Month: April 2011
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Cooking, Cooking with Kids, Ferns, Fiddleheads, Gourmet Garden, Late Autumn Garden, Mushrooms, Native Plants, Nature, Plant hunting, Plant Propagation, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Plants for shade, Recipes, Shiitake Growing, The Seasons, Unusual Plants, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager, Woodland plants
Spring Brunch from the Kitchen Garden: Shirred Eggs with Shiitake & Arugula …
Shirred Eggs with Homegrown Shiitake Mushrooms & Garden-Fresh Arugula I’ve always been a breakfast person. French toast, waffles, eggs, potatoes, pancakes; I enjoy them all. Sometimes, in fact, I would like them all at once. Because of my love affair with breakfast foods, I have developed some pretty liberal ideas about when they should be […]
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Trees, Uncategorized, Woody Plants
Poetry, Romance & Majesty: Celebrating The Beauty of Trees on Arbor Day…
The Romantic & Melancholy Weeping Willow – Salix babylonica Today is Arbor Day, and although media attention and private conversation may be focused on a different occasion  —I’m referring to the Royal Wedding, of course— I find trees an equally romantic topic. After all, how many lovers have been wooed beneath the boughs of beautiful […]
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Bulb companions, Paths and Walkways, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials : Vermont, Perennials for Spring, Perennials for Winter Interest, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for shade, Woodland plants
The Mysterious Moods of ‘Mrs. Moon’…
In the Beginning of the Garden Romance, ‘Mrs. Moon’ (Pulmonaria saccharata) Blushes, Shy and Tender in Spring Rain… Meet ‘Mrs. Moon’, the garden coquette. Hot, cold. Hot, cold. Just when you think you have her figured out, she up and changes her mood. Surely you’ve encountered such a fickle flower; blushing and eager one moment […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Birds, Books, companion planting, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, New England, Perennial Close-Ups, Plant Spotlight, Plants for shade, Secret Gardens, Shade Gardening, Spring Ephemerals, Wildflowers and Meadows, Woodland plants
Ephemeral Woodland Wildflowers & Return of the Ethereal Hermit Thrush…
Red Trillium (Trillium erectum) There’s no place quite like New England for experiencing three seasons in one day. Sunday morning I rose to find a chilly house and snow covered gardens. Soon –with the sun shining brightly outside– temperatures soared to 63°. Breakfast in the snowy garden … Well, why not? I threw open the entryway […]
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Bulbs, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs
Narcissus & Nostalgia…
Narcissus in April Snow at Ferncliff Late April snows always bring me back to my mother’s rocky, alpine garden in early spring; colorful bulbs poking up through chilly, crystalline white glazes. Here in New England, spring often arrives in fits and starts, and this year is classic. Winter-weary though we may be, there’s still something […]
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Children and Gardening, Cooking with Kids
Teach Your Children Well: A Gardener’s Thoughts on Earth Day…
Holding Earth in Her Hands – Photo â“’ Tim Geiss As gardeners, most of us consider ourselves environmentally minded, and for us, every day is Earth Day. But, it’s important to remember that gardening —in and of itself— Â is an unnatural act. When we work the soil and sow seed, fertilize and water, thin plants […]
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Attracting & Supporting Birds, Bees & Butterflies: Free Gardening Seminar at Walker Farm in Southern Vermont…
This Saturday —April 23rd from 10 to 11 am– I’ll be presenting a free slide show, seminar & discussion,”Gardening to Attract Birds, Bees & Butterflies” at Walker Farm in East Dummerston, Vermont. This talk is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Please call 802-254-2051 or email walkerfarmvt (at) gmail (dot) com […]
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Books, Bowls, cactus, Container Gardening, Decorating Ideas, Decorating the Garden, Exotic Plants, Ferncliff, Garden Art, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Indoor Gardening, Inspirational Gardens, Plant Propagation, Plant Spotlight, Plants for sun, Plants for Texture, Pots, rock garden plants, scree gardens, Studio Garden, Succulents, Tropical Plants, Unusual Plants, Urns and Vessels
Dusting Off, Cleaning Out, Taking Stock & Getting Ready for Gardening Season… Plus Another Giveaway!
The bright gold of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is a cheerful welcome in a chair beside my front door. I like using natural baskets as decorative covers for inexpensive, recycled plastic flower pots. I do a similar thing with plants placed outside in summer, using everything from wooden crates and baskets to tin cans and flea market […]
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Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, Raindrops, The Seasons, Trees, Uncategorized, Vermont, Viburnum, Water Features, Woody Plants
Raindrops & Sunshowers
Stepping Out Through the Raindrops… Early spring is a busy season for gardeners, and it’s easy to get caught up in the many chores at hand. This morning, Mother Nature sent an unexpected gift —a rainbow wrapped up in a sunshower— reminding me to slow down a bit and enjoy the season as it unfolds… […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Bulbs, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, flowering shrubs, Ground Covers, Insects/Entomology, Lawns, Naturalistic Garden Design, New England, Old Fashioned Flowers, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs, The Seasons, Woody Plants
Hazy Color Drifts Carpet the Garden: Tiny Gifts of Early Spring…
Spring Heath (Erica carnea) Begins Blooming in Early April (click here to revisit my Erica carnea plant-profile post from last year). Here, Sprawling Across the Ledge  in the Entry Garden… The Pink, Hazy Blur of Spring Heath is Particularly Lovely Against Grey Sky and Cool Stone. On a Blustery Day, I Can’t Help but Think […]
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Pruning Ornamental Trees & Shrubs: Free Saturday Gardening Seminar Sponsored by Walker Farm in Vermont
Lilacs are best pruned immediately after their flowers fade (or, if you like them as fresh cut blossoms, prune and decorate your house with bouquets at the same time). Learn more about how to prune lilacs in this post, and if your looking to improve your pruning skills… I’m presenting a free gardening seminar, “Pruning Ornamental […]
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Celebrating The Gardener’s Eden’s Second Anniversary and Giving Thanks To All of You for Following Along…
Crocus blooming in my garden Has it really been two years? I posted my first entry on The Gardener’s Eden two years ago, April 23rd, and since that time I’ve fallen in love with the incredibly supportive and enthusiastic community of gardeners and cooks I’ve met through this journal. You are wonderful, and I am so […]
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Asian Natives, Ferncliff, Garden Maintenance, garden tools, Ice Storms, Japanese Maple, pruning, The Seasons, Tree Care, Trees, Winter, Woody Plants
Spring Clean-Up Part One: Pruning Damaged Limbs in Tight Spaces Using The Handy, Folding ‘Grecian’ Saw, Plus… A Special Giveaway!
A young Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’ in my garden. This photo was taken last spring during a passing shower, just as the beautifully vibrant red leaves began to unfold I love all trees, but I have to admit that in particular, I am a very, very fond of Japanese maples. And in spite of the fact […]
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Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, Garden Seminars, garden tools, pruning, shrubs, The Seasons, Tree Care, Trees, Woody Plants
Spring Clean-Up, Part One: Pruning Winter-Damaged Branches Continues With a Tutorial on Cutting to Alternate & Opposite Buds…
Spring Clean Up Begins in My Garden with the Removal of Winter-Damaged Branches and Limbs on Woody Plants I’ve been tending other people’s gardens for more than a decade, and although I am officially eliminating maintenance from my professional services this year —making more time for design work, teaching and writing— that doesn’t mean I […]
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Garden Maintenance, pruning, shrubs
Spring Clean-Up, Part One: Pruning Winter-Damaged Branches…
Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’ blooms early in the season. These flower buds were formed on old wood, last year. In general this shrub is only lightly pruned for shape, right after it has finished blooming. Damaged wood can and should be pruned anytime, as soon as it is observed. After a long, tough winter, it sure […]
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Bulbs, Cold-Climate Vegetable Gardening, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, The Seasons
Getting Down to Earth in the Garden…
First Flowers: Glory-of-the-Snow (Chionodoxa luciliae ‘Gigantea’) What a difference a day makes! Yesterday, my hilltop was nearly invisible; blurred grey and white by snow squalls, sleet and driving rain. But today, all of the new snow has melted, the sun is shining and the sky is clear blue. Ah, New England. As they say: if […]
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Hello April, Ready for Spring?
We’re All Ready for Spring, But It Looks Like She’s Not Quite Ready for Us! Woke up this morning to find an April Fool’s Day trick from Mother Nature. Looks like we’ll be putting away our sun hats and gardening tools for today… Article and photographs are copyright Michaela at The Gardener’s Eden, all rights […]
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