Month: March 2018
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Baking, Calamondin Orange Tree, Canning, Citrus, Indoor Eden, Indoor Gardening, Recipes, Uncategorized
Calamondin Orange Marmalade: Homemade Beauty for Breakfast . . .
Beauty for Breakfast: Calamondin Orange Marmalade & Vintage Roses I really, really wanted a vacation this winter, but fate had other things in mind and personal responsibilities held me close to home. So, I’ve been giving myself mini-staycations to compensate a bit. These weekend retreats —usually nothing more extravagant than a new book, homemade pâtisserie or […]
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Books, Old Roses, Roses, shrubs, Vintage Roses
Vintage Roses. Oh. Vintage Roses . . .
Vintage Roses: Beautiful Varieties for Home and Garden There are books a gardener buys to further her education; design specific titles or academic tomes covering the nitty gritty details of horticulture like entomology, botany and soil science. Practical books. Then there are the books a gardener orders just for sheer, visual pleasure. This latter group […]
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Welcome, Spring?
Camellia japonica ‘Imbricata Rubra Plena’ at Lyman Conservatory, Smith College Botanic Garden The Vernal Equinox occurs at 12:15 p.m. Eastern Time today, but it sure doesn’t feel like spring. True, there may be signs here and there —increasing daylight, bird song, pussy willows— but the air is still chilly and a thick blanket of snow […]
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It Sifts from Leaden Sieves, It Powders All the Wood . . .
It sifts from leaden sieves, It powders all the wood, It fills with alabaster wool The wrinkles of the road. It makes an even face Of mountain and of plain, — Unbroken forehead from the east Unto the east again. It reaches to the fence, It wraps it, rail by rail, Till it is lost […]
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Nibbling Lemon Tart as the Snow Falls
Meyer Lemon Tart What is it about late-winter snow storms that inspires me to bake? Perhaps it’s the warm oven and comforting aromas, or maybe it’s post-snow-shovel sugar cravings? Either way, this has always been the case for me. Of course, baking during a blizzard —when the threat of a power outage looms large— is […]
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Bulb companions, Bulbs, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Conservatory, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Flower arrangements, Flower Shows, flowering shrubs, Forcing Branches in Winter, Fragrance, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Gardening Inspiration, Glamorous Gardens, Green House Gardens, House Plants, Indoor Eden, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Inspirational Gardens, Lyman Conservatory, MA, Massachusetts, Smith College Botanical Garden, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs, Springtime
Narcissus, Tulipa & Fragrant Hyacinth: Smith Botanic Garden’s 2018 Bulb Show
Tulipa, Narcissus & Sweetly Fragrant Hyacinth at Lyman Conservatory It’s 3:30 p.m. and snow is falling steadily here in Southern Vermont. The forecast is calling for 5-8Â inches overnight. These late winter storms can really give a gardener the blues, but I knew this nor’easter was coming, so I prepared. Bread and milk? Oh, no, […]
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Bird Friendly Gardens, Birds, Birds in the Garden
Who, Who, Who? Who Cooks for You? The Beautiful Barred Owl, Of Course!
Barred Owl (Strix varia), Surveys the Garden from a Fence Post If you’ve spent time in the woods at dusk or dawn —or gone camping anywhere along the east coast— chances are you have heard a Barred Owl, even if you’ve never seen one. This beautiful raptor’s call, “Who cooks for you, who, who, who“, often […]
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Early spring flowering plants, flowering shrubs, Garden Design, Hamamelis, Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, New England, Shrubs for early spring blossoms, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Witch hazel, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Forward March: Signs of a New Season
Vernal Witch Hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) greets the sun Although it’s a mostly-winter month —and oh how I dread the lion’s roar!— March is filled with the promise of springtime. Witch Hazel, Pussy Willow, Spring Heath, Snowdrops, Crocus: everywhere I look, the signs appear! And so I venture forth, into the garden, calling out the lamb. […]
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