11 years ago. “Keep talking. Keep talking,” Cudnohufsky said as my Heath neighbors, Lynn Perry and Rol Hesselbart, brought out all their concerns about the landscape surrounding their new garage. I was invited to watch Cudnohufsky at work. It was a lively consultation and I was amazed at how patiently he listened, how carefully he observed the area. Lynn visited me…

Culinary Herb Garden – easy to grow for flavor and thrift

  • Post published:03/22/2019
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A culinary herb garden is almost a necessity for gardeners, because so many of us enjoy cooking. Even if cooking is not our first love, it is hard to make meals without some basic herb for almost every dinner. It can be expensive if we have to buy our parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, but a small culinary herb garden, preferably not too far from the kitchen door is a thrifty answer. Fortunately for me the area by…

Western Massachusetts Master Gardeners Spring Symposium 2019

  • Post published:03/16/2019
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There may be snow on the ground, but the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener’s Association knows it is time to get ready to garden. The WMMGA Garden Symposium at Frontier Regional High School is scheduled for Saturday, March 23, from 8:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. with a lunch available at noon. The symposium title this year is Healthy Gardens, Healthy Gardeners. If you want to learn about healthy soil, trees for the garden, butterfly gardening, ergonomics and injury prevention,…

Beverly Duncan and Her Books

  • Post published:03/08/2019
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“Ever since I officially retired from Mohawk Regional High School, I’ve just exploded with new ideas,” Beverly Duncan said as she gave me a tour of her studio in Ashfield. One wall  is covered with framed botanical paintings that she had done in the past. Other paintings-in-progress were pinned to a bulletin board; other smaller paintings of flower blossoms were pinned to a different bulletin board. Surrounded by these works, finished and unfinished, she told me about recent…

Fragrant Flowers for the Garden

  • Post published:03/02/2019
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My new low maintenance, pollinator garden is full of fragrant flowers that bloom over the course of the season. I confess I did not choose these flowers on purpose. However I am really happy that so many fragrant plants have additional benefits. My fragrant flowers require little care and welcome pollinators. Some fragrances, like lilac, take me back to my early childhood on a Vermont farm. When we moved to Heath in 1979 there were already old fragrant…

Random Acts of Kindness in the Garden – and Everywhere

  • Post published:02/23/2019
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There was a time when I didn't know about random acts of kindness. Have you ever gone through a toll booth and been told your toll was already paid by the car ahead of you? Or had a dish of jello sent to your table at a highway diner by the smiling waitress who told you it was courtesy of the man who just left? I have. My response was to laugh and immediately pay the toll for…

Who are the Pollinators and Why Are Pollinators Important

  • Post published:02/16/2019
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Who are the pollinators and why are they important? We all know that many plants need to be pollinated to make seed, and the fruits and vegetables that protect the seeds inside. Pollen is the powdery stuff inside a flower blossom. Sometimes it is not very noticeable. On the other hand flowers like lilies and sunflowers are so laden with pollen that a bouquet of those flowers will shed golden pollen all over the table. Pollen grains are…

Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables by Catherine Reid

  • Post published:02/09/2019
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I did not read Anne of Green Gables until I saw the recent TV production. I knew nothing of the red haired girl with freckles who talked a mile a minute. I didn’t know about her trip from an awful asylum to “the Island, the bloomiest place. . . .I used to imagine I was living here, but I never really expected I would. It’s delightful when your imaginations come true, isn’t it?” The TV program turned out…

Forcing Bulbs for Winter Blooms

  • Post published:02/02/2019
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There are three ways to achieve flowering plants in your house during the winter. First, you can think ahead and order bulbs for forcing. Paperwhites are the old standby, but you can force other daffodils, and there are many cultivars to provide you with a variety of form and color. In the early fall you will find a host of different daffodil bulbs at your local garden center or you can go online. By the same token you…

Learning My Latin and Having a Ball – in the Garden

  • Post published:01/26/2019
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Who needs Latin in this modern, high-tech age? Gardeners do! They need to know Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriaca is not a rose which is named Rosa.  Rose of Sharon could be a hibiscus. Which rose do you want? Of course, if you want a hibiscus, the Rose of Sharon is a great perennial choice. Knowing your Latin will help you get the rose you want and not a Lenten rose, Helleborus orientalis or a rock rose, Cistus…