By Reverend Max Coots Let us give thanks for a bounty of people: For children who are our second planting, and though they grow like weeds and the wind too soon blows them away, may they forgive us our cultivation and fondly remember where their roots are…. For generous friends with hearts and smiles as … Continue reading A Gardener’s Thanksgiving →

Cranberries are the official Massachusetts State berry. We originally quoted the following cranberry information from the Jim Zoppo Web site in November of 2005: “…44 calories per cup and full of antioxidants. These tart berries are grown from April to November. What’s one way to tell when they’re ripe? They bounce! Cranberries have antibacterial properties … Continue reading About Cranberries →

Until this century, the main use for lobsters was as fertilizer. New Englanders considered them to be garbage. They were thought of as scavengers and, therefore, unclean. In fact, a lobster’s favorite meal is crabs; but they are also fond of clams, mussels, and other lobsters. Members of the Phylum Arthropoda, they are thought of … Continue reading Lobsters as Fertilizer! →

According to the “Ask Dr. Knowledge” column in the Boston Globe (10/31/00): Hybridization is a word used to describe any time when genetic material from one organism is mixed with genetic material that has different heritable characteristics. There are many ways to do this. For example, you can just “cross” two species – if they … Continue reading Hybridizing vs. Genetic Altering →

If you’re putting your home on the market, be sure to pay attention to the outside, too. At the least, you should cut the grass, weed the beds and fill the flower boxes. According to Holly Cuny, editor of Garden Center Magazine, “Freshening up a landscape makes a home sell faster – 15 days faster … Continue reading Landscaping Helps Homes Sell Faster →