This is a book that tells many stories; of family legacy apple varieties, strawberries too delicate to survive a market and trying to live off grid right out of college. The main narrative follows the authors personal journey to find a space to explore his own passions of growing and sharing heirloom plants and produce to...
Winter signifies an important time of the year if you’re a vegetable gardener or small farmer. Seed catalog season is well upon us and it’s not too late to plan and let the anticipation of this coming seasons planting and harvesting begin. Not only is gardening an enjoyable activity for most of us, but growing your own food...
It’s a winter wonderland… still. Keep your mind on spring though! All this fluffy and deep snow will actually help insulate the ground, keeping it from freezing deeper. Also, it protects delicate plants from damaging freeze and thaw cycles, that we seem to see more and more of recently. Providing trace amounts of nitrogen for...
With Halloween less than a week away and all things spooky, mysterious, and creepy in mind, this blog post seems apropos… We often consider the beneficial attributes of the flowers we see in our garden and growing wild in the woods; their lovely smell, color, and shape but there are some that, given the opportunity,...
by Mike Mugridge “Edibles in the Landscape,” championed by designers like Rosalind Creasy, has been a popular trend for many years. Incorporating vegetables into ornamental arrangements and vice versa is an ecologically, aesthetically, and economically sound idea—and the design possibilities are endless. It’s worth noting, though, that most “ornamental” gardens and landscapes, created across the...
Fall has now arrived and as I drink my coffee in the morning I watch squirrels moving around at a frantic pace getting ready for winter. Like squirrels we to seem to adopt this crazy pace after kids are back in school with their activities and with our mental checklists of items that have to...
The season is changing. Walking around nature you may notice a sweet fragrance in the air. Most likely you are standing near a Katsura Tree. Its scent is commonly compared to that of cotton candy or brown sugar and is emitted as its leaves yellow and drop to the ground in the Fall. When my...
There is an extraordinary endeavor underway. Women from all over the world are joining forces to help save our planet. These women are part of an effort that is gaining significant momentum. “TreeSisters” is a grassroots movement that began forming in 2009. It started with one woman and her vision. Today it is a growing...
It’s a common idea for most homeowners to view their landscape as their own personal oasis, to create, enjoy and manage however they see fit. We often forget our little plots of the world are pieces of a much bigger picture, specifically your local native plant community. When creating or making changes to our landscapes,...
by Pete Mays Many people who spend time outside and in gardens in the Berkshires, myself included, have had multiple run-ins with fire ants. Myrmica Rubra Linnaeus or European Fire or Red ants, were first found in Massachusetts in 1908. Currently, they seem to be developing a stronger foothold moving inland beyond the coastal wet...
