Posts from — March 2008

We’ve had two good days largely above freezing. The warm weather has made good progress toward melting the snow that covered our garden beds, even if it’s left our dirt driveway rather “mud-luscious” and “puddle-wonderful” as I think e e cumings would say. I walked to lunch without zipping my coat let alone pulling on my gloves. But most importantly, the warmer weather has rekindled a hankering for rhubarb. [Read more →]

In the winter snow, the raspberry trellis creates a lovely silhouette and shadow design in the back corner of the garden. Jim posted his directions, sketches, and photos previously on our garden blog. Although I love those pictures of the trellis and the black raspberry canes (and I love the black raspberries on those bushes!), the greenery covers up the trellis. In winter, the trellis stands on its own. [Read more →]

Winter is more than just a couple months of bad gardening.

Another inch or so of snow settled during the night, snow as fine as parmesan cheese grated off the bottom of the clouds. As I pushed it off my car, I pondered again how many different kinds of snow there are and how many different kinds we’ve seen this year. Last week it was the sodden, thick kind of snow, the snow that makes shoveling nearly impossible and which often has a layer of water at the bottom, water that so easily turns to ice. [Read more →]

Have you ever seen traditional garden cloches? They are beautiful, glass bell jars that you put over tender plants to protect them from the harsh elements and insects. You can use cloches to get a head-start on the growing season. They add a very classy, Victorian look to a garden. Imagine a row of them, covering all the early seedlings in a garden. How lovely! And imagine the expense! At $50 or $60 a pop, these beauties are not cheap. [Read more →]

Today I scrolled through digital pictures of gardens from previous years, looking for a happy spot of green to reflect upon on this wintery day. We’ve collected panoramic pictures taken from the upstairs bedroom window; closeups of plants, leaves, flowers, and fruit; daily photos of the old barn being taken down and the new barn rising from the ashes. Viewing the collection is a tour of memories and stages. And I came across this special picture that gave my heart a good tugging. It’s our daughter’s view of the garden at roughly age 6: [Read more →]