Spring is in full swing. The outdoor furniture and umbrella have been taken out of the cellar and set up on the lawn by one of the gardens. The flowering crabapple and cherry trees are beginning to lose their blossoms but the Kousa dogwoods, viburnums, rhododendrons, pieris and azaleas are spectacular. Alas, the weeds are … Continue reading The May Garden →

Recent temperatures have been in the 80s. It has been a veritable “parade” in the garden since the temperatures began to rise. By parades I don’t mean cute little kids carrying baskets of colorful Easter eggs, but packs of coyotes, deer, turkeys, fisher cats, rabbits and squirrels (some people call them “tree rats”), in addition … Continue reading Easter Parades →

Daylight Saving Time has arrived and supposedly we’ll have more daylight during which to plan some future gardening chores. The reality is that since we’re expecting a blizzard, we’ll have more daylight to shovel our steps, front walk, sidewalks and driveway. Hellebores, snowdrops and scillas are already in bloom in the garden. Green stems of … Continue reading Gardening in March →

My 2017 UMass Garden Calendar is doing its job. Not only does it give me the daily sunrise and sunset times, but it also gives me great horticultural reminders and hints. And, yes, the days are getting longer in this New Year. We had our first blizzard on January 7 but the past few days … Continue reading New Year Resolutions →

We’ve had our first real snowfall of the season and, like the song, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” Amazingly, only a couple of days ago, we were still enjoying some perfect blossoms on some of our rose bushes and harvesting some chives from the vegetable garden. We have turned over the bowls … Continue reading Into the Holiday Spirit →