Our Garden Journal

Memorial Day, 2012: Honoring Black Hawk #517

2012-05-28T02:30:00.000-04:00

Memorial Day has come to have very special meaning for us.

As members of Soldiers' Angels since 2006, we have supported many, many soldiers who served in Afghanistan and Iraq with cards, letters, care packages, and holiday gifts.

In 2010, we adopted an entire unit of 35 soldiers who were members of the 101st Airborne Combat Air Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. This unit was based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and had been deployed to Afghanistan where they were stationed at Kandahar Air Base.

In addition to the soldiers of the 101st, we also supported another platoon of 12 soldiers, members of a combined joint special operations task force serving in Tarin Kowt.

Capt. Nick Craig

Our unit of the 101st CAB brought mail, food, and supplies to groups of soldiers stationed in the mountainous region near Kandahar and served as the extraction team for any NATO troops in that region who were either in extreme danger or who had been injured or killed. It was grim, dangerous work.

Our main contact for both units during the deployment was Capt. Nick Craig, one of the Black Hawk pilots in the CAB unit we were supporting. Nick relayed messages to us, letting us know what kinds of food, clothing, and toiletries the special forces soldiers needed, and what the soldiers in his own unit needed as well.

We sent cards and letters every week and more than two dozen care packages every month, including complete meals, toiletries, and snacks for the special forces soldiers.

We also sent each of our soldiers a Christmas stocking stuffed with goodies from their "Wish List". (That was a major production but we pulled it off!) And we sent each one of them one of the "US Flag" T-shirts we are wearing (above photograph).

On September 21, 2010, the U.S. suffered one of the most devastating losses of the entire war when one of the unit's Black Hawk helicopters, tail #517, crashed, claiming the lives of 9 soldiers and sailors.

While we were grateful that Nick was not flying that day, the five soldiers who perished were members of the 101st CAB. The other four troops who died in the crash were sailors, members of a special forces combined group. Three were Navy SEALs and the fourth was a Navy cryptologic technician assigned to a Naval Special Warfare unit.

Their unit emblem, sent by Nick, shortly after the crash.

Nick sent us an email about the crash and a couple of days later, when names were officially released, sent along their names as well as photographs. He helped in the recovery of the remains of soldiers who he knew and flew with. We can't imagine how difficult that must have been for him and for the entire unit.

Despite not having met any of "our" soldiers or knowing them personally, the loss was very personal to us. We held every one of them very close to our hearts.

Nick organized a memorial to honor the soldiers who died and singlehandedly raised the funds to build it. The memorial was dedicated at Fort Campbell this past January. (Note: The fund is till shy of its goal; click HERE if you are able to help in some small way.)

We couldn't be there for the dedication, but Nick sent us a certificate commemorating the day and acknowledging that a flag was flown in our name by a Black Hawk over Afghanistan. We were very touched by the honor. He also sent us their unit emblem which hangs in our kitchen.

As we did last year, today on Memorial Day, we are remembering and honoring the soldiers and sailors who perished in the crash of Black Hawk #517.

Last year, we dedicated the circular rose and cottage garden in front of our home to the memory of these soldiers and placed American flags around the circle, one for each soldier and sailor lost.   We left the flags flying in place until it was time to close the garden for the winter.

This year, we erected a permanent memorial in the form of a figure of a soldier bearing a flag. At night, the statue and flag are lit by a spot light.

We are grateful for the safe return of the many soldiers we supported over the past six years. For those who gave their lives to this effort, we have pledged to honor their memory. With this garden, we will never forget.

Here is our garden tribute to the soldiers and sailors who died on September 21, 2010 in the crash of Black Hawk Tail #517.

Roses, iris, and (off to the side out of view) peonies are in bloom.

Close-up of the statuary.

Remembering the Soldiers and Sailors
from Black Hawk #517

Chief Warrant Officer Matthew G. Wagstaff

Sgt. Marvin R. Calhoun Jr.

Chief Warrant Officer Jonah D. McClellan

Maj. Robert F. Baldwin

Staff Sgt. Joshua D. Powell

Petty Officer 2nd Class Adam O. Smith

Lt. Brendan J. Looney

Senior Chief Petty Officer David B. McLendon

Petty Officer 3rd Class Denis C. Miranda

Author's Note: Much of the content of this post is taken from our previous post about this courageous crew which we posted on Memorial Day, 2011. You can read the previous post HERE.

Happy Anniversary! Celebrating Our First Year as Blotanists

2012-05-25T18:16:00.000-04:00

Time flies when you're having fun!

One year ago today, we became members of Blotanical. It hardly seems as though it's been that long, but it has. And what a year it has been! Much of what we first learned about Blotanical and hoped to gain by being part of it has come to pass. (You can see our initial post about Blotanical from a year ago here.)

Steve and I have been gardening for nearly a decade together and for decades separately before that. But in the last year, we've achieved milestones that in some cases, we didn't even know existed, and in other cases, while we were aware of various organizations and programs, we never anticipated becoming involved in them and certainly not to the extent that we have. We can definitely see how being members of Blotanical has figured heavily in the choices we have made.

What a difference a year makes!

Attending a Titanic era afternoon tea, April, 2012.

Since last spring, we've gotten more involved in the regional and international gardening community than ever before. In April, 2011, we joined both the American Rose Society and the New England Rose Society, renewed our membership with the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and started posting regularly on our blog. We also began logging the number of visitors to our blog.

After we joined Blotanical in May, the number of visitors to our blog increase ten-fold. We've met scores of fellow gardeners and have developed friendships across our own county, in every quadrant of the country, across oceans, and across several continents.

Combining our love of old garden roses with my love of regency novels and recently discovering vintage dancing has also given us a wonderful pastime for the long winter months when we can't be out in the garden.

So what are some of the actual stats? Well, here are a few....

Since May 25, 2011, garden lovers have visited our blog nearly 19,000 times. We've gone from just over 100 views per month to as many in the average day. We've posted 90 blog posts to date of which 84 were published between May 25, 2011 through May 25, 2012.

And lest you think we spend all of our time blogging, we actually spend a fair amount of it weeding. We now have 32 distinct garden beds on our half acre property that include several sun and shade cottage beds, a formal English garden, briar patch, woodland garden, shrub and tree grove, herb garden, blueberry grove, butterfly garden, and water garden.: We went from 179 roses last May to over 200 this year (despite the damage caused by the dreaded voles).

At Blotanical we currently have a user rank of 191 and a blog rank of 190. We've been "faved" by 38 fellow bloggers. We've earned 5,812 Blotanical points. More important than the numbers however, has been the sense of community, the support we've received, the genuine feelings of camaraderie and friendship. Being a part of the Blotanical community has made us better bloggers, better gardeners, and more involved in our local and national gardening groups.

We attended our first district convention, the annual main event of the Yankee District of the American Rose Society held in March in Rhode Island. This month, Steve and I were elected to the Executive Board of the New England Rose Society as Treasurer and Secretary respectively.

A sparrow takes a bath in the waterfall of our water garden.

Statistics aside, the most important things we've gained in the last year through our participation in Blotanical are knowledge and friends. We've learned a lot. We've learned about flowers, birds and wildlife all over the world. We've learned to take better photographs, we've learned shortcuts and better ways of doing gardening chores, and we've learned to be better inhabitants of the planet. Our garden is now a certified wildlife habitat. We've also learned that there are untold resources at our disposal and we frequently tap them all.

But best of all, we've made friends all over our county, our country, and around the world. Friends we care about and who care about us. Now, when we hear about a natural disaster or terrible storms or floods in other parts of the world, it's much more personal for us and we quickly check the blogs of people we will likely never meet in person but who we have come to call "friend".

Steve spends a few hours each month tending to the Masonic Center Garden.

We've also learned that sharing is caring.

We share our time and knowledge, teaching others about "green" gardening and encouraging others to nurture and protect the environment.

We also help in more tangible ways. We share plants from our garden with neighbors, guests and even strangers who stop to admire the gardens.

As members of the New England Rose Society, we support the mission of the Rose Society by volunteering in the rose yard of the Wolf Hill Garden Center. There, we help people to choose the perfect rose for their yard and then teach them how to properly plant, prune, and care for it.

We also continue to help maintain the rose garden at the Masonic Center in Newburyport which we helped to design and build two years ago. We open our gardens to the public one day a year for the Country Gardens Annual Water Garden Tour. (This year, the tour is scheduled for Saturday, June 23, 2012.)

Our love of roses extends all the way to Brooklyn, NY where next week we will spend much of our vacation helping rose curator Sarah Owens to prepare the Cranford Rose Garden for the Brooklyn Botanical Garden's annual "Rose Night", a labor of love we are eagerly anticipating.

So what does any of this have to do with Blotanical, you might ask. All of these activities and more have been shared on our blog, generated comments and interest within the Blotanical community, and have contributed to the ever widening audience of readers who have encouraged us and supported us.

Most importantly, we've appreciated being part of a community where we can share the highs and lows of our lives through and by gardening. Our blog has been the vehicle and Blotanical has been the means by which we've done that.

Last June, we showed our roses for the first time ever in a juried rose show sponsored by the New England Rose Society and earned a Best in Show prize in addition to a fistful of first and second place ribbons. We blogged about our experience here. We also shared our grief and the memorial garden we've established in the memory of nine soldiers who died in the crash of Blackhawk #571 in Afghanistan. As Memorial Day approaches, we have once again dedicated one of our garden beds to the soldiers of that mission and will share that with the Blotanical community on Monday (Memorial Day, for those of us here in the U.S.).

Topsy Turvy Calendar - GBBD, May, 2012

2012-05-23T10:22:00.000-04:00

March winds and April showers

bring forth May flowers.

~ Old English Proverb

This calendar rhyme has held true for generations here in New England. March is typically blustery and chilly. According to another proverb, it "blows in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." April is often the rainy month, and April showers give rise to the greening of the grass, budding of trees, and sprouting of bulbs that result in beautiful spring flowers in May.

These year, however, Mother Nature skidded back end over teakettle on the slippery of slope of winter into spring and got the entire thing wrong. March rolled in on a heat wave. Trees began to leaf out and spring bulbs sprouted and bloomed as temperatures climbed into the 80's with gentle breezes. Magnolias and daffodils bloomed six weeks early. Then it got cold, and for many of us things went somewhere in a handbag.

April was sunny and dry. So dry, in fact, that we had fire warnings for much of the month. The temperatures were more seasonable but the lack of water saw me actually watering the beds and everything new that we'd planted.

May has been warm, wet and windy... as strange combination indeed. Breakfasts under the deck canopy were impossible with the wind frequently guting to 25-35 mph.

In the garden, I've found signs of mildew on some of the roses and one of the yellow magnolias and aphids found the honeysuckle, but it's been hard to spray when the dry days have been so scarce!

In northeastern Massachusetts, you can count on common lilacs to bloom for Mother's Day. Most of the lilacs bloomed weeks early - the common lilacs at right were fully open and beginning to fade by April 20th.

We had planted some later blooming varieties in order to be able to enjoy the sweet lilac fragrance well into Juneso we had some fragrant blooms for Mother's Day after all.

Photographed at the end of the first week of May, these lilacs bloomed in early June last year, a full four weeks later into the season. Unfortunately, with all of the rain we've had, we barely got to enjoy them.

Colby's Wishing Star will bloom again later in the summer.

May brings a lovely medley of columbine, sage, coral bells (heuchera), and dicentra to the cottage garden.

The columbine began blooming several weeks ago and continues to thrill and impress as new blooms in an ever widening range of colors open in all of our perennial beds..

Evidence of self-hybridizing is everywhere. I saw some familiar varieties from last year and in some of the same places in the garden where they had b loomed before. But in others, the colors were different, evidence that the columbine self-seeded and the blooms were a result of open pollination in the previous plants.

We also added some new varieties this year, including some with double petals in the center of the blooms. But may favorite is still the soft, pastel blue and ivory blooms that sprouted out of nowhere last year in our all white shade garden.

The last of the apple blossoms are winding down along with the last of the spring bulbs. We still have a handful of grape hyacinths and late flowering jonquils in bloom, but the star of the tree grove is the dark pink dogwood, Cherokee Chief. .

Cherokee Chief, blooming in the tree grove behind the waterfall.

The last of the jonquils and daffodils.

A few last grape hyacinths bloom in the shade of the climbing hydrangea.

Another early bloomer is the wisteria. The Chinese wisteria started blooming a full five weeks ahead of last year and the American wisteria, "Amethyst Falls". The American wisteria usually blooms a few weeks after the Chinese wisteria and the large buds look as though they will be opening any time.

The Chinese wisteria vines bloom in these shades of purple and lavender as well a deep, rich mauve and burgundy.

The buds of "Amethyst Falls" will be opening any day now.

We lost nearly an entire bed of iris to the destructive activities of voles, a consequence of a very mild winter and a warm, early spring. In the main cottage bed, we were left with a few scattered iris tubers that sent up young, non-blooming plants. Across the driveway, the news was much better; the mauve clump on the island and the purple and white and pale lavender on the far side of the parking area were spared and are blooming beautifully.

The floribunda Scentimental blooms behind the iris on the island in the driveway.

In the water garden, the variegated yellow iris are beginning to bloom as well.

The cottage and perennial beds are boasting a bounty of color thanks to perennials that have continued to bloom over the past 6-8 weeks as well as newer blooms bursting forth from other plants every day. The hellebores and fragaria have been blooming for over two months and the dicentra have been blooming for several weeks as well. The anemones just started blooming this week as have the bachelor's buttons and English laurel.

English Laurel "Otto Luyken", Prunus laurocerasus and fringed bleeding heart, Dicentra exemia

"Otto Luyken was a sleeper in a small bed behind our gazebo until it bloomed last year. Prior to that, the shrubs languished and showed very slow growth. After blooming last year, they have been revitalized and not only increased in overall size by more than 50% over last season, but are covered with their typical bottle brush blooms.

Fragaria "Lipstick", a wild strawberry cross, which produces very small but very flavorful and sweet strawberries.

In the shade cottage garden, white dicentra arches over variegated hostas and white hellebores.

Pink dicentra is a mainstay in both the cottage gardens and woodland garden.

The Snowdrop Anemones, Anemone sylvestris, just started blooming.

Lilies of the valley make a fragrant ground cover in the cottage and woodland gardens and along the hill down to the back gardens.

The woodland garden likewise did not disappoint. Our beds of trillium have continued to multiply, and the wiegela and Solomon's seal is blooming as well.

The azaleas added a pop of color in the woodland garden as well.

Trillium grandiflorum, brilliant white against the dark green foliage, is stunning in the woodland garden.

Our bed of red trillium has spread under the variegated willow.

Yellow trillium

The dark red blossom of the red trillium is a bright spot in dense shade.

Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum commutatum)

Foamflower (Tiarella) is an early surprise in this corner of the woodland garden.

Both the European and Canadian wild gingers are blooming as well, their rather unusual blooms tucked out of sight under their leaves.

Canadian Wild Ginger, Asarum canadense

The Canadian Wild Ginger bloom is larger and more dramaticthan the European bloom.

European Wild Ginger, Asarum europeum

The blooms of the European Wild Ginger are insignificant and easy to miss.

The azaleas, dogwoods, tree peony, yellow magnolia. and rhododendrons have also been blooming with abandon both in the tree grove and in the front of the house.

Rhododendron "Capistrano", is a soft butter yellow.

Rhododendron "Nova Zembla"

Magnolia acuminata "Yellow Bird"

Tree Peony

Blooms of the red tree peony.

The blooms of the kousa dogwood just opened. Over the next several weeks they will get creamier in color.

A few other surprises include some fragrant white honeysuckle, tall spikes of ajuga, sedum, and beautiful bachelor's buttons.

White honeysuckle has the delightful scent of vanilla.

The ajuga is a colorful ground cover for a shady area.

Yellow flowering stonecrop

The bees enjoy the bachelor's buttons as much as we do!

Elsewhere in the perennial beds, even the weeds are providing swaths of brilliant color. Below, buttercups self-seeded throughout one of our perennial beds, and while we need to rein them in before they choke out everything else, they make a striking contrast with the penstemon.

Some of the showstoppers in the garden this spring are none other than the roses. Ordinarily, we don't see our first blooms until after Memorial Day, although the rugosas can occasionally bloom a bit earlier. This spring, the rugosas began blooming nearly three weeks early, following the trend of the rest of the garden. They were soon followed by the floribunda "Scentimental", and then almost immediately the Knock-Out "Blushing". Within a week nearly every rose in the garden sported plump buds, but it was "Zephirine Drouhin" and another unidentified climber who tied for the fourth place honorable mention for an early bloom.

Rosa rugosa rubra

The floribunda, "Scentimental", fragrant and stunning.

KNock-Out "Blushing"

"Zephirine Drouhin's" first bloom of the season.

We don't know the name of this climber but it is an early bloomer that continues to bloom all summer long.

This winter, the voles attacked many of our roses and hostas. We lost nearly 20 roses, not to the New England winter, but to the hungry appetites of the many voles who tunneled through our bed, feasting on the tender roots and main stems of the rose shrubs. We began replacing them immediately. New additions to the rose beds often come budded and many have also started to bloom early, giving us a bright burst of color in nearly every bed.

Clockwise from top left: "Pat Austin", "Graham Thomas", "Heritage" (all David Austin English roses), and "Love's Magic" (Hybrid Tea)

Each month, gardeners from all over the world share what is blooming in their gardens with a Garden Bloggers Bloom Day post. Hosted by Blotanist Carol of Indiana, you can find links to visit all of the gardens that participate in this monthly bloomfest on her blog at May Dreams Gardens.

A Book Review, of Sorts: Dig, Plant, #?%\&... A Gardener's Soap Opera

2012-05-08T12:14:00.000-04:00

It's raining today. Pouring buckets. Raining cats and dogs.

I'm not loathe to gardening in the rain; in fact, it's one of my favorite times to plant and weed.

Unfortunately for my garden, however, I've been bitten by the soap opera bug.

Can you think of a better thing to do on a rainy spring morning than curl up by a cheery fire and read a soap opera? Yes, you read that correctly. I am reading a soap opera.

The first soap opera truly dedicated to gardeners is being written by none other than Noel Kingsbury. Dr. Kingsbury is an internationally renowned garden designer and author.

I first came to know him as one of the fabulous regular contributors at Gardening Gone Wild. Although he has some twenty books to his publishing credit, it's his latest venture that has me chomping at the bit for more.

Dig, Plant, Bitch is a soap opera dedicated to those of us who live to dig and plant in the dirt and then --- well, you know, complain about it all the while loving it.

The only thing televised soap operas have on the Kindle version are pictures (which wouldn't help me much with my oldie but goodie non-Fire Kindle, which no, I have no plans to trade up). Dig, Plant.... etc. has all the "staying power" of a true soap: characters that gardeners the world over can identify with, intrigue, tantalizing conflicts, and cliff hanging endings to each installment. Best of all, you can tune in whenever you want and there are no commercial interruptions at critical times in the plot.

The first installment hit the cyberwaves in early March and the second installment was published mid-April. This morning I am closing in on the end of the second installment, knowing as I do that another installment is probably a few weeks away, yet. Oh, how shall I manage until then!

Luckily for me, I shan't be bored. I'm anxious to "dig into", Fran Sorin's Digging Deep, another recent book purchase which I'll get to just as soon as I finish Georgette Heyer's, An Infamous Army, this month's Almack's group reading choice.

The Best and Worst - April, 2012

2012-05-01T22:59:00.001-04:00

Angela, who blogs at Bumble Lush, recently started a meme where she posts the "best" and "worst" things in her garden during the previous month.

When I read her post, I thought she had come up with a really neat idea. We are so good at posting all the beautiful things in our garden, but we rarely share the "misses" LOL.

Choosing the "worst" was easy: our saucer magnolia suffered cold damage just as it was about to bloom and the plump, mauve, pearlescent blooms turned brown overnight.

I had hoped that some of the tighter, immature buds might have escaped damage but as they opened, it was clear that all of the buds had been affected. This was quite a disappointment. After a fairly lackluster bloom in previous years, this tree had finally come into its own and was covered with blossoms ready to open.

Choosing the "best" was harder. We have so many beautiful things blooming in the garden right now. This entire month has been a feast for the eyes. But if there was one plant that really made me smile this month it was our sand cherry.

Once a tree, our sand cherry is now more shrub-like

The sand cherry almost didn't survive last winter after a snow plow cleaved the main stem nearly in two and buried it under 6 feet of snow. We glued the stem and wrapped it with twine and hoped the fracture would knit. When the tree started to wilt under the demands of growth, we heavily pruned it, crossed our fingers, and hoped for the best. You can read about the sand cherry's ordeal here.

The dark burgundy leaves are stunning and a perfect foil for the simple blush colored blossoms. But what sets this tree apart from all others in our garden is the fragrance. This tree perfumes the entire front yard with an intense yet delicate floral fragrance that wafts through the house through open doors and windows.

With the strange weather we've been having, I'm sure many of us have had our share of "worst" moments this month. You can see what prompted Angela to post about this and add your blog to her list at Bumble Lush.

Water Garden Visitors: The Mallards are Back

2012-04-30T13:53:00.000-04:00

Katie (L) and Toughie (R) monitoring the ducks.

Earlier this month I awoke to raucous barking. Steve had gotten up earlier than me and let the dogs out and now they were clearly unhappy. I did a double take when I saw the reason why: a male and female mallard were swimming in the water garden!

Last spring, they swam in our swimming pool, which kept the dogs running laps around it as they followed them from one end to the other. The swimming pool is still covered, however, so they chose the next best thing.

Katie and Toughie watched the ducks intently, barking when they swam too close to the fish. They did not understand that the ducks pose no threat to the fish.

Welcome back, ducks! But I hope they don't spend a lot of time on our property. Unfortunately, ducks defecating in the water have been known to be a source of high concentrations of e.coli that has shut down swimming areas in local ponds. We don't want any bacterial issues in our pond or pool.

The ducks swim contentedly, ignoring the dogs.

I got too close with the camera and they took off....

... gracefully flying away.

We don't know for certain that these are the same ducks that visited last year but they are not at all shy around the dogs, barking or not. They've been back twice to briefly swim laps in the pond. Mostly we see them flying over the meadow and we can hear them honking. We think they built their nest and reared their brood in the meadow last year, and suspect they are doing the same this spring as well.

Extreme Weather: Neither Rain nor Hail....

2012-04-27T00:30:00.000-04:00

December, 2011

Spring arrived early after a mild winter and while I don't want to appear ungrateful for this marvelously mild and pleasant weather, the impact of this climatological aberrance is not insignificant.

We picked fresh herbs all winter - unheard of in New England, where our herbs (even perennials like mint) are usually dormant and buried under snow from November through February and often well into March and beyond.

In December, the lavender was still green and roses still had buds. This same week the previous year, we had a three day snowstorm that dumped over two feet of new snow on already over-sized snowbanks.

Ordinarily, March brings snow melt that nurtures the spring gardens and fills the ponds, rivers and streams. But minimal snow and a cumulative rainfall that is a full 8 inches shy of the average amount we would ordinarily have received since January 1 is definitely a cause for concern. For the first time in recent memory, we had public advisories for an elevated fire risk of brush fires in March!

February 4, 2011

The average annual snowfall in our area is about 3.5 feet.

Last year we were snowed in under a total of nearly 9 feet while this year our total accumulation was a fraction of that at under a foot.

It's hard to believe that a year ago, we were digging out from mountains of snow that were higher than our car.

This year, during that same week in February, the Peggy Martin rose was sprouting leaves and sending forth fresh green shoots and Sweet Autumn clematis wound its way among her canes.

We were harvesting fresh herbs, and rock cress was spreading along the fence near the woodland garden.

When does that happen in Massachusetts in February?

The lack of snow melt and precipitation has been of particular concern. For weeks there have been warnings of an increased risk of brush fires. We've watched the water levels of local rivers and creeks drop to unusually low levels.

But in a world where you need to be careful what you wish for, we were stunned when a prediction of rain showers turned into a major hail storm! Barely an hour after the lettuce, pansies, and ranunculus were firmly tucked into the raised beds on the deck, the heavens opened up and hail pelted down. The icy covering melted the same day, small comfort to the lettuce that curled up under the barrage. This hail storm happened on April 12, 2012.

April 12, 2012: The sky was overcast and showers were predicted. Suddenly, hail was pelting the driveway, pavement, and flower beds.

We had just finished cleaning out the raised beds on the deck and setting in the ranunculus, pansies, and lettuce.

Before the hailstorm subsided, we had a half inch to an inch of ice covering everything. Fortunately, it melted within a few hours.

The camera captured the force of the ice pellets as they bounced on the deck.

As we are known to say in New England, "If you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes." Finally, after a wait of nearly two months, our most substantial precipitation yet this winter - just over 4.5 inches of rain - fell over the course of the last two days.

Two days of rain raised the level of the pond considerably.

The rain was most welcome, but I would have preferred to have had it spread out over a week or two. That much rain all at once brings its own set of concerns. Torrential rains raised the water level in the koi pond to a problematic high... problematic because it opened up the possibility that our koi could actually jump out of the pond, something that happened once before on the heels of torrential rains.

But with the water over the lowest edging rocks, the koi were able to swim up onto the rocks on the south side of the pond especially, and I was very concerned they would either land on the patio if they jumped, or injure themselves on the rough surface of stones.

Katie (L) and Emily (R) watch the koi.

I need not have worried. Two of our erstwhile Cavalier King Charles Spaniels appointed themselves Guardians of the Fish and stood watch along the edge of the pond, barking when the koi seemed too close to the edge or jumped up and broke the surface of the water as they explored the new landscape.

Watching them over the course of an hour as I set up the sump to drain away a couple of inches and lower the water to a safer level for the koi, I couldn't help but chuckle at Emily, our 8 year old ruby Cavalier. She would bravely walk to the edge and lean over to bark at the fish as they swam around.

When one of the koi got too close, Em jumped away and yelped.

But if one swam too close to her rock or - heaven forbid - jumped up and out of the water in front of her, she'd jump back in fright!

Eventually, Katie, our 2 year old Blenheim, came to her assistance and both dogs spent over two hours patrolling the pond.

Emily is usually able to run around the pond, chasing after the koi as they swim back and forth. But with the water over the top of some of the rocks, she almost ended up going in for a swim herself.

The koi seemed intrigued by their ability to get within a hair's breadth of the dogs.

Katie, at her sentry post.

Can you see them? They're right there?

Where are you....

There you are!

Pearly (L) and Streak (R) were jumping up and flopping back into the water and swimming as close to the rocks in front of the dogs as possible.

One of the butterfly koi, Sherbert, teasing the dogs....

Comet and Goldie, hovering in front of them.... ignoring the barking. Goldie managed to escape the pond last summer after a similar downpour dramatically raised the water level, scaring Katie half to death. In fact, it was Katie's barking and howling that alerted me to the situation and I was able to get Goldie safely back in the pond without injury.

The way the fish seemed to congregate and show off in front of the dogs, it almost seemed as if they were deliberately teasing them. Are koi that intelligent, I wonder?

A Comprehensive (and Natural) Approach to Controlling Ticks

2012-04-24T01:30:00.000-04:00

"Toughie" loves to romp in the woodland garden, a perfect haven for ticks.

It's that time again. Grass is growing, the sun is glowing, gentle breezes are blowing, and in the gardens, we are hoeing and sowing. Then you feel something ticklish on your neck and .... brush off a tick.

Controlling ticks is a top priority for us in the early spring. Whether you're talking about the tiny black deer ticks, Ixodes scapularis, or the larger brown wood or dog ticks, Dermacentor variabilis, ticks are more than just a gardening nuisance. They are carriers of tick born illnesses such as Lyme Disease, several relapsing fevers, ehrlichiosis, and tularemia to name but a few and they are a significant health hazard to both people and pets.

Where we live in coastal Massachusetts, ticks are a particularly serious problem and that raises many concerns for us. Even though the diseases caused by ticks can be severe and debilitating, toxic effects associated with tick repellants are equally problematic, never mind the fact that they aren't completely effective.

Emily Rose was successfully treated for Lyme Disease as a puppy.

Since one of our dogs has already required treatment for Lyme and the Lyme vaccines are likewise not 100% effective in any event, we are very aggressive in our efforts to control our dogs' and our own exposure to ticks.

Our "Tick Protocol" is an integrated approach that combines actions we can take to make our yard less hospitable to ticks along with topical applications and holistic preventives for the dogs.

We take a two-pronged approach with our yard. First, we try to keep the areas that would be attractive to ticks to a minimum - not an easy task since we abut a meadow that is a formidable tick and mosquito breeding area. For us that means keeping the grass near the fence trimmed and treated, keeping our small area of lawn mowed, and staying ahead of leaf litter in the flower beds and tree grove.

Toughie keeps a sharp eye out for small animals sneaking into the garden.

The dogs often haunt the fence line, watching for wild animals on the other side of the fence who want to burrow their way into our garden.

Toughie is especially diligent about patrolling for woodchucks and rabbits, but ticks from the tall grass on the other side of the fence often jump onto his head and ears.

Katie's favorite pastime: rolling around in the grass.

Katie, on the other hand, loves to roll around in the grass, an open invitation to ticks to hop on to her thick, silky fur. Even though the small amount of actual "lawn" we have is minimal - most of our yard has been converted to garden beds - there is just enough grass for the dogs to play and nap in the sun, and plenty for her to roll in.

Treating the yard to repel and kill ticks has been very effective in dramatically reducing the number of ticks we find on the dogs. In that regard, both oil of rose geranium and diatomaceous earth have found valued places in our protocol.

When the temperature spiked in early March, we immediately began finding large numbers of ticks on each of our four dogs. It was not uncommon to remove as many as 4-6 ticks from each dog daily, and we were finding them on the furniture and walking around on the floor as well, likely brought in by the dogs where they subsequently fell off and went in search of another warm-blooded host.

Oil of Rose Geranium

Because of our concern for our koi as well as for the environment, we use no toxic chemicals in controlling any insect pests in our gardens, ticks included. An effective yet entirely safe tick repellant is the essential oil of rose geranium which we spray throughout our entire yard and include in a topical spray for the dogs.

Within days of spraying the yard with a solution of oil of rose geranium, and likewise spraying the dogs with an all-natural home-made tick repellant (instructions for both are included below), the number of ticks we found in daily "tick checks" dropped to less than 1-2 weekly among all of the dogs.

I try to spray the yard for ticks at least monthly from April through September. Whereas the winter was so mild and spring came so early, a bumper crop of ticks has plagued this area. I sprayed for the first time in mid-March and I've increased the frequency to every 2-3 weeks at least until we get them under control. As for the dogs, we try to spray them every couple of days with my homemade topical along with applications of a "spot on" product.

Diatomaceous Earth

Another inexpensive, easy, effective, and environmentally friendly approach is to dust the tall grass and underbrush - areas where ticks breed and thrive - with diatomaceous earth. It's important to use the agricultural or food grade preparations, not the preparations for swimming pool filters, which contain toxic chemical additives.

Toughie often nibbles on lavender.

The fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae, DE is a fine powder with microscopically sharp edges that works in two different ways to control garden pests. DE absorbs lipids from the waxy exoskeletons of insects and in so doing, it helps to desiccate them. Used properly, it can help to significantly reduce the population of adult ticks and fleas as well. A side benefit is that the sharp edged abrasive action of it will slice the underbellies of slugs and snails leading to their eventual demise as well.

However, if your dog likes to nibble on grass or lavender as ours do, the DE will not harm them and in fact, might even help. Food grade DE has been used for over a century as a de-wormer for people, dogs, and livestock.

DE is particularly useful after a period of damp whether, which is a prime breeding time for ticks. DE loses its effectiveness in damp conditions and needs to be applied after the ground has dried out and reapplied after each rain. With all of the rain we're having this week, I'll wait until we are going to have 24 - 48 hours of warm dry weather and then dust the grass along the fence and the underbrush throughout our little wood grove, and spread it liberally under the wild ginger and other low growing plants that the slugs seem to favor.

Because extended contact with DE can be very drying to the hands, I avoid spreading it with my bare hands and wear gardening gloves when I handle it. I have eyeglasses, but for those who don't have prescription eye protection like I do, goggles are a good idea. DE is a fine abrasive powder and you don't want it to blow into your eyes. Wearing a workshop mask or a simple bandana tied over your mouth and nose will also help keep you from breathing it in. Of course, avoid spreading it on a breezy day.

As far as the mechanics of spreading it, either shaking it from a wire mesh kitchen strainer or a flour sifter are two easy methods that utilize recycled, outdated kitchen gadgets (that should not find their way back into the kitchen after you've used them in the garden).

Repellants and "Spot On" Treatments

Toughie patiently waits for Katie to return his ball.

Most chemical tick control agents (such as Bio-spot and Frontline, both of which we've used in the past), do little or nothing to actually repel a tick from climbing onto your dog in the first place.

They are designed primarily to kill ticks that climb onto your dog and remain there, especially if they latch onto them to feed, but that can take up to 48 hours. And there seems to be some evidence that ticks may be developing a tolerance to some of the popular tick repellants, reducing their overall effectiveness.

Taking all of this into consideration, our vet, Dr. Regina Downey, DVM, of Exeter, NH, has recommended that we switch to Vectra 3D this year. There are two preparations available, one that targets just ticks, and one that targets ticks, fleas, and mites. Since fleas are never a problem for us, we chose the least chemically complex preparation to use for our dogs.

Because every situation and every dog is different, it's important to have a dialog with your vet about the risks and benefits to using topical "spot on" type treatments for tick control that can have serious side effects for many dogs. The prevalence of ticks varies greatly in different parts of the country as well as between country and city environments, and teacup and miniature breeds are far more prone to significant toxic effects from these kinds of applications than much larger dogs.

While "spot on" treatments are not without their potential for side effects, Lyme Disease can be just as debilitating and deadly, especially if it is not diagnosed early in the course of the illness. Your vet can help you weigh the relative pros and cons between the possible side effects from preventives and the risk of acquiring Lyme Disease in your area.

Homeopathic Veterinary Approaches

Dr. Downey also has some homeopathic tools to add to the tick-fighting arsenal. One product she offers is her specially prepared Bicom solution that is added to our dogs' water bowls with every water change. BICOM (short for BIological COMputer) utilizes bio-resonance vibration therapy as a method of modulating electromagnetic vibrations or frequency patterns that impair health. In more advanced applications, it can be used to counteract negative influences on the body and the immune system.

I wonder if there is a Bicom application for dogs and furniture!

While this is a very simplistic explanation of a complex process that incorporates quantum physics and quantum biology, in a practical application for tick control, Dr. Downy utilizes native tick species from the general area to establish a standardized electromagnetic wave pattern and then uses the BICOM process to create a solution with the opposite or negative wave pattern, essentially creating a negative energy that theoretically will repel ticks.

The negative wave pattern is imprinted into a solution of water that can be administered in the dogs' drinking water or your morning orange juice and bedtime tea. (Yes, people can use it too. It is, after all, basically water that has been programmed to vibrate to a modified electromagnetic frequency.)

While it can be hard to know which methods are effective and to what degree, my personal experience with Dr. Downey's BICOM tick drops has been overwhelmingly positive. While my husband is the first to point out that an "n of 1 is meaningless", being the "n" involved gives me a unique perspective. I added BICOM drops to my liquid intake twice daily last year and despite extensive time spent gardening and playing in the yard with the dogs, not a single tick climbed on my clothing, into my hair, or onto my skin while I was outdoors. In fact, the only ticks that I had personal contact with found me in my bed, where they tumbled off either one of the dogs or crawled off Steve's gardening clothing, which he often laid on the bed when he came in from working in the yard.

I am adding BICOM drops to my diet this spring and summer as well. Recently a friend helped me to reinforce part of our fence with chicken wire before we sprayed for the first time this season. She later related to me that she found multiple ticks in her hair while I had not a single tick find it's way onto me or my clothing. Since I don't routinely spray myself nor do I use any kind of "spot on" preparations personally, I have no competing therapies to confuse the issue. BICOM drops have earned a permanent place in our repertoire.

Oil of Rose Geranium: A Safe but Effective Topical Repellant

Elizabeth Rebecca and Mister Toughie (Spencer)

Unlike "spot on" chemical treatments that are applied monthly to kill ticks and in some cases, fleas and other parasites as well, topical repellant applications are applied to the dog's coat in order to discourage a tick from climbing onto your dog in the first place.

If used regularly, this can significantly reduce the number of ticks that will eventually attach to your pet even in the face of a "spot on" product, as well as minimize the number of ticks that will hitchhike into your home in your pet's fur.

Most "natural" repellants that are commercially available consist of a blend of essential oils in an oily or watery base that must be reapplied every few days. They are effective repellants but usually pricy, considering how often you need to apply them and how much you need to use with each application.

A homemade version is easy to mix and just as effective at a fraction of the cost. My recipe is simple to make and just as effective as a comparable product that is available at our local natural pet supply shop, yet costs me about one-sixth the price of the commercially produced product if I make it myself.

In a clean spray bottle (you can buy spritzer or spray bottles at the "dollar store" and most general merchandise stores), combine one bottle (16 ounces) of witch hazel and a tablespoon (15 ml) of each of the following essential oils: oil of eucalyptus, oil of lemon grass, and oil of rose geranium. The oils will float on top of the witch hazel so you need to shake the bottle gently to mix before and during spraying.

I find that witch hazel makes a very nice base for these kinds of mixtures; there is no oil to stain clothing or furniture after the dog races off from a spray session and it dries nicely on the dogs as well as on us. This mixture is safe (non-toxic) for use on dogs and keeps indefinitely.

Our dogs are low to the ground with long, thick feathers and slippers on their lower legs and feet. I spray the dogs with special attention to their legs, tails, bellies, chest, and under their chin at least every 2-3 days. You don't need to saturate the fur, but spray it liberally and rub their fur to spread it through to the under-layers. Reapply every two-three days (when the fragrance begins to fade) and after a bath.

The late Mister Dudley, with Spencer (AKA Toughie) and Emily Rose.

While our big old German Shepherd always stood at attention to be sprayed, three of four of our little Cavaliers hide when they see me approach them with the spritz bottle in hand. The spray does have an herbal aroma to it, one that our dogs aren't necessarily fond of, but it goes a long way toward preventing ticks from climbing on them in the first place.

A simple way to treat a small dog is to hold her on a towel in your lap in typical "belly rub" fashion. Rub her belly and help rub the spray into the fur at the same time. With the dog lying in your lap on her back, cuddled in a towel, two people can treat her thoroughly in less than three minutes.

We still check our dogs carefully for ticks at least daily, but the number of ticks we find even just crawling in their feathers, slippers, and tail has been reduced by as much as 90% in the very early spring when this topical spray is the only method of control we might be using.

I have seen it suggested that applying oil of rose geranium to the dog's collar is an effective tick repellant. I have not tried this method but in my experience, the blend of oils that I use in the repellant spray is much more effective than any single oil used alone. Also, it is very important not to apply essential oils directly to the dog's skin undiluted. Essential oils are very concentrated and undiluted, can be very irritating to human and canine skin alike. If you decide to try applying the oils to the dog's collar, remove the collar to apply the oil and be sure that it is completely dry before putting it back around your dog's neck.

Rose Geranium Oil Spray for Tick Control in the Yard

For ongoing tick control, we add oil of rose geranium to our general garden spray at least once a month. That, along with home made garlic oil, effectively controls the number of ticks and fleas in the environment. I mix essential oil of rose geranium in water or natural garden spray concentrate to spray in the yard at a rate of one ounce (30 ml) of essential oil per gallon of solution. You can find our entire protocol here. A revised and updated recipe will be posted on this blog shortly as well, so be sure to sign up to receive new posts.

A dog tick in its adhesive prison.

Despite our best efforts, the occasional tick still manages to find its way into the house. We check the dogs daily (often twice daily) for stowaways and we check ourselves when we come in from gardening. Wearing light colored clothing makes this task easier, but more often than not I am more apt to find ticks on my husband's gardening clothes than I am on the dogs.

For ticks that stow away in the long fur of our dogs' tails, legs and bellies or on Steve's gardening togs and then drop onto floors or furnishings, adhesive tape makes a quick and easy method of catching and disposing of the offending and unwelcome gatecrashers. Simply place a piece of transparent tape over the tick and then fold the tape back over on itself, forming a permanent prison. Dispose of it in the trash.

In my experience, effective control of ticks requires a comprehensive, multifaceted, integrated approach. Each method we use adds a layer of protection that is cumulative and helps us to dramatically reduce the risk of a tick borne illness for ourselves and our dogs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information about tick borne illnesses and tick control, visit the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Tick-borne Diseases page.

Dr. Regina Downey, DVM, owns the Holistic Animal Healing Clinic in Exeter, NH.
Visit her at www.holisticanimalhealingclinic.org.

Note: Not all treatments that are safe and effective for dogs are equally safe for cats and other small mammals. Always review the use of any products with your vet for safety around all of your family's fur-members.

A Colorful, Early Spring - Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, April, 2012

2012-04-22T17:43:00.001-04:00

Spring arrived more than a month ago and with it came 80 degree days, prompting the magnolias and spring bulbs to respond with blossoms as much as six weeks earlier than usual.

While I don't deny that we have enjoyed the beauty of the blooms, it hasn't been without its pitfalls as well, particularly with the magnolias.

Usually, the star magnolia blooms first among our flowering trees but this year, the saucer magnolia was covered in plump mauve buds a full week ahead of the star.

During the last week of March, just as the saucer blossoms were starting to open, a couple of seasonably cold nights turned the pearlescent blooms to a gloomy brown.

Within a week, it was clear that the saucer bloom was a near total loss. An occasional bud has opened since, but almost all have shown signs of cold injury. Today, a single bud shows some of the glory we missed earlier in the season.

In the meantime, the star magnolia has regaled us with three weeks of glorious blossoms and just as the blooms are beginning to fade, the yellow magnolias, "Elizabeth" has erupted with a gorgeous display of crisp yellow blossoms.

The saucer magnolia would have been magnificent if had only bloomed a week later, after the last frost.


The star magnolia has been the star of the woodland grove for three weeks.

The star magnolia in full bloom.

The yellow magnolia, "Elizabeth", is covered with butter yellow blooms, almost a full month ahead of last year.

The yellow blossoms cover each branch like translucent origami birds. "Elizabeth" is a pale buttery color, while "Yellow Bird" is a much darker, brighter yellow.

We've enjoyed the smiling faces of the pansies and daffodils for several weeks. While the pansies will continue to bloom through the early summer, the daffodils are already beginning to fade.

This year, with temperatures soaring past the 80 degree F mark in early March, we planted the pansies in pots in case a surprise snow storm were to head our way. Spring snows are not uncommon, and pots are easily brought into the garage. However, the weather has continued to be mild and the pansies are thriving.

Our latest decorative addition, this princely frog added another rose to our collection

When we originally planted the daffodils in the fall of 2006, we planted them, along with tulips, in clumps of 25-50 to achieve maximum impact from massed blooms. The first spring, the effect was stunning. We had early, middle and late spring blooming varieties in large clumps of every shade of pink, magenta, white, purple, and rose (tulips) and daffodils with single and double trumpets and petals and trumpets in white, yellow, orange, apricot, and pink.

Since then, few clumps remain as the voles have gradually decimated them over the course of several winters. We will replant this fall, but I fear that this is going to have to be a regular part of our fall garden maintenance in order to be able to enjoy the spring beauty of these gorgeous blooms.

All of the large clumps of daffodils and tulips in the perennial beds have been reduced to a handful of blooms each. In the front, we still have a few clumps such as these, but even these are markedly reduced in size compared to previous years. We will replant, but controlling the vole population is a top priority for us this gardening season.

Although the daffodils come in a wide range of colors now thanks to hybridization, my favorites have always been the pure white ones.

On the bottom left is one of our few remaining miniature daffodils. Five years ago, we had several hundred that bloomed with miniature iris. This year, the miniature iris bloomed more than a month early, upsetting the carefully planned palette we had laid out for spring color.

The fruit trees are all in bloom and we are continuing to observe some strange happenings in the old apple tree in front. This tree was already fully grown, mature, and neglected when Steve purchased the house in 2001. We aren't sure exactly when it was planted, but the house is over 30 years old. It got its first serious pruning in 2002 and since then, we have carefully clipped away suckers.

We never noticed anything unusual until two years ago when we had a profound drought. At that time, we noticed a significant size difference in the fruit; the apples on the left side of the tree were smaller than usual, but still at least 2.5 inches in diameter while the apples on the right side of the tree were the size of large cherries. Last summer, a similar drought that lasted through late July and much of August produced the same result.

This spring, we were surprised when blossoms on the right side of the tree appeared not only weeks earlier than usual, but much earlier than any blooms on the left.

We've looked at the tree carefully and unlike a tree demonstrating a similar finding in our back garden, we can not find an obvious graft site, but clearly, we have a tree that bears two distinct kinds of apples.

Apple blossoms on the right side of our full sized apple tree in the front yard.

The cherry tree, a vision in white.

Cherry blossoms and new leaves cover all of the branches and twigs.

The sand cherry that we thought might not survive last year has responded well to our hard pruning and splinting of it's shattered trunk. The yard is perfumed by the gorgeous blooms which cover every branch.

The sand cherry blossoms are a visual and olfactory delight.

Our three weeping cherries each have slightly different blossoms. One has pink buds but white blossoms, and of the two with pink blossoms, one has deeply ruffled, very heavily triple-petaled blooms, while the other has a double row of slightly deeper pink petals with the center of the blossom clearly visible.

Interestingly, although they bloom profusely, none of the three weeping cherries produce any fruit. However, since we planted them, the taller, mature cherry (white blooms), which previously bloomed but produced no fruit at all, has produced large amounts of fruit for the past three years. The squirrels and birds eat the fruit in the fall even though it never completely ripens, likely due to a growing season that isn't quite long enough for this unknown variety.

Our earliest blooming azalea, this unidentified variety, has blooms with both single and double ruffled petals and prominent stamen and anthers. I am surprised that the honey bees which have been visiting the other spring blossoms have not been visiting this particular shrub.

Below, photos of two of our three Cleveland pears. All three of the trees are beginning to fill out and are covered with delicate white blossoms.

Two other very early bloomers this year are (left) one of our Canadian hybrids and (right) the common lilacs. Usually, we don't see lilac blooms until Mother's Day, but this year, unless one of our later blooming varieties blooms according to it's own time frame, my guess is that most of our shrubs will have completed their bloom cycle by early May.

The flowering quince is another shrub that bloomed more than a month early and like the magnolia, suffered the effects of cold weather in its blossoms. The shrub has attracted many bees but I was hard pressed to find many blossoms that didn't have tell-tale browned edges that are the result of a couple of very cold nights at the end of March. It will be interesting to see in the fall if the crop of fruit is affected.

The Santa Rosa Plum has also thrived over the past year and the tree has increased in height by more than a foot and has also filled out at least twice it's width over this time last spring. Each branch and twig is covered with blooms but this is another tree that the bees have not seemed to favor, both last year and this one as well. Last year we had a very scarce crop of plums; I wondered then if that was due to immaturity or a lack of pollination. We'll see what this summer brings.

Other spring-blooming bulbs include our hyacinths and grape hyacinths, all of which are blooming equally early. The color display has been magnificent this year; this seems to be one bulb that the voles avoid, and definitely one we want to plant more of.

A magenta striped hyacinth and a wild hyacinth add pops of color in the perennial beds.

We have numerous blue, purple and white hyacinths, Hyacinthus orientalis, which seem to have survived and thrived despite the voles, which have decimated our daffodils and tulips.

Grape Hyacinths, Muscari racemosum. Ours are all the common variety, shades of deep blue and purple.

Last year our previously gorgeous display of creeping phlox was nearly destroyed by a careless plow driver who skimmed the top of the cottage bed and cleaved our sand cherry tree in half.

We planted some pots of phlox in an attempt to repair the damage, but probably due, in part, to a very dry summer, and as well in part to competition from wood violets, they did not thrive the way I had hoped.

These are three of the original plants that we were able to salvage and nurse back to health, and which are blooming robustly this spring. Most of the plants we added last spring are struggling and have a rare blossom if they are blooming at all.

We replanted again, early this spring, and while the blooms are once again lovely, we can only hope that these plants will fare better than their predecessors.

The newer plants are in brighter colors than we previously had growing along the edge of the bed.

Blue is a prominent color in the our spring gardens. Everywhere you look, bright white, soft yellow, and brilliant pink blossoms burst against a sea of blue.

A pleasant surprise was this lovely blue primrose which is blooming near the front stairs. It was labeled as an annual but I've had them overwinter before and was delighted to find this one blooming this week.

Primula vulgaris

The violets are another very early bloomer and among my favorite wildflowers Wood violets have gotten a bit too dense in some of our cottage beds and we are moving many clumps of them to the dry river bank that borders our tree grove. A single white violet lined with blue found its way into the herb bed and I'm hoping it will self sow and spread in that area. And the Labrador violets are popping up everywhere, another group that we are relocating to the wood grove and dry river bed.

Viola labradorica

Clustered under the shrubs in the fairy garden, in another month they will form a dense carpet that will bloom all summer.

A single white violet is a pleasant surprise this spring. It appeared in the herb garden, probably after seeds blew in from the neighboring meadow.


I adore wood violets, so much so that the clumps that are threatening to overtake the cottage garden are being moved into other areas where they can spread at will.

Veronica (Speedwell) makes an excellent ground cover in cottage beds. We've found that it thrives in both sun and shade and it blends well with other ground covers such as violets and forget me nots.


Veronica "Georgia Blue"


Veronica "Georgia Blue" with blue and white forget-me-nots (Myosotis sp.)

Other early bloomers in the cottage garden are the hellebores, bleeding hearts, candytuft, and columbine.

Hellebores in multiple shades of white, lime green, rose and burgundy have been blooming for over a month.

Both the large red and white Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra) are in bloom now.

Showy mounds of Iberis semperivens, candytuft, are also growing along the borders of the cottage gardens where they contrast beautifully with the creeping phlox and columbine.

Low growing varieties of columbine are in full bloom while the taller varieties are fully budded, more than a month ahead of last spring. The columbine has proven itself a hardy, colorful, and ever changing addition to the cottage gardens. Cross pollination has led to a new and sometimes surprising color each spring.

We opened the water garden nearly a month earlier than usual this year. Ordinarily, we restart the waterfall and black light (which provides ozone to disinfect the water) in early May when the temperature in the water is about 50 degrees. The warmer than usual spring temperatures raised the temperature of the water in the pond and the koi had been actively schooling. With the bog plants also showing exuberant spring growth, it was time to clean the pond and prune and feed the bog plants as well.

Top Left: The Koi have been schooling and swimming briskly. Top Right: Marsh Marigolds (Caltha palustris) have been blooming for two weeks. Bottom: Siberian Iris (Iris sibirica) and water mint (Mentha aquatica) show early, prolific growth.

Throughout the woodland garden and our many shade and sunny cottage beds, we are seeing early blooms and accelerated growth of plants we don't ordinarily enjoy until mid to late May.

Rock Cress, Arabis caucasica

Brunnera macrophylla, "Jack Frost"

Armeria maritima, thrift, or sea pinks

Another early surprise in the woodland garden are the trillium which appeared to sprout and blossom almost over night.

As I've prepared this post, the lilacs have erupted in full bloom and the mid spring tulips have also blossomed. Every day there is a colorful new surprise. Each month, you can enjoy blooms from gardens all over the world who participate in the monthly Garden Bloggers; Bloom Day. Hosted by fellow Blotanist Carol of Indiana, you can find links to visit all of the gardens that participate in this monthly bloomfest on her blog at May Dreams Gardens.

Savory Surprises in the Winter Garden

2012-03-22T00:10:00.005-04:00

When I think of the garden in winter, I think of dried seed pods and grasses, rose hips, and bare twigs. The thought of herbs rarely crosses my mind. Any green to be had in the winter garden is usually in the form of pine boughs.

After a season total of more than nine feet of snow last year, this winter has been eerily mild. Total snowfall barely topped a foot in aggregate and the temperatures were more like the kitchen refrigerator than a typical New England winter!

The garden under six inches of fluffy snow, March 4, 2012

Except when they were covered with snow and I was too lazy to dig out my boots, I was able to pick fresh rosemary, oregano, thyme, parsley, and mint throughout much of the winter.

Even when they spent a few days under snow, they all rebounded quickly and I've made tabouleh all winter from the bounty.

Flat Italian Parsley: I covered it with an overturned bucket or laundry basket when snow was expected.

On the deck, this shrub was the easiest to protect with a box or bucket when the weather was harsh.

The sage lasted through the New Year. The thyme remained green all winter.

Spearmint grew with abandon all winter long. The new growth is tender and flavorful.

Fresh oregano - a treat in pasta sauces, soups, and roasted meat.

With winter temperatures milder than normal and snowfall and ice storms infrequent, it was easy to protect tender herbs with an overturned laundry basket, box, or bucket. I didn't expect the sage to last past the first hard frost and was pleasantly surprised to be able to pick it into the New Year. With fresh herbs a few steps from my kitchen door, fresh tabouleh salad was a treat all winter. Serve it with homemade pita chips or with hummus on English muffins.

Fresh Tabouleh Salad

1 cup (dry) whole grain light bulghur (approximately 2-1/2 to 3 cups prepared)

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup flat Italian parsley, finely chopped

1 large seedless cucumber, finely diced

1 cup fresh mint, finely chopped

1 bunch green onions, finely diced (1/2 to 1 cup)

½ bulb garlic, minced

½ sweet orange pepper, finely diced (add more if desired)

½ sweet yellow pepper, finely diced (add more if desired)

2-3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and finely diced

½ cup finely chopped broccoli florets (use the florets only, no stems)

3 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme

2 lemons, squeezed and zested

2 Tablespoons champagne vinegar

½ cup extra virgin olive oil (add more as needed, depending on volume of bulghur)

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Bring two cups of water to a boil and add bulghur and salt. Simmer for 15 minutes and then turn off the heat and let the bulghur soak in the pan until soft. Test the texture of the bulghur and add more water and reheat as necessary until the bulghur is fluffy, soft and only slightly toothsome. Set aside in a large bowl to cool.

Finely chop the vegetables and herbs and add to the prepared bulghur. Add lemon zest and juice, pepper, oil, and vinegar. Toss with a large fork to mix. Add additional mint, lemon, salt, and pepper to taste.

Pita Chips

Pita pockets (large)
Olive oil
Oregano and Basil (dried)
Garlic Salt

Cut each pita pocket into 8 wedges and separate each wedge into two chips.
With a pastry brush, lightly brush the inside surface with olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic salt, basil and oregano. I either crush the basil and oregano with a mortar and pestle or grind it with an herb grinder to get a very powdery consistency.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 5-10 minutes (until the inside surfaces begin to turn golden brown).

Welcome Spring! Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, March 15, 2012

2012-03-21T12:58:00.001-04:00


March 10, 2012 - a surprise storm

Spring arrived early in New England. This is usually the time of the month when I am anxiously waiting for the last of the snow to melt and for the first signs of spring to appear. Last year at this time, we were still digging out of one of the snowiest winters in recent memory - more than 9 feet (almost 3 meters) of total snowfall. Ten days ago, we awoke to a wholly unexpected four inches of fluffy snow that almost completely melted away as we thought about shoveling over breakfast. It was the second such snowfall in as many weeks, and accounted for most of the snow we saw this winter.

This past weekend, we were outside in spring and summer clothing, enjoying temperatures that soared into the 70's F (20's C ), far above the norm for this time of year. With temperatures expected to top 80 degrees F (26 C) today, it's hard to believe that we are only into the third week of March.

The snowdrops weathered the snow quite nicely.

Compared to past years, the crocuses, hellebores, and snowdrops are blooming more than a month ahead of schedule.

The snowdrops first appeared during the last week of February and were covered with snow in the last storm. When I was photographing them again this week, I noticed for the first time the way the center of each blossom is a beautiful layered rosette of white petals edging in green. With their faces looking down at the ground, I never looked closely inside the blossom before!

I never studied the faces of the snowdrop blossoms before, which are angled down toward the soil.

The daffodils will opening in a matter of days.

Clumps of miniature iris are blooming very early. Usually they bloom much later, at the same time as the miniature daffodils which are planted in the same border but which have barely started to show buds.

Over the past two winters, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of squirrels and chipmunks and the beds are dotted with the openings to tunnels dug by the voles burrowing through our gardens. Last spring we noticed a significant decrease in the number tulips and daffodils, evidence of winter feeding on our bulbs. This spring, the amount of bulb loss is even more concerning. Where we ordinarily had large clumps of crocuses, scarcely a handful remain and some clumps have disappeared completely.

An opening to a tunnel created by a burrowing vole. In some areas of the garden, the tunnel network is so extensive, the ground actually feels spongy. At right, now that the perennials are beginning to sprout, they make a tasty treat for chipmunks and voles. This was a newly awakened hosta, whose tender shoots made a tasty salad for one garden visitor.

The best known harbingers of spring, most of our clumps of crocuses have been decimated by the voles. We'll plant more in the fall, but we'll need to address the rodents this summer.

The honeybees have returned. The hellebores have been alive with them from dawn to dusk, a most welcome sight!

The mauve and aubergine hellebores opened earliest and have been blooming since the beginning of the month, through two snowfalls, in fact. The lime green ones are now budded and ready to open, and the white ones opened on the 17th.

The miniature hyacinths seem to be the one spring bulb that the voles have avoided.

This past weekend we filled all of our planters with perky pansies. Another spring fixture in New England, usually we don't plant these until the end of April.

The rich mauve were not available, but the blue is definitely eye-catching.

The koi came out of hibernation and started schooling this week, which occurs once the water temperature in the pond is a consistent 50 degrees. We'll start feeding them Cheerios in a few days if they remain active. For now, they are feeding on the algae which remained in the pond and grew over the winter and early spring.

The star magnolia and yellow magnolias have plump buds.

Although the star magnolia usually opens well before the saucer magnolia, this year might be different. Several of the saucer magnolia buds have started to open already, about 6 weeks ahead of schedule. With the leaves having fallen, we were able to see a nest that sat in the top of the saucer magnolia. Hopefully, it will be reclaimed by another family of birds this spring!

In New England, lilacs can usually be counted on to be in bloom for Mother's Day. They are already beginning to leaf out and buds are already formed and beginning to develop.

Like the lilacs, the cherries are budded more than a month earlier than usual. We usually see the tree in bloom at the end of April. I won't be surprised to see the tree in bloom before the end of this month.

Whether it's from the effects of global warming, sun flares, la nina, or other variables, the mild winter and early spring, though most welcome to those of us who love to garden, may also lead to a variety of other issues we will need to contend with in terms of insect and rodent population shifts. It's hard to think about negative consequences, however, as I listen to the birds singing through the open doors to the patio where the temperature has now reached the 80 degree mark.

As a native Yankee, even though I am delighting in this glorious respite from winter, I still recall snowfalls well into May and I am not forgetting the age old warning not to plant tender annuals until "all danger of frost is past". April Fool's Day is less than two weeks away and it would be just like Mother Nature to follow this blissfully summer-like weather with a spate of frigid weather and perhaps even yet another snowfall. With that in mind, we are limiting our planting to pots and raised beds that can be easily protected if the weather changes dramatically.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is the brainchild of Carol, who blogs about her gardening escapades at May Dreams Gardens. Like me, Carol is a lover of spring (May in particular) who invites gardeners to record the blooms in their garden every month throughout the year on the 15th of the month. You can read more about it on her blog where you can also find links to tens of dozens of other gardens who celebrate their gardening blooms each month with Carol. Click here to visit Carol's fabulous blog!

New USDA Zone Hardiness Map

2012-02-01T14:07:00.000-05:00

USDA 2012 Hardiness Zone Map for Massachusetts

The USDA's 2012 Updated Zone Hardiness Map has been released. This is the first major update to the hardiness map since 1990 and according to this article in Horticulture Magazine, a "majority" of zones are now a half zone warmer.

The new hardiness zone designations represent the results of an analysis of 30 years of data and make a compelling statement about global "warming". So does today's weather: near 50 degrees F, overcast, with occasional showers.

Our zone has remained the same, which means we still probably can't grow crape myrtle <sigh> unless, of course, we plan to bring it in for the winter to join our Meyer lemon and honey fig in Steve's office or someone develops a hardier cultivar that can stand up to New England winters.

You can find the newest version of the USDA map here . This only applies to US zones. For international readers, About.com has a listing of links to World Hardiness Zones here.

Cathy and Steve are still in USDA Zone 6b, Sunset zone 34, anxiously waiting for spring to arrive on the seacoast, north of Boston, MA, USA

Filling the Frame - October GGW Photography Contest

2011-10-25T11:35:00.001-04:00

This month's "Picture This" photography contest at Gardening Gone Wild features a detailed explanation of the concept of "filling the frame" when setting up photographs in the garden.

Presented by acclaimed photographer Saxon Holt, the challenge he put to us this month was to use the the entire canvas - the full expanse of the photograph - to create a well constructed composition of elements or to feature and isolate an element that drew our eye.

I have to be honest, this month's contest has been the most challenging one for me so far.

I love the textures surrounding the pansies.

I've never taken even a basic photography course and I make this next confession with a fair amount of chagrin: I have never completely read the manual that came with the camera I've been using for the past 7 years either.

Having participated in several GGW contests over the past several months, what I have come to understand is that the more I learn, the more I am able to appreciate just how little I know. At the very least, I see some books on garden photography in my future!

This was a tiny splotch of color in the original photo.

Earlier this year, Nancy Ondra published a blog post that addressed point of view and staging when photographing garden subjects.

She gave some wonderful pointers and examples and I made a conscious effort to really look at what I was photographing.

I probably could have cropped the top a bit more.

Okay, I know that sounds a bit crazy, but what I mean is that I really looked at not just capturing the status of the garden beds and individual plants in pictures, but also capturing what she describes as "wow moments". I took her suggestions very much to heart and the end result was that I took double and sometimes even triple or more the number of pictures I've taken in years past.

In trying to improve my garden photography skills, I am thankful for two things: we are in the digital, not film, age of photography, and I have no reticence in relegating poor shots to the Recycle Bin.

I admit that it took me a while but now I have no trouble deleting duplicates, poorly constructed, and otherwise unnecessary photographs. (I know my computer appreciates it... I was rapidly filling up the memory on my hard drive with blurry pictures of flying insects.)

Given that I had been photographing our gardens, dogs, insects, fruits and vegetables, and weeds daily (yes, an average of almost 200 photographs or more each day, 4-5 days a week), I was certain that my biggest dilemma would be deciding which one of the potentially dozens of perfectly framed photographs I was certain I'd taken over the summer would be the best one to enter into the contest.

This is an example of a photograph that I struggled with. I captured a scene and cropped what I felt was the "story". But should I have focused on an element, and if so, which one? And should I have cropped more, and if so, how? I felt that the walkway on the right was integral to showing that the tea table was set in a garden along a walk.

After wading through more than three thousand photographs, I have to confess, as I tried to choose photographs to work with for this challenge, I was more confused than ever.

This was one of my top three picks for a contest entry but I felt it was too "flat." I tried to include the koi in the picture but no matter how I tried to position myself to shoot the frame, the abundant foliage of the water lily created too much green space between the lily and the koi. I tried unsuccessfully to reposition the the bloom and the leaves for a better shot.

I read through Saxon Holt's tutorial several times and even though I thought I understood the basic concepts involved, I have struggled to apply them in practical terms to my own photographs.

UPDATE: Ultimately, I submitted this photo....

His explanations are concise and cogent and I can see exactly what he means in the examples he gives. But where I fall short is in translating the concepts to my own pictures... I can't always find the "story" they are supposed to be telling me.

Although I am someone who learns best by reading, the absence of objective feedback makes it hard for me to know if I've really "gotten it" or if I'm just deluding myself into thinking I have. (I am guessing that in addition to several books, there is going to be a photography course in my future as well, LOL.)

Fortunately, he published another blog post yesterday in which he reviewed the fundamentals of creating a composition that "fills the frame" and included several more examples. I'm still not certain that I've been able to effectively translate the lesson to my photographs but as they say in New England, it's time to fish or cut bait.

I still struggle with the concept of "negative space" vs. "wasted" space. I also have difficulty determining if the "scene" should take center stage on my "canvas" (like his waterfall image does) or whether a more effective use of my canvas would be to isolate an element from that scene as he did with the image of the feather grass and Phormium.

From the perspective of negative space, this is probably a better photograph than the one below, but I was concerned that the hummingbird clearwing moth was not in perfect focus. My vision is impaired and I often can't tell if a photograph is in perfect or not. Thank heaven for the auto-focus function but it's not perfect and I am concerned it keyed on the bloom and not the moth.

As you can see from the photographs peppered throughout this post, I tried to apply the concepts of this challenge to photographs that I've taken over the summer. Deciding which photograph to submit for the contest was hard, not because I thought that they were all excellent examples of the technique, but rather, I am concerned that none of them demonstrate the concept all that well.

One of my top two contenders is this next photograph of a hummingbird clearwing moth. I love the way the out of focus blooms, twigs and leaves melt into the background yet form a frame around this amazing creature. I would have painted it exactly this way if I were dabbling in watercolors. My guess, however, is that the photograph posted above is a better use of the entire canvas. I suspect that an expert critiquing this image would note that what I view as attractive negative space is actually wasted space.

In answering the question I've asked myself about each photograph - What is the story this picture tells? - to me, the presence of the somewhat ethereal background evokes the idea of a faerie glen, not just your ordinary butterfly bush in a garden. (Okay, so I have a vivid imagination as well.) I also liked the way the dark foliage in the upper right corner brought out (at least to my untrained eye) the dark coloration on the clearwing.

The other top contender is this last photograph of one of my favorite roses, Bella Roma. A hybrid tea with a wonderful fragrance, I was struck by the way the cane and leaves "frame" the rose. I also love how a spray of the shrub rose Passionate Kisses that is blurred and out of focus forms a lovely backdrop for the single Bella Roma blossom. It reminds me of a botanical print.

My only regret is that I didn't groom the shrub before I photographed it to remove the dried bloom near the bottom of the frame. I considered cropping the bottom but felt that the leaf spray on the bottom was an essential part of the "frame" that I was trying to capture.

Bella Roma taking center stage in one of my favorite photographs

Other than cropping, I did not edit any of these photographs at all. As far as which photograph will ultimately be submitted to the contest before tonight's midnight deadline, perhaps you can help me decide. I vacillate between the two, but right now, I'm leaning toward the hummingbird clearwing moth, although I'm open to suggestions and feedback!

UPDATE: Well, the decision is in.... Steve was really taken with the photograph of the hummingbird clearwing and the common buckeye sharing a wand of buddleia blossoms and so that is the one I submitted.

Sour Grapes

2011-10-20T00:10:00.116-04:00

For the past month, two-year-old Katie, one of our Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, has had sporadic bouts of unexplained vomiting.

Mommy, I feel sick.

Although her activity level and appetite and even her bowel pattern remained completely normal, in between eating and playing, Katie has had several episodes where she brought up large amounts of basically nothing… clear liquid and little flecks of nothing recognizable, but nothing that looked suspicious or problematic either.

Typically, she will come in from playing outside, be very quiet for a while, and then without any warning, vomit once or several times.

We hadn’t been able to identify a cause or a pattern, and once she vomits, she is generally back to her normal self, appetite and all. In fact, more than once, she raced right back outside to play, rolling around in the grass or playing "chase" with the other dogs.

She was scheduled for her annual routine physical examination with our family veterinarian three weeks ago.

Although she had not vomited in the two days preceding the appointment, I mentioned it to the vet as it had happened often enough to be concerning.

He checked her over pretty carefully and found her to be in excellent health with no sign of a problem. He was as mystified as we were and told me to call if she had any further problems, but he found nothing at all abnormal or unusual in her examination or lab work.

The answer came unexpectedly when I was out photographing the briar patch last week. The golden raspberries are ripening and I wanted to get some photographs. The dogs went out with me and were running and playing under foot, all except for Katie, that is.

When I noticed she wasn’t with the others, I went to check and found her under the grape arbor, standing on tippy toes, snagging clusters of grapes off the vines. Suddenly, everything made sense.

I scooted her out of the arbor and into the house. Just inside the door, she vomited up clear fluid and essentially whole grapes.   That was followed by another round of vomiting a half hour later, with nothing showing in her gastric contents at that point. Clearly, I had my answer.

Grapes and raisins have long been known to be poisonous to dogs.   The earliest sign of a toxic effect from eating grapes is vomiting, and if the dog continues to eat grapes or ingests a large number of grapes, symptoms can progress rapidly and dramatically as kidney failure develops.

The toxicity caused by grapes and raisins can be serious - even lethal. While one grape is probably not going to be an issue for any dog, you certainly don't want your dog to develop a fondness for them.   And if they do have a penchant for them, it's one habit you want to nip in the bud.

Katie is a gulper and I think the fact that she didn't really chew them much if at all was her saving grace. The miracle is that her tummy rejected the grapes almost as soon as she would eat them. She was probably vomiting the grapes outside before she ever made it indoors, since we never saw any grapes or grape fragments at all in what she brought up before that instance.

It's exceedingly fortunate that given the number of grapes she was eating, she never developed any other acute gastrointestinal symptoms or signs of kidney involvement.

Steve and I clipped all of the grapes that were within her reach and carefully raked up and picked up the stragglers that had been knocked to the ground by birds and squirrels.

Prior to this year, none of our dogs ever gave the grape arbor much thought. They love other fruits and will nibble on sttrawberries and blueberries and figs, but none of them have ever shown any interest at all in the grapes or any of the other wild berries that the birds like to eat.

Until recently, the grapes that have been produced have been high enough on the lattice to be completely out of their reach. This year, we added some new vines that produced some low growing sweet green grapes.

We’ve resolved the problem for the time being, but we will be alert to this in the future. We are planning on putting a short fence around the arbor in the spring. At the very least, we will be sure the vines are tied up and that grapes are out of reach, but a short fence is an inexpensive extra pound of prevention.

When we were shopping earlier in the season, we saw some pretty metal fence sections that have stakes that push into the ground. That would be an effective, decorative solution. These dogs are very short and even a 12-18 inch fence is an adequate barrier. It's something we can easily step over, but it will keep them safely away from any grapes that might fall on the ground.

Determined not to miss out on her current favorite treat, she snuck over to the arbor and headed straight for where she hoped to find some grapes. We had been watching where she headed and gave her a stern warning to stay away.

We've had to monitor her carefully, but after three days of being sent up to the deck or brought into the house every time she went near the arbor, she finally has decided that it is probably a good idea to stay away from that corner of the yard. We don't dare let our guard down though; grape toxicity is nothing to fool with in dogs.

My mom is such a meanie!

She’s not happy that we’ve come between her and the motherlode of sweet, and her facial expression says it all.

There is no question that the phytonutrients in brightly colored fruits and vegetables are beneficial antioxidants that serve a protective function in both humans and dogs. But like chocolate, grapes and raisins are definitely off the menu for our furkids, much to Miss Katie’s dismay.

This experience brought us up short. We are generally pretty careful pet parents but she was so stealthy, she escaped detection for quite a while.

But that reminded me that not everything in the garden is either appetizing or safe to eat. While the birds might be enjoying the berries of the bittersweet, that is another berry that would not be healthy for Katie to snack on. Before she even got the idea to sample the colorful berries, I went around the yard, pulling up the bittersweet and relegating it to the compost pile. The birds who enjoy the fruit can get it there, but I don't want Katie to decide to try that as well!

If I were only just a little bit taller.... I can dream, can't I?

But Mom, I was only looking at them. I wasn't going to try to eat any more, honest! It's not fair to make me sit on the deck!

Evolution - Word for Wednesday - October 19, 2011

2011-10-19T00:23:00.003-04:00

Today's "Word for Wednesday" theme is Evolution, or Evolve.

"Word for Wednesday" is a biweekly meme hosted by Donna at Garden Walk Garden Talk . Donna proposes a word for participants to express in some way in photographs of things in our gardens. Most of the words are concepts with multiple related definitions that can be interpreted and expressed in many widely disparate ways. Evolution is no exception.

From a scientific perspective, evolution refers to the process of change over time in inherited traits in any living thing... birds, bees, butterflies, and begonias included (as well as human beings).

As someone fluent in Mendelian inheritance, I am intimately familiar with the concept as it applies to biology. From a strictly biologic perspective, the metamorphosis experienced by Monarchs and other butterflies and moths, the pollination (and cross-pollination) of flowers to produce seeds, and the development of hybrid cultivars all demonstrate different aspects of evolution.

Evolution as a process of growth, development, metamorphosis and change can be applied to anything - a point of view, a fashion trend, even technology. We recently showed the evolution of the Masonic Center Garden.

I pondered how best to portray the evolution our garden is undergoing. For those who attribute evolution to the effects of Mother Nature, she has certainly been the impetus for change here, although not quite in the way that Charles Darwin would have envisioned it. A series of Nor'Easters in February - March, 2010 and this summer's Hurricane Irene that have had a huge impact on our garden beds that will affect what we are able to grow in each bed for years to come.

In this photograph, you can see a very large pine tree in the left rear of our property that shaded several garden beds in that area of the yard.

One of the 2010 Nor'easters brought severe flooding and sustained winds at 90 mph that toppled this pine and another similarly sized pine which stood on the opposite side of the yard.

Each of the two pine trees were at least 40-50 feet tall, with trunks that were almost 2 feet in diameter. We never appreciated just how much they contributed to the shade of some of the beds until they were gone.

Likewise, several beds on the north side of the yard were in deep shade from willows growing on the neighbor's property.

One of two willows that stood just over the property line in the neighbors' yard. Last summer they removed one of them that had become diseased. This summer, Hurricane Irene destroyed this tree as well. Three other trees in the middle of their yard have also been removed. The trees completely concealed the sights and sounds of the street beyond, and along with a large maple tree that is still standing, cast that entire quadrant of our yard in deep shade.

Hurricane Irene destroyed this tree and several others were also diseased, so the property opwners had all of the trees removed, a decision we completely support even though our deep shade gardens are now in full sun for much of the day.

This view was completely shielded by the two large willows shown in the photo immediately above this one.

We can now see the street as it curves past the neighbor's home. This photograph looks out over the area where the willows (there were a total of 5 that have been removed) formerly stood. For reference, you can see the top of the sun clock in the lower right edge of the photograph.

As luck would have it, we have been blessed with three tuliptrees that recently sprouted on our property (we'll be posting about them soon!). In the spring, two of them will be moved to the side yard near where the willows were removed. In a few years, we hope that some of the privacy and shade that we lost will be restored. Until that happens, some of the shade gardens are now going to be in bright sun for the foreseeable future, so it will be interesting to see how the plants in the shade beds will fare next summer.

As for our full shade foliage garden, it is still going to be in partial shade, but our plan for that bed is currently evolving. It will remain a dedicated foliage garden, but our plant choices will have to be modified to fit with the changing landscape and lightscape.

Evolution.... we have chosen to embrace the changes taking place in and around our garden. In the spring, we will rebuild several of our beds as we move trees and perennials to parts of the yard that best suit their needs.

Embracing Autumn - GBBD October 15, 2011

2011-10-17T10:05:00.003-04:00

Embracing Autumn. I've been trying to take my cue from all of the bloggers posting about the wonderful sights and smells of autumn but it's very hard for me to do. Spring is definitely my favorite time in the garden.

Not because autumn isn't beautiful, for it is. In fact, many would say that nowhere in the world is autumn quite as beautiful as it is in New England, where the fall foliage is usually vibrant, the red and orange and gold so vivid, the forests seem to glow as if on fire.

So why can't I enjoy the crisp air, the way leaves swirl along the edge of the driveway in the breeze, the changing colors and textures in the garden? Well, for one, if autumn is here, can winter be far behind?

This year, autumn has been less fun than usual, in part because the traditional fall colors have been muted in the extreme. I'm hoping that the brilliant hues we normally see are simply delayed.

The sugar maple across the street is usually a brilliant orangey red in late September. Last year (top photo), I collected leaves and waxed them to send to soldiers we support in Afghanistan and to decorate the table with for Thanksgiving.

This year, the leaves have all fallen and barely achieved a passable gold before they began swirling around the entrance to our driveway.

I hear that the color is better in the Mount Washington and Berkshire regions, but there is no question that rainy and cool end of summer weather has affected the fall color where we live.

Although autumn has definitely arrived in our gardens and most of the perennials have set seed and are going dormant for the winter, we still have a rainbow of colors. The roses, especially, are doing their part to make sure that the garden is alive with color and a haven for bees, butterflies, and birds.

The large swaths of blooming perennials are definitely a thing of the past, but virtually every summer-blooming plant has sent up a flower or two or more, providing sometimes unexpected pops of color throughout the yard.

Nothing says autumn in a New England cottage garden like wild asters. Owing to the influence of Nancy Ondra, we planted our first ornamental grasses this summer. The combination with wild asters that self-seeded in all of the cottage beds is a breath of fresh air after the disappointing foliage display!

The other big surprise this month is the lavender. We have our formal beds edged in Munstead lavender and it typically peaks in June. We trim it back in early August and usually get to enjoy a second, lighter bloom in September. This year, while some of the rest of the garden has struggled with the heavy rain and cooler than normal temperatures, our lavender (which normally isn't fond of being damp, mind you) has thrived and is stealing the show. The second bloom has been even more robust than the June bloom, and even after a more than a month, the hedges are still flowering enthusiastically.

I love to cook with lavender. I dry buds to use in baking, save wands to flavor the barbecue, and also burn wands in the fireplace in winter. I've added lavender to cupcakes, tea, and even to a meat rub. But my favorite use of lavender is definitely medicinal. I use commercial lavender oil on light bulbs to perfume the house and spritz our bedsheets with lavender linen spray. I find the fragrance helps me to sleep better and to relax when I'm anxious.

But we truly appreciated lavender as a medicinal herb following our tricolor Cavalier King Charles Spaniel's two neurosurgeries. Spencer (Eulenburgs's Voyage Home, Spencer Tracy) earned his nickname "Toughie" because of the determination he showed to survive a catastrophic congenital brain malformation that left him near death when he was four months old.

Keeping him on bed rest after both his first emergency brain operation and his second operation a year and a half after the first for insertion of a shunt was made tremendously easier with the use of lavender, which I put in his food and sprayed on his bedding in his pen.

With the room totally perfumed, I'm not sure who it helped the most, him or me. But three years later, if he has a headache or is experiencing an increase in neurological symptoms, he will immediately seek out the lavender and self-medicate. When I see him lying on the hedges or nibbling on the buds and blooms, it usually means a visit to the vet is in the offing..

This photograph was taken this week, just before Toughie's most recent visit to the vet for his acupuncture treatment.

The roses continue to send forth fragrant, gorgeous blooms, although many are somwhat stunted by the persistent rain and cold. late summer and fall perennials are putting on a show, and there is beauty in the seed pods, garden visitors, and even in some of the weeds!

Although there is plenty of yellow, white, orange, and pink to go around, the red roses are stealing the show this week. The Double Red Knock-Out's are covered with blooms, and both Mister Lincoln and Olympiad have provided bouquets for the house. But the real treat this week has been Dublin Bay. Although it's a climber, we prune it and grow it as a shrub rose. This rose has shown a remarkable resistance to mildew and the dark red blooms are stunning. The shrub has been covered with blossoms for the past month.

Sprays of Double Red Knock-Out roses are plentiful. The red and white open faced bloom of the Fourth of July climber are a luscious blend of red, white and pink.

Some of the red beauties blooming today are Dublin Bay (top left), a climber that we prune and grow as a shrub rose, Olympiad (top right), Double Red Knock-Out (bottom left), and Mister Lincoln (bottom right).

Also filling the garden with red are the geraniums and a late summer surprise, Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans).

When we bought the sage, we got it because I loved the fragrance and thought it would be fun to cook with. And indeed, I used it to add a hint of pineapple goodness to some meat dishes and cupcakes over the summer.

I was surprised this week when tall spikes of red flowers began blooming in the herb garden! My first thought that was that it looked like the cardinal flower we see growing along the river banks where we canoe. A sniff of a leaf confirmed that what had been a relatively compact plant for much of the summer now looked like an herb on steroids and had attained a height of 4 feet seemingly overnight.

Other pops of red are showing up everywhere in our pots and container plantings where an assortment of both Nova geraniums and ivy geraniums continue to fill the planters with color.

Geranium blossoms from some of our container gardens. We also had assorted pinks, white, and lavenders but none of those are blooming although several buds are ready to open. We'll bring many of them in for the winter.

The pink roses are just behind the red when it comes to beautiful garden color. Pink blooming perennials are also doing their part to provide late summer color.

Lovely pink roses currently in bloom include Bonica (top left), Cape Diamond (top right), Wisely (bottom left), and Passionate Kisses (bottom right).

We are also enjoying Gertrude Jekyll (top left), Blushing Knock Out (top right), Cupcake (middle left), Memorial Day (middle right)., Lady Elsie May (bottom left), and Mary Rose (bottom right).

A few Japanese Anemone blossoms are still blooming in most of our beds, although nothing like they were a month ago (top left). A deep pink zinnia (top right) from one of the raised beds on the deck - we also have them in the perennial beds to give fall color; The spirea continues to bloom (bottom left); Sedum Brilliant (bottom right) has given a brilliant performance.

Left Top: Snapdragons that have been growing in one of the planters around the base of one of our potted trees. Bottom left: A striking pink phlox. This popped up unexpectedly in a spot in the garden where I don't recall ever planting any phlox, and the plant is only about 24 inches tall. Right: We still see some coneflowers here and there through the garden, although most have faded and the tops have dried.

There is precious little orange in our garden this time of year, aside from the Monarchs which have been visiting our Butterfly Garden for the past 6 weeks, and some of our koi. The orange lilies are busy producing seeds, their blooms long since passed. And the foliage that usually provides brilliant orange color has been a major disappointment. The "orange" roses, Tropicana and Fragrant Cloud, which have been blooming all summer, have slowed down and although they are both sporting buds on several stems, with the cooler temperatures and shorter days, the blooms are much slower to develop.

A Monarch in our Butterfly Garden.

Hints of orange and peach are seen in the Pee Gee Hydrangea (top left), Apricot Drift rose (top right), Bella Roma (bottom left), and Hot Cocoa (bottom right.)

The hydrangea tree on our deck (top left) has white blooms that turn deep apricot and then warm peachy rose. The single yarrow bloom, though deep pink, looks almost peachy as a result of the bright yellow blossom centers. Two blooms of What a Peach rose (bottom left and middle) show a blossom that has just opened (middle) and another that is about a week old (left). And a just opening bud of our Peace rose (bottom right) shows a lovely mix of yellow and pink.

Yellow flowers are among Steve's favorites and we have been adding more and more to our gardens.

This is our first year planting Texas Tarragon (top left) in the herb garden. It makes a lovely tarragon chicken. We do not cultivate goldenrod (top right) as we are both allergic to it, but volunteers from the meadow behind us pop up here and there. Hotel California (bottom left) continues to bloom and the yellow marigolds we planted among the vegetables on the deck are at their peak in terms of blooms and beauty (bottom right).

The bright yellow bud of Rio Samba (top left) evolves into a deep yellow and rose and then yellow and orange beauty. More goldenrod (top right) Yellow calibrachoa (bottom) cascades over the edge of one of our planters.

Texas Tarragon (top left) in the herb garden. Yellow strawflowers (top right). Yellow zinnias (bottom left). Rudbeckia (bottom right).

Julia Child (top left) has been a star performer this summer. Macy's Pride has been our most favorite yellow bloom this summer. An enthusiastic performer, the shrub has been covered with blooms all summer (top right and right). Rio Samba is another favorite (left middle and bottom) .These blooms just opened and by mid week, the color of the petals will have evolved to a beautiful rose and then orange bi-color. When we have less rain and more sun, the color change is more dramatic and vivid.

Lavender and purple are well-represented in the garden as well this time of year. The wild asters are popping up everywhere. (We've had to pull some over-enthusiastic volunteers who were growing where they shouldn't.)

The violas benefited from a late summer haircut and are once again covered in blossoms, many of which I have pressed to use in paper crafts over the winter.

Top: Lavender wild asters, lavender phlox; Bottom: Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender', Cranesbill "Jolly Bee"

Left: Lavender Mexican Heather, Cuphea hyssopifolia; Right: Purple petunias

Buddleia, Butterfly bushes,"Dark Knight" (purple) and "White Profusion" (white)

"White Profusion", white butterfly bush with a carpenter bee seeking nectar.

Clematis Henryii on the left, a single bloom on the left lamp post. A single lavender bloom (cultivar unknown) also appeared on the strawberry garden trellis.

Top Left: Wild asters, white. Top Right: White straw flowers. Bottom left: Montauk Daisies, which do not usually re-bloom to this extent, are blooming again in in the herb garden. Bottom Right: White echinaceaa (coneflowers).

Although it appears almost creamy when the buds are just opening, the bloom on the left is John F. Kennedy and will open into a beautiful white tea rose. If the middle bloom, Lace Cascade, looks familiar, it's because of its relationship (identical) to Iceberg. Lace Cascade is a climber, and I'm not sure why it wasn't simply named Climbing Iceberg. The New Dawn blossom on the right is the palest pink, having opened a slightly deeper shade and then faded nearly white with age.

The nights are getting colder and the days shorter, and we have already begun the task of preparing the beds for winter. While most of the perennials have stopped blooming and seed heads are drying, we still are able to enjoy beautiful rose and perennial bouquets. Even as the perennials slowly fade, the roses will continue to bloom right until it snows.

The other hallmarks of the fall garden are the fruits and berries that provide food for us and winter food for the wildlife in the area. I'll feature those in next week's foliage tour of our gardens.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is the brainchild of Carol who blogs about her gardening escapades at May Dreams Gardens. Like me, Carol is a lover of spring (May in particular) who invites gardeners to record the blooms in their garden every month throughout the year on the 15th of the month. You can read more about it on her blog where you can also find links to tens of dozens of other gardens who celebrate their gardening blooms each month with Carol. Click here to visit Carol's fabulous blog!

Repose: Word for Wednesday, October 5, 2011

2011-10-05T15:41:00.002-04:00

Donna at Garden Walk Garden Talk has chosen the word Repose for this week's "Word for Wednesday" word inspiration.

Every other week, Donna posts a word that needs to be expressed in some way using photographs of things in our garden.

This week, I interpreted the challenge in a very literal way, for lying in my garden is a sweet little girl who spends sunny afternoons reposing under the sand cherry tree and indulging in her favorite pastime - reading.

Shortly after our marriage, Steve and I were reminiscing about how we spent our summers when we were children. I told him that one of my favorite things to do was to lie on the grass under a tree and read. Not long after that, he spotted a cement cast of this figurine at the garden shop and he surprised me with it.

I was incredibly touched by his thoughtfulness. The little girl was about a foot long, petite but detailed, and I loved it. At the time, we were building our very first cottage bed together and I set her in the bed where she nestled among the wood violets.

The following year, we hired a landscaper to begin work on the hardscape in our garden. I came home from work one day to discover that one of the workmen had driven over the little girl with a piece of heavy equipment and shattered her. I was distraught. I'm very sentimental and the little figurine meant a lot to me. Steve promised to get another one and over the summer, we hunted for a replacement in vain.

Fast forward two years. We were strolling through the garden department at Home Depot one evening when Steve spotted the very same figure lying on a shelf next to some pots of plants, out of easy reach. The figurine was a much larger version of the original cement one and much heavier, as it was cast in bronze.

I thought the price tag of this larger and most impressive version of the original would be a deal breaker so I was more than a little surprised when one of the customer service clerks climbed up on a ladder and took the figure down from her perch and carried her to our car. Steve said he couldn't pass her up, no matter the cost. What a sweetheart! I love the figurine and she reposes in a place of honor in the front of our main cottage garden.

Today she reposes among the ivy, under the sand cherry tree, between two favorite roses, Lady Elsie May and Macy's Pride.

On a slightly different note, I couldn't help but note the other day that when it comes to actually reposing, our four Cavalier King Charles Spaniels have elevated it to an art form.

From L to R, Emily Rose (ruby, age 7 years), Elizabeth Rebecca (black and tan, age 13-1/2 years), Katherine Hepburn AKA Katie Cuddles (Blenheim, age 2 years), and Spencer Tracy AKA Toughie (tricolor, age 5 years)

Please drop by Donna's blog, Garden Walk, Garden Talk, to join in her Word for Wednesday meme!

Building a Public Rose Garden: The Masonic Center Garden

2011-09-25T16:45:00.013-04:00

by Steve Wieder

The Masonic Center, Newburyport, MA, September, 2011

It's hard to believe that 18 months ago, the garden pictured above was scarcely more than an idea inspired by a photograph.

During Square and Compass Day, a state-wide Masonic Open House held in October, 2009, a visitor dropped by the Masonic Center in Newburyport, Massachusetts with this photograph of the Masonic Lodge circa the mid 1930's.

The building itself has hardly changed in the 75 years since the photograph was taken. Aside from the color of the doors, the only readily discernible difference is the grounds.

The vintage photograph depicted a well-established garden. None of the current active members could remember the plantings that had been totally replaced by a lawn.

A designated historic landmark in the City of Newburyport, The Masonic Center building was originally a private residence designed in the Federalist style. The grand colonial revival façade was added in 1929 when the building was converted for use as a Masonic meeting place and permanent home for several Masonic fraternal organizations.

The Masonic bodies currently headquartered in the Masonic Center have a history that predates the acquisition of the 31 Green Street location by more than a century and a half.

St. John's Lodge, one of the the Masonic Center's founding Masonic bodies, will celebrate the 250th Anniversary of its original charter in 2016. One of the oldest Masonic Lodges in Massachusetts, St. John's was chartered in 1766, the fourth lodge to be established in Massachusetts and only the second to be established outside of Boston.

In preparation for celebrating St. John's quarter-millennial, we have undertaken renovations that are primarily cosmetic - painting inside and out, polishing, organizing the museum rooms. But until we saw the photograph of the original gardens, no thought had been given to making any changes to the grounds themselves.

At Square and Compass Day, presided over by Brother Spencer, our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who serves as St. John's Lodge's unofficial mascot, I was asked if I could identify the plantings in the photograph and whether I thought we could recreate the gardens in the picture in time for the anniversary celebration.

I suggested consulting my wife, Cathy. She designed our gardens and is far more knowledgeable about gardening than I am. I generally follow her lead and try to avoid pulling up things that aren't weeds.

Cathy was of the opinion that the plantings that were in the photograph weren't suitable for the area and might account for the garden's demise. She agreed to do some research and to put together a presentation for the Board. A Board of Trustees makes all major decisions about the building, and since it is also a historic landmark, care had to be taken with the aesthetics of the project.

My wife is a paper artist and gardening and garden design are her avocations. I admit to being somewhat biased but I think her skill rivals that of many professionals. As she planned the layout and researched plant selections, I felt that Cathy was up against it because the area where this garden was to be built had many challenges that would be difficult to work around.

Barely a quarter mile from the waterfront, winter means Nor'Easters and gale force winds, ice storms, and flooding and salt from the street. In the heart of the city on one of the busiest and most heavily trafficked streets, automobile exhaust, which coats plantings with toxic, oily pollutants, and heat reflected off the asphalt would affect everything we planted. The building sits in bright sun with the grounds shaded only by the building itself. One of the members mowed the lawn each week, but we don't have a formal groundskeeper.

Mindful of all of this, she chose plants that would be heat and drought tolerant, would stand up to the pollution generated by the volume of traffic on a busy city street, would be able to weather some very harsh winter storms, and wouldn't require hours of skilled landscaping care each week.

The other major consideration we had was financial. Much of the discretionary funds available to the Masonic bodies who share the building were being spent on refurbishing the inside of the building. There was no real budget for the grounds aside from nominal amounts for snow removal and mowing the lawn. Not only did she put together a viable project, she did it with a minimalist budget. Excluding the irrigation hardware, the total outlay for materials to build the garden, including compost, mulch, and plants, was roughly $1,500, most of which was donated by brothers who are members of the Masonic groups who are headquartered at the Center.

I expected her to take a pragmatic approach so when she came up with a plan to build a low maintenance rose garden, it sounded like an oxymoron even to me. I'm her husband and together we have 200 roses in our own garden. They are gorgeous but far from low maintenance. I was very skeptical about her plan and envisioned many hours of spraying, deadheading, and pruning in my future.

I should have had more faith. Her plant recommendations were perfect for the space. She suggested double knock-out roses for summer long color and incorporated both dwarf white rhododendrons and rose of Sharon shrubs to connect the white pillars of the facade with the rest of the garden. In terms of a low maintenance garden, it doesn't get any better than knock out roses.

A large sign was to be installed in the left bed and we needed something large to balance it and anchor the right bed. She suggested a Cleveland ornamental pear tree.

As Cathy pointed out to the Board in her presentation, this tree is covered in white blooms in early spring, has a perfect oval conformation that would fit completely within the space available. And since it produces no fruit, it would not pose a temptation to mischief makers intent on crab apple fights nor would there be any messy fruit rotting on the sidewalk to pose a slip and fall risk for people walking by.

The Board was wowed by her sometimes tongue in cheek yet well researched presentation and the go ahead was given to commence with the project last spring.

She came up with a materials list and members volunteered to fund everything from a yard of compost to one or more roses. Many brothers volunteered their time and muscle power to assist me in actually building the garden.

This was a major factor in our being able to take on the project in the first place. It would have been cost-prohibitive to have a professional landscaping company come in and build the garden.

Several of the members offered to install an irrigation system as part of the same project. Work commenced to lift the sod and install the pipes for the irrigation system on April 30, 2010, the day before we planned to build the garden.

Building the Garden - Day One

Building the garden was accomplished in three days. Day One consisted of lifting sod, a first pass with the rototiller, and laying pipes and installing heads for the irrigation system.

Cathy had drawn a landscaping plan to scale and one of the brothers took her diagrams and created a master plan that incorporated the pipes as well as the plantings.

During the planning phase, Cathy and I dug down under the sod to check the quality of the soil. We were pleased not to have to dig clay out, but in order to add in the requisite compost, manure, and peat to amend the soil to support a garden, we needed to dig out and remove two truckloads of gravel.

A Masonic brother from a lodge in a neighboring town came to our aid with a small tractor and dump truck and hauled away the gravel.

Building the Garden - Day Two

We spent much of Day Two completing the installation of irrigation conduits and tilling in the amendments to the soil.

We had loads of compost and mulch dumped in the driveway and bought bales of peat and manure. We moved the compost to the beds with wheelbarrows, and spread the compost, manure and peat with rakes. After it was all added in and spread fairly evenly, we rototilled again.

We purchased the compost from Martignetti's, where I buy materials for my own garden. They have a superior product that I often use in my own beds when I run short of my home made compost. The compost they delivered was rich and black.

That tan sandy dirt had to be transformed into a healthy gardening medium. It took two days to get it there.

We had seven cubic yards (3/4 of a truck) of compost delivered. In wheelbarrow loads, it's ... a lot.

Spreading compost, manure and peat over the bed, to be tilled into the remaining dirt.

Setting in the last bit of pipe for the irrigation system. Because of finances, only the first part of this project could be completed at the outset, meaning that we didn't have a functioning system last summer. But the necessary plumbing was installed before planting and we will be able to complete it by the end of this gardening season.

The amendments were tilled into the beds and I went behind, picking up rocks that got thrown up from the underlying dirt.

We also took the opportunity to clean and prune the hedge we share with a neighbor. It had become an overgrown, weedy eyesore.

Several brother Masons pitched in to help and we were able to get the beds ready to plant by the end of the second day. A small strip of grass and a short hedge serves as a buffer between the Masonic Center grounds and the building to our right. The hedge had been sorely neglected and one of the members trimmed out the weeds and shaped it.

Building the Garden - Day Three

Cathy had tried to get the plants from local nurseries but she couldn't find anyone who stocked the particular cultivar of rhododendrons she wanted, which are a dwarf white reblooming variety, and no one had potted knock-out roses available that early in the season.

We were on a tight time frame for the project. As the project organizer, I only had this one weekend free to coordinate the preparation of the beds and planting. She found a mail order nursery that was able to commit to a shipping date that would get the roses and shrubs delivered on April 29th or 30th so they could be planted immediately after delivery. Best of all, they were running early spring specials so we were able to get potted plants in gallon pots or larger at an affordable price.

The project was slated to commence on April 30th with planting on Sunday, May 2nd. Cathy was supposed to be attending a papercrafter's convention that entire weekend and had planned to be away from Thursday through Sunday evening.

There was no flexibility in the timeline for the project so I was relieved when she offered to skip all but a couple of the late afternoon and evening sessions on Saturday so she could be there to give hands-on guidance. The fact that she also thought to supply everyone with ice water, lemonade, and snacks was another perk to having her there.

On Planting Day, we first laid out landscaping cloth for weed control and then Cathy set out the plants according to the diagram. We cut the cloth and dug out the holes for each shrub, and then added SoilMoist and composted manure directly into each hole.

After the plants were set into the ground, we spread a thick layer of mulch to help insulate the ground below to maintain a lower temperature around the roots and help prevent rapid evaporation of water. This proved crucial to the survival of the garden. Later that summer, we experienced a severe drought and with watering restrictions in place, these steps insured that the garden would be able to weather that unexpected challenge.

We cut a large X in the landscaping fabric where each plant was to go. That way, we could bring the edges back around the plant to minimize the area where weeds could penetrate.

Once again, several brothers from the lodge pitched in to get the job done.

We had about 10 cubic yards of mulch, enough to put about 6 inches on top of the landscape cloth. It was a lot to spread with wheelbarrows and rakes, but it has been effective at keeping weeds to a minimum.

We mounded extra mulch along the building and we were able to pull that down this spring and spread it over the beds.

After we picked up the tools and swept up the mulch, we stood back and admired our new garden.

Six weeks after planting, the change is dramatic. Cathy planted some geraniums to add some color until the roses could provide color on their own.

Once the roses started blooming, they didn't stop until November and the shrubs more than doubled in size the first year.

When she laid out the project, Cathy was very cognizant of the amount of heat this downtown location would be subjected to and that weighed heavily into her plant selections. Of all of the ideas she came up with to make this garden as low maintenance as possible, the steps she recommended to help conserve water - using the SoilMoist, and adding landscape cloth and a thick layer of mulch to keep the ground insulated - proved invaluable. Not even a month after the beds were planted, we were headlong into a drought that lasted for several months and ultimately led to the City initiating a ban on outdoor watering. For a newly planted garden, that could have been catastrophic.

The ban allowed alternate day watering for a brief period in the morning. With the added responsibility of our own extensive gardens to maintain, I only managed a weekly watering at the Masonic Center garden during the time of the water restrictions. The water conserved by the thick layer of mulch and retained by the SoilMoist got this garden through its infancy quite successfully.

Building the Garden - One Year Later

A year later, the Masonic Center garden is well on its way to being the beautiful garden my wife and I envisioned.

Earlier this spring, while the tree was covered with white blossoms, pink and purple tulips and hyacinths bloomed around its base and in clumps through the beds.

We planted some pansies and they continued to bloom all summer. They have not bolted despite the intense heat we had through much of July and August.

Cathy's plan has evolved as the garden has matured. Instead of the ivy she originally intended to use to form a foundation planting beneath and around the roses, we added white drift roses. We have also added several peonies and a peony tree to anchor the far right corner of the building.

Someone in the lodge added some large rocks to the landscape which fit perfectly in the design and look very nice. I'm happy to see other brothers taking some ownership and adding to the beauty of the garden. Cathy planted clumps of white bell-flowers next to the stones and they've been blooming all summer.

These are the same roses that were about a foot high and wide a year ago. They are a mass of pink and red color.

The white blooming rhododendrons and drift roses pick up on the white trim of the windows and pillars.

The garden has filled out immensely in just one year.

Cathy and I take care of the feeding and some occasional pruning and watering when needed. The total amount of work involved is on the order of 2-3 hours every other week or less.

Planting drift roses and doing some spring weeding and pruning earlier this spring.

It was a very wet spring but I have had to water a couple of times over the summer when the weather turned hot and the precipitation has decreased dramatically.

One of the nicest things that has come of this project has been the interest and appreciation it has generated among both passersby and members of the lodge. When we are there, most people walking by stop to compliment the garden and comment on the beauty of the roses.

When my wife and I dropped by to water and prune a bit in mid-June, we were delighted to see that one of my Masonic brothers had placed flags around the perimeter in honor of Flag Day, which were left out through the Fourth of July.

Peonies bloom in the corner behind the roses on the right, and on the far left, a large rock has taken up residence between two of the roses.

The pansies have lasted well in the heat. The drift roses and peonies were planted a couple of weeks before these photographs were taken. The drift roses have nearly doubled in size and began to bloom in earnest this past month.

There is a rose of Sharon in the corner on each side of the facade. Cathy felt that the shrubs' pure white blooms would connect the pillars with the garden. The roses and rhododendrons will not grow over the lintel but when full grown, will barely reach the bottom of the windows.

Taken June 21st, the above photographs show the garden decorated with flags for Flag Day and Independence Day.

But nothing captures the effect the garden has had better than these paired before-and-after pictures.

The left bed, looking toward the front door.

The left bed, looking toward the driveway.

The right bed, looking toward the walkway to the right side entrance.

The right bed, looking toward the front door.

With the fall activities commencing and the dedication of the sign scheduled in a week, Cathy and I spent about an hour last week doing some clean-up, deadheading, and minor pruning. I was amazed at how much the garden has matured over the summer. Here's what it looked like on September 19th, sixteen months (and one winter) after planting.

The roses have been a mass of color all summer.

The white drift roses will be a beautiful ground cover after they mature.

The garden takes a few hours a month to maintain.

Garden Bloggers' Foliage Day - September, 2011

2011-09-24T17:59:00.002-04:00

Christina, who writes from Italy on her blog, Creating my Own Garden of the Hesperides, has started a new meme focusing on foliage.

This is particularly timely for us because this summer, we planted the skeleton of our first garden bed that is dedicated to foliage.

Inspired by Nancy Ondra's book Foliage, many of the plants in the bed do bloom but all were chosen for the architectural and textural interest their foliage brought to the garden.

Our foliage garden is nestled under a large maple tree, so it's heavily shaded. We've planted an assortment of hostas, heucheras, ferns, and some ground-covering vines. We still have a lot of work to do on it - it won't be finished until next year - but once we started looking beyond blooms, it opened up an amazing array of possibilities for us. Even though some of the plants in the bed do bloom, their blossoms are far less interesting than their leafy elements and we chose them for their leaves.

Focusing on this bed has made us more aware of the beauty of the foliage surrounding us in the other beds, even foliage of plants that are prized for their blooms. Here is a sampling.

The leaves of the Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus) are just beginning to acquire the scarlet color that makes them such a showstopper in the fall.

This heuchera ordinarily has deep burgundy - bronze leaves during the summer. In the fall, as the plant goes dormant, the leaves turn to shades of sage and gold.

The variegated leaves of this heuchera have made a wonderful contrast with other elements of the foliage bed.

Hostas and other foliage plants that are starting to fill in the foliage bed. At back is a screen formed by the as yet untrimmed branches of the neighbor's weeping willow which was damaged by Hurricane Irene.

English Ivy cascades from our cottage beds onto our front walk. We let it grow untrimmed this year as our neighbors are replacing a retaining wall that they wanted to plant with ivy. They are almost ready to plant it, and when it goes in, it will have plenty of growth to cascade over the edge.

Penny-wort and variegated water iris in the water garden.

One of our climbing roses, New Dawn, sent up several new canes. I love how the stem, leaves, and thorns are tinged with burgundy.

After surviving severe winter injury, our sand cherry tree is enjoying life as a shrub. It is fully leaved out, healthy, and has numerous new shoots and branches.

We have several beds of stachys growing in different parts of the garden.

Astilbe in the foreground, blue spruce and potentilla on the rocks in the background.

The herb garden. Clockwise from upper right: Clematis Betty Corning on the fence, anise hyssop, Italian flat parsley, lemon balm (a volunteer), Texas tarragon (yellow flowers bottom left), basil "Mozzarella" (left) and purple basil (center).

Be sure to visit Christina's blog for a show of foliage and share some of your own garden examples.

Our End-of-the-Summer Garden

2011-09-22T21:42:00.003-04:00

It's officially autumn and even if the leaves on the trees have not yet begun to change color in earnest, there is no question that summer in the garden is rapidly coming to a close.

"So what speaks to you in your garden? What are the colors and textures you want to remember?” That is the question posed by Gardening Gone Wild's newest "Picture This" contest judge, Christa Neu.

If you aren't familiar with the web site, GGW has a core group of gardening experts and photographers who bring us interesting and informative articles about all aspects of gardening and once a month, in addition to some pointers about photographing the garden, they feature a monthly photography contest.

Ms. Neu photographs for Organic Gardening Magazine, one of a very few magazines that Steve and I actually subscribe to in print and what's more, actually read from cover to over each month. Needless to say, I've long admired her work!

Ms. Neu challenges us to capture some of the last remaining images of the summer garden as it becomes the fall garden. Many things speak to me in the garden this time of year, and I set out with camera in hand to listen: to capture the beauty of the remaining summer blooms, even as the autumn flowers are peaking and preening. As a card artist who has had to take a brief hiatus from artwork, I am hoping to use some of these images in my artwork over the winter, keeping summer alive and sharing it in my vocation as well.

The violas have renewed vigor since the evening temperatures are cooler.

A blossom on the Meyer Lemon tree. It blooms in flushes throughout the year.

This yellow calibrachoa sent rivers of yellow blossoms cascading over the side of one of the potted lilacs all summer.

A bloom cluster from one of the trailing ivy geraniums. The throat of each blossom is swiped with burgundy.

This is not the most artistic photograph but it reminds me that we had one of our most successful kitchen and vegetable gardens ever this year.

Pee Gee Hydrangea, newly open white buds and older coppery ones.

Katie eating dogwood tree fruit.

Uh oh, Mom caught me eating her berries. Maybe if I smile she won't see the stem sticking out of my mouth.

Julia Child

Moondance

Steve's favorite rose, Mister Lincoln.

Choosing one image to enter into a contest is always hard for me, and I find that I never choose the one that everyone else thinks is best; so this time I am bowing to the consensus of comments made about one of the photographs I posted for Donna's "Word for Wednesday" meme at Garden Walk Garden Talk and submitting this photograph of our anemones.

There is still time to submit photographs. Join in the fun and check out the other entries at the Gardening Gone Wild blog page.

Illumination: Word for Wednesday September 21, 2011

2011-09-20T06:32:00.000-04:00

Donna at Garden Walk Garden Talk has begun a new meme that posts every other Wednesday. Known as "Word for Wednesday", Donna posts a word that needs to be expressed in some way in photographs of things in our garden. Today's word is Illumination. I first read about this challenge in the late afternoon - like dawn, one of my favorite times of the day to take photographs. When the sun is low in the sky, the angles of light are much easier to play with. So immediately after reading about it, I set out with my camera to capture the physical manifestation of illumination.

Afternoon sunlight filtered through Japanese anemones

Sunlight and shadows on a Sunny Knock-Out blossom.

Oenothera, Evening Primrose, in the late afternoon sun.

I only saw the striping on the petals of the this Double (Red) Knock-Out when I was cropping the pictures for this post. The sunlight passing through the petals was captured by the camera lens but did not register in my mind when I was photographing it.

Iceberg, petals illuminated and shadowed by the afternoon sun.

The late afternoon sun reflected through the arched window in my husband's office perfectly superimposed over the arch in the glass door to the back work room. In the spring, this reflection is perfectly positioned over the painting on the wall, which portrays the arched portico outside of the library at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.

From the book of Proverbs: 31, Woman of Valor, Eshet Chayil in Hebrew, is traditionally recited on Friday evenings during Shabbat to honor the wife and mother in a Jewish household.

In nature, one sees the physical manifestation, the embodiment of God.

Donna, thank you for this wonderful challenge, for inspiring us to see beauty and light in the garden. If you want to participate, you can find all of the information about it here on her blog.

Autumn Approaches: Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, September, 2011

2011-09-16T11:28:00.005-04:00

Autumn came early, first in the form of our preparations for Hurricane Irene and then with the arrival of the monarchs and dragonflies as they make their way south for winter. And living in New England, we can look forward to vividly colored foliage as the number and variety of flowers in bloom dwindles with the changing seasons.

With the days getting shorter and cooler, we are harvesting the last of the summer herbs, squash, eggplant, and cucumbers. But autumn is also here in the form of ripening grapes, apples, and dogwood fruit.

The apple tree is an unknown variety that has been growing next to the house for decades. This is the first year that we've had an adequate amount of summer rain for the tree to produce apples that are large enough to cook with.

The dogwood fruits are ripening and I've been experimenting with them in different recipes. The fruit is creamy, the seeds are easily removed, and the flavor is mild, sweet, almost reminiscent of mango.

We had some early grapes a couple of weeks ago but the birds made quick work of them. We are eagerly awaiting these to ripen to a deep purple.

The stars of the late summer garden are the Sweet Autumn clematis, Autumn Joy sedum, tall phlox and evening primrose, and Japanese anemones.

Sweet Autumn is fragrant, late blooming clematis. It forms a delicate backdrop for the Rose of Sharon. In front, basil (blooming white in the left front) and spikes of sage add dimension to this corner of the herb garden.

Sedum Brilliant is a cooler pink than Autumn Joy and they clashed so much, I moved Autumn Joy to a different bed. . As the dogwood tree has grown and created more shade, the color of the blooms of Brilliant have gotten somewhat subdued. Growing on the berm among the boulders behind the pond, it remains a gorgeous pop of color just the same.

Sedum Autumn Joy and Frikart's Asters give a pop of fall color on the rose island. The asters are the same color as the catmint blossoms and the sedum is the same color as the columbine that blooms earlier in the summer, keeping the color palette consistent from season to season.

The low growing burgundy chrysanthemums contrast perfectly with the pearlescent pale pink anemones.

Planted en masse, the anemones float delicate blossoms across the front of the perennial bed where peonies held court in the spring.

The purple cranesbill continues to make a statement. Midsummer, when the plants became leggy and spindly, we trimmed them back by more than half. They responded with enthusiastic growth and a cap of shiny dark green foliage is covered with rich purple blossoms that contrast perfectly with the anemones and evening primrose.

We had not planned to prune the cranesbill back so hard, but in retrospect, it was the best thing we could have done.

Yellow evening primrose and purple cranesbill.

Our roses are still blooming with enthusiasm - we're hoping to be able to bring some award winning blooms to the rose show this weekend. We stopped deadheading the rugosas and the resulting rose hips are as colorful as the flowers.

Top Row: Pretty Lady, John F. Kennedy, Sea Foam; Middle Row: Mother of Pearl, Lady Elsie May, Grandma's Blessing; Bottom Row: Blushing Knock-Out, Rose hip of R. rugosa "Rubra"

The second bloom of the Munstead lavender, which forms the hedges around all of the formal beds, came early and lush. We usually see a sparse second bloom in early September, but this summer, the re-bloom began in mid August and has produced nearly as much lavender as the spring bloom.

The Rose of Sharon shrubs have been blooming since mid August and remain covered with blossoms and buds. The coneflowers, hardy hibiscus and balloon flowers are winding down, but still manage to hold their own in terms of late summer color.

Many of the coneflower blossoms are travel weary, but they still brighten the perennial beds.

This ruby throated white Rose of Sharon has been blooming for weeks and has never been so heavily festooned with blossoms.

This double rose blooms of this Rose of Sharon have deep burgundy throats.

This rudbeckia and another that is planted in the same bed were both mislabeled as white coneflowers. I had thought the white blossoms would work well with the deep pink hardy hibiscus as well as the astilbe that grows in front of the pagoda. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the rudbeckia has complemented the hardy mallows and veronica that also grows nearby.

Balloon flowers, phlox, and the occasional coneflower in the right perennial bed.

The magenta of these white and magenta tall phlox is echoed in the spirea.

The lavender phlox are sweetly fragrant. This year, all of the phlox have produced thick masses of flowers on reasonably strong stems that withstood the winds and rain of the hurricane.

The caryopteris and hydrangeas are also doing their part to provide late summer color while indoors, bowls of cosmos and zinnias from the deck garden bring the gardens into every room.

The blue mist shrub "Snow Fairy", Caryopteris dvaricata, has variegated foliage that makes a striking contrast to the dark glossy green peonies, the dark red blooms of Betty Prior, and the burgundy barberries it is planted with.

The gracefully curved stamens give the delicate amethyst blossoms remind me of butterflies.

The blossoms of the Pee Gee hydrangea open white and then gradually take on a pinkish green and then pink hue.

The blooms eventually become a peachy bronze and will hold this color when dried for wreaths or dried arrangements.

A benefit of buying large shrubs and trees late in the season is that they are often heavily discounted. A drawback is that quite often, their tags have been lost and it's impossible to determine the cultivar. Such was the case of this hydrangea tree which we acquired last summer at a bargain basement price. This unnamed hydrangea which helps shade the deck, is covered with blooms that, like the Pee Gee, open white and then gradually turn a deep peachy bronze. The individual blooms are much larger than those of the Pee Gee.

The kitchen garden on the deck provide herbs, vegetables, and plenty of blooms for cutting. The hollyhock roots have grown into sturdy plants that will hopefully bloom against the rails next summer.

The water garden is also showing its fall colors in the form of cat tails and water mint, which attracts bees and dragonflies.

Unexpected re-bloomers, chief among them, the spirea and the hostas, continue to surprise and delight. We've never seen the hostas re-bloom.

This week, the hostas in the blueberry garden and secret garden are all blooming for the second time this summer. These had bloomed in July (see the July GBBD photos here) and we trimmed the flower spikes back, which we usually do. We were amazed to see them send up new scapes over the past two weeks.

Along the border of the blueberry garden angled under a tall pine, these hostas bloomed in July and are blooming again now.

This is the large fragrant hosta that anchors the "secret garden". It's also blooming for the second time this summer.

Usually when plants re-bloom unexpectedly, the flowers are sparse. Not so with the hostas.

The spirea is also blooming again, and I can't even credit pruning for this. In the photo below, you can see the dried flower heads from the earlier bloom. I decided to leave them to provide some textural interest over the fall and winter.

I don't have mich experience with spirea but we planted this shrub last spring. We had pulled out the Asiatic lilies from this corner of the perennial bed because the red lily leaf beetles were almost impossible to control. We chose this spirea for its color and to provide some height and contrast for the penstemon and tall phlox.that also grow in this part of the bed.

From a small shrub in a gallon pot, it has grown four feet wide and more than three feet high, and has proven to be the perfect choice for this corner. Since planting it, I have learned that like buddleia, heavily pruning it back in the spring should result in thicker growth and more prolific blooms (hard to imagine after the way it was covered in blooms earlier in the season).

Pruning again after the spring bloom gives a second generous bloom this time of year, although we didn't prune and are still enjoying late summer color. We'll definitely prune it back in the spring, and perhaps split the clump and transplant some of the stems to the other side of the bed as well.

One of my "weed" books lists malvas including this Zebrina (Malva sylvestris) as potentially invasive weeds. Yes, they do self sow liberally, but I've also had great luck getting them to grow in large clumps where I want them. They resemble their cousins, the hollyhocks and their height adds color in the late summer to the back borders in the perennial and cottage gardens.

The boughs of our pine trees are weighed down with pine cones. The beauty of the telephoto lens is the ability to see the green seed pods in exquisite detail.

Young, still green pine cones of the Douglas Fir.

Young, still green pine cones of the Norway Spruce

We recently reviewed the book Weeds of the Northeast by Richard H. Uva, Joseph C. Neal, and Joseph M. DiTomaso (you can see the post here) and I remarked then that "...one woman's wildflower is another woman's weed." While all of the plants shown here were identified (as weeds) with the help of this wonderful book, we enjoy them in selected areas of the garden.

The dark green leaves of the Virginia Creeper camouflage an otherwise unattractive length of chain link fence and the berries, which turn dark purple this time of year, attract many birds to the yard.

This sprawling vine is the blue Asiatic dayflower, Commelina communis. have the most vivid blue flowers of any "blue" flowering annual or perennial I've seen. It meandered in from the conservation area and grows along the fence behind the grape arbor, underneath the Virginia creeper. We have found it in the front yard as well, where it has spread from an area of underbrush that separates our property from our neighbor's. So far, it hasn't become invasive or a pest, and especially in the back, has confined itself to one area where it surprises us with a brilliant pop of blue whenever we are checking on the grapes or the eggplant that grows under the arbor.

Thistles have become a real thorn in my side, pun intended. They quickly develop heavy duty tap roots and spread quickly through our beds and the grass. We have a spade shovel that effectively removes them, but staying ahead of them is hard when they are growing so freely in the adjacent field.

Both wild morning glories and wild buckwheat are members of the bindweed family and we have both growing here and there in our beds. The buckwheat is more a problem in the perennial beds and we do try to stay on top of it. But the climbing bindweed is a lovely addition to the fence and relatively easy to keep in check. When we see it wandering into the beds near the fence, we trim it back, but I do enjoy watching it cover the fence and bloom with flowers that are so luck cultivated morning glories.

I hope you've enjoyed spending some time in the garden today. Do drop by and visit May Dream Gardens for links to other bloggers posting what's blooming for the monthly Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

Goodnight, Irene: Diary of a Hurricane That Wasn't

2011-09-14T10:16:00.001-04:00

Two weeks ago, the forecasters predicted that a Category 3 Hurricane was going to strike New England. We anticipated and were prepared for the worst; fortunately, the storm veered due north and we experienced a far less severe storm than had been expected. Despite the fact that the storm was a mere shadow of itself by the time it passed by us, it was still a major summer storm and we kept a journal of the weekend's activities and events. ~ S. and C.W.

Saturday, August 27, 2011 ~ 3:00 PM ~ The Calm Before the Storm

Steve described it perfectly. He said the air felt like Mother Nature was holding her breath.

At roughly 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon, there was a noticeable change in atmospheric pressure. The drop in barometric pressure this close to the shore was palpable. The air went completely still; birds stopped chirping and the bees and butterflies that had swarmed the butterfly bushes for most of the day disappeared. Even the seagulls took cover.

Earlier in the day, fluffy clouds paraded slowly across the sky. By mid afternoon, the sky was a solid cover of pale gray and the sounds of nature - the squawking gulls, birds chirping, buzzing and clacking of insects and even the rustle of leaves - were absent. It was eerie.

My hip and pelvis had already been aching and acutely tender for a full 48 hours but over the course of a half hour, the pain became dramatically more intense, so much so, I could hardly bear to lie on my back It was torture to even try to turn onto my side by myself. Nothing - medication, hot and cold packs, gentle massage - eased it in the least. I knew it would be an uncomfortable weekend until the storm system passed.

The strongest hurricane to track along the New England coast in a generation was expected to move into New England the following afternoon. The benefit of advanced warning can't be overstated. We had plenty of time to plan and prepare.

Preparations began on Thursday and with most of the same chores we do when we are getting ready for winter, just 10 weeks earlier than usual.

Down came the deck canopy and curtains, the gazebo curtains, and our fountains.

Because the curtains and lantern are attached with cable ties, they were quickly and easily removed with a snip of the tie.

Over the course of the next two days, the furniture, bird feeders and lawn ornaments were secured under the deck, cushions brought in, and potted trees and plants moved indoors.

The curtains were taken down quickly with a snip of the cable ties.

The yard looks bare with the furniture and most of the lawn ornaments stowed.

The deck minus the trees, pots, canopy and curtains.

Steve's office turned greenhouse for the storm. His office opens onto the deck and he was able to quickly and easily roll the trees inside.

The deck minus trees, potted plants, canopy and most of the furniture.

We also made a trip to the grocery store. We knew that many people would flock to the markets and hardware stores on Friday and Saturday, so we got that chore out of the way on Thursday. Honestly, it was a typical shopping expedition for us and we bought the same things we ordinarily get in our biweekly shopping trip; we just went a couple of days earlier.

While a hurricane with a name and a reputation is big news in New England, violent storms with gale force and hurricane force winds are nothing new to us. In many respects, being always at the ready for a severe winter storm, we were already prepared for Irene. We have battery powered lanterns and extra batteries on hand, and a battery powered radio. We also have a power pack - a huge rechargeable battery pack - that can power cell phone chargers and some of my medical equipment. We did make it a point to refill the extra propane tanks for the grill.

Saturday, August 27, 2011 ~ 6:00 PM ~ A Taste of the Bad Weather to Follow

Several of our friends live on very exposed areas of the coast. Since most of them do not have family in the area, we called and invited them all to ride out the storm with us. We also offered them a place to stay if storm damage made their homes temporarily uninhabitable. With our almost "empty nest", we have room to spare that we were prepared to share if their own homes were seriously damaged.

The hurricane was preceded by another smaller storm system that arrived Saturday night as dusk fell. The cloud cover became more intense, the skis grew very dark, and dusk came very early. Pelting rain and strong winds were a taste of what was to come. The dogs were unsettled by the weather and so were we. The storm continued all evening, and were it not for the fact that Irene was coming fast on its heels, we wouldn't have been troubled, but with every major station broadcasting forecasts of some of the most severe weather to strike the area in decades, we worried about what the morning would bring.

Sunday, August 28, 2011 7:45 AM ~ Irene Approaches Massachusetts

After a very unsettled night and uneasy sleep, we got up in the morning to a more optimistic forecast. The severity of the storm had been downgraded overnight to a Category 2 hurricane and was expected to be further downgraded to a Category 1 storm by the time it arrived in Massachusetts..

Once she hit the Carolinas, Irene headed straight for New York City and from there, she headed due north, moving over land instead of hugging the coastline. As a result, wind speeds began to slacken and the storm began to weaken.

The change in course also meant that instead of being dead center in Irene's anticipated path, we were now on the eastern edge of the area that was expected to see the most severe weather.

At dawn, the sky looked like lead and the air was once again eerily still.

At 8 AM, while the main part of the storm was pummeling New York City, we began to experience the same phenomenon they had seen as the leading edge of the storm arrived in New England. Bands of rain and wind moved in. We saw short bursts of driving, torrential rain, followed by winds in the 30-40 MPH range, followed by periods of unnatural calm.

Mid-morning, as the storm moved northward, the skies darkened considerably and the bands of rain and wind came more rapidly and the separations between them were less distinct. We received several inches of rain causing the yard to flood, but the winds, which had been originally expected to top 90 mph, stayed in the 35-40 mph range with a few gusts only slightly higher. Winds approaching 50 mph are not unusual for us, and while some thought the storm was still a major threat, we knew we were getting off easy.

The rain, when it came, was torrential and quickly flooded the yard.

The rain striking the surface of the water in the pool gives some indication behind the force of the downpours.

A lull in the storm as several bands of wind and rain passed over us. The patio remained flooded for much of the day.

Over the course of the evening and the next morning, the water gradually drained away. The level of the water in the pool and koi pond increased by 3 inches over the course of the storm.

As the storm moved up the coast, it continued on a path heading and passing west of us by just enough of a margin to that other than the bands of torrential rain and some winds gusting in the 30 -45 mph range, we skated away with minimal damage.

The biggest casualty was a tree on the neighbor's property. The weeping willow, although a gorgeous tree, has been seriously damaged in previous storms.

Large galls on the main trunks suggest that the tree suffers from disease as well.

Last summer, they trimmed back one large branch that leaned perilously in the direction of our home, but other branches arch this way as well, causing us much anxiety, especially given the forecast.

We were fortunate that many of the branches that broke in the wind snapped but didn't fall completely off nor get propelled into our house by the wind. We are also fortunate that the damage occurred at a time of the year when the tree can be easily accessed and trimmed. This kind of damage, in this location on their property, would be much harder to address if it happened during a winter storm.

It was hard to capture the effects of the wind in a photograph.

Several large branches broke but remained attached to the tree, preventing damage to our home.

Damage to branches and galls on one of the larger trunks.

The presence of large galls suggests that the tree is suffering from a disease, which weakens the wood and makes the branches more susceptible to breaking.

Adjacent to our property is a 55 acre conservation area that is mostly marshy field with 8-10 acres of woods. After the storm, we saw that several trees had toppled along the edge of the woods and large branches and piles of leaves littered the field.

Once one of the tallest trees along the edge of the wooded area, this tree snapped and fell during the height of the winds.

I was amazed at the amount of grumbling I heard about the level of preparedness the state undertook in preparation for the storm. While I think the hype on TV was seriously overblown, I also believe that being appropriately prepared for severe weather is critical when a storm of this magnitude is anticipated.

It was an unexpected blessing that the storm traveled inland just south of us and we were spared more severe winds and flooding. Had it continued on its original path, we would not have gotten off as easily as we did. In times of bad weather, it's not easy being a politician or an emergency manager. This storm showed that you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. Had the state not been as well prepared, and had the storm struck with all of its anticipated fury, these same "naysayers" would have been the first to throw the forecasters and emergency planners under the bus. Better to be prepared for the storm that passed us by than to not be prepared for the one that strikes head on.

Hopefully, as we meander through hurricane season, this will be our closest call. Soon enough, it will be time for the Nor'easters to roll in!

The Best (Outdoor) Room in the House!

2011-08-25T20:33:00.001-04:00

We've been enjoying our deck with it's sun-filtering canopy and wind softening side curtains, bubbling fountain, and raised beds and pots.

When we added a few pots and raised beds last year, it was the beginning of a transformation that converted a rarely used, unattractive deck into a warm and welcoming haven that has become one of our favorite "rooms".

Prior to last year, we only used our deck for cooking on the barbecue grill. The color of the floor boards and style of the railings were uninspiring. Although we had comfortable furniture, the deck was a vision in gray totally lacking in aesthetic appeal.

It was not a place we enjoyed spending time. The umbrella over the table provided little relief from the broiling sun that bakes the deck for most of the day and the settee, although comfortable, wasn't at all inviting when temperature and humidity soared into the 90's. As far as we were concerned, it was wasted space.

Frustrated because the rabbits and dogs had eaten most of our tomatoes the previous two summers and impressed with the success some friends of ours had growing them on their patio in large buckets, I decided to give container gardening a serious try.

We found huge, inexpensive, decorative planters on sale at K-mart and there were window boxes to match. I grabbed a couple of the long window boxes, thinking I would set them along the railing with some herbs.

Then I spotted some inexpensive kits for raised beds made from a composite material. There were only two left and since the boxes were damaged, they were heavily discounted. An idea was born and in the space of a morning, a deck garden had begun to take shape.

Two raised bed kits gave us a bed that was 4 feet wide by 12 feet long for vegetables.

We planted sun worshipers like basil and colorful petunias in window boxes along the railing behind the table.

Even the dogs began to spend more time on the deck, especially when the early evening shade gave a respite from the sun.

We added hanging pots of annuals for bright color. I wanted to create the feeling of a conservatory and so over the course of the summer we watched for sales and markdowns and soon a hydrangea tree and some lilac shrubs took up residence on the deck.

This spring, we added both a lemon tree and a fig tree and we'll be enjoying our favorite recipes this fall as both trees are weighted down with ripening fruit.

Our first year with raised beds was successful beyond our expectations but it was also a learning experience. I learned that four foot wide raised beds might be great in the garden, but against the side of the deck, they were impossible to maintain. Reaching the plants in the back meant I had to step into them, and very quickly the dogs decided they wanted to play in them too.

The first beds we planted weren't deep enough and it was difficult to keep them from drying out. Add to that a 2 month drought and it was a daily struggle to sustain our vegetables and herbs. And they took up so much space it was difficult to arrange the furniture in a way that maximized our ability to entertain and enjoy the space.

This year we rebuilt all of the raised beds to make them narrower but deeper and easier to tend, and to make better use of the living space on the deck.

By making the raised beds only half as wide but twice as long (which required the addition of several boards from additional kits), we were able to extend them along the entire length of both the upper and lower levels of the deck, replacing the window boxes which had provided precious little actual gardening space.

We kept roughly the same amount of total planting area but with the beds and open space laid out in a more user friendly arrangement, the deck is much better suited to gardening and entertaining.

And instead of just flowers on the upper deck and vegetables in the raised beds, this year we planted a true kitchen garden that includes an eclectic mix of annuals, perennials, herbs, vegetables, and even some house plants in all of the pots and beds.

I love the fact that salad greens, vegetables, and the herbs that I cook with the most are a few steps from my cutting board.

Perhaps the most dramatic and important change we made last year was the addition of a canopy.

Near the end of the season, we found a simple to erect "pop-up" canopy that we added over the upper section to shade the table.

It took one brief thunderstorm to realize that bolting it to the deck was critical. The canopy top is held on with Velcro and when high winds or rain are expected, we simply lift the corners and undo the Velcro and let the cover sag between the struts to prevent damage from wind and a heavy collection of water.

We also found some heavily discounted cushions in an attractive blue and green print that matched the color of the house. The new cushions completely changed the color palette to one that was more to our liking.

This spring, on a whim, I added swagged scarves to the canopy and the effect was amazing.

I used 22 foot nylon window scarves that I draped loosely and secured with plastic cable ties. They are easy to install in spring and come down with a snip of the tie in fall.

Casual dining has a luxurious feel under the draped canopy and a paper and bamboo lantern fitted with an electric bulb attachment adds just enough light for dining after dark.

A lantern is suspended from the center of the canopy. The white cord is secured to the struts with white cable ties and is relatively unnoticeable. The on/off switch is tucked in the draped curtains that cascade along theh poles for easy access.

The area lends itself to both fancy teas with china and casual cook-outs with paper plates.

The beds provide zinnias and cosmos for cutting, herbs such as basil and rosemary, and an assortment of vegetables that changes with the seasons. Hollyhocks are planted along the back and are just beginning to mature and set buds.

The Meyer lemon is full of buds and small lemons.

Squash, cucumbers, peppers, and lettuce share the space with marigolds and petunias, geraniums, and some house plants. Earlier in the season we had sugar snap peas.

The hydrangea, Meyer lemon, and a lilac create a verdant corner.

The wider beds have a much greater visual impact than the narrow window boxes and we were able to plant more herbs and vegetables for a true kitchen garden.

We've added annuals to most of the large pots for extra color as well.

These lilacs bloomed later than the shrubs in the garden and added dramatic color to the deck in June.

The hollyhocks in the background have had a major growth spurt over the past couple of weeks and are now towering over the zinnias. I hope they will bloom this year and next year as well. The goal was to have them form a tall, thick border in front of the railing.

Our first year with a fig tree promises to be a tasty one!

We've added hanging pots in every nook and cranny. Here, they form a lovely backdrop for the cherub fountain.

Early in the season we had an enthusiastic crop of sugar snap peas that climbed over and through the deck railing.

The narrower raised beds allow the furniture to be placed in an arrangement that promotes socializing and conversation, with ample room to walk by. And yes, that is a second grill. The grill on the upper level is used for most meals and foods that everyone in the family can enjoy. This grill is used for fish and mushrooms so a family member with severe allergies to both can avoid contamination of her food with things that cause life threatening reactions.

Our Katie enjoys an afternoon nap on the settee.

Book Review: Weeds of the Northeast

2011-08-24T16:36:00.003-04:00

Weeds of the Northeast by Richard H. Uva, Joseph C. Neal, and Joseph M. DiTomaso is one of those reference books that never goes out of date. My copy, which I only purchased a few months ago, is already well-thumbed.

I have yet to find a book about weeds that is as comprehensive and as inclusive as this one. And while it focuses on weeds that are primarily found in the northeast quadrant of the country (north to Canada, south to Virginia, and west to Wisconsin), my guess is that it would be helpful for many other areas of North America as well.

The book is designed in such a way that identification of weeds can be accomplished relatively easily. There are identification tables that differentiate similar weeds based on characteristics and multiple pictures showing each of the plants included at multiple stages of their life cycle.

I find myself walking through the gardens with the book in hand, quickly identifying things that have eluded my efforts to properly name them for years. Of course, one woman's wildflower is another woman's weed, and so my lone cautionary note is that not everything in the book needs to be pulled up and relegated to the compost pile.

While Virginia Creeper is classified as a "weed" for the purposes of this book, we have it happily growing over a chain link fence where the dark green leaves cover the unattractive metal fencing and the berries attract wood thrushes, warblers, and woodpeckers.

Likewise, Johnny Jump-ups are a staple in many of our beds and our two trumpet vines provide late summer color where they've been trained to grow.

That said, the information about each plant's growth habits, propagation, and root system has made it easier to eradicate weeds that are not welcome in our perennial beds and has helped us to effectively control those that we've chosen to cultivate and enjoy as "wildflowers".