We had a severe cold snap last weekend, with temperatures going down to -17F. Fortunately, the power held, so we stayed warm, curled up with blankets, books, and cats.
On the plant front, last Thursday (Imbolc), I planted more cat grass for the cats, which is coming up well. I should be able to put it down for them either over the weekend or early next week, and get the second pot started. I planted borage seeds (from the Berkshire Botanical Garden) and they’ve begun to sprout. The butterfly mix hasn’t yet come up.
The bulbs out front are confused. They start to come up; it gets colder; they pause. Hopefully, the worst of winter is past, and they can thrive. The front porch gets lovely sun when the sun is actually out.
The other plants are fine. The peace lily continues its recovery. I moved the primroses closer to the big front windows, where they get more sun. They are very cheerful. I haven’t yet ordered seeds and hope I haven’t left it too late.
Is anything poking its head up shyly in your garden yet?
When I went to the grocery store earlier in the week, I came home with two small pots of primroses. One is all yellow. The other is red with yellow centers.
I love primroses. They were one of the first plants I bought when we moved to the Cape back in 2010. They’re such cheerful plants, and I love having them inside, blooming during the winter. They are a reminder that one day, it will be spring again, and things will bloom.
I repotted them almost immediately (and boy, were they pot-bound). I tucked them in the sunniest living room window, amongst the Christmas cacti. Hopefully, they will settle in and thrive.
This morning, when I opened my AMERICAN GARDENER magazine, I saw an ad for a primrose society! Who knew? Then I turned the page and saw an ad for a Hosta society! That doesn’t surprise me as much. When we lived on Cape, people were obsessive about Hostas. I got tired of them after a bit, and I was surprised how much I miss them here.
No, I’m not joining either one.
I did, however, a few months back, join the AMERICAN HORTICULTURE SOCIETY (which is why I’m getting the above-mentioned magazine). I thought it would be interesting to learn more about plants all over the country (and good research for my writing – the right plant in the right place and all that, textural detail). I also like that the membership card gives us access to gardens all over the country, including many in the Berkshires, Vermont, and NY. We’ll do day trips in nice weather, this spring and summer, and enjoy the botanical gardens in the area.
I see friends on social media already starting their seeds, under grow lights. I may try to do a setup like that in a year or two. This year, I haven’t even bought my seeds yet.
The bulbs on the porch are sticking their little heads up, especially the hyacinths. I think the hyacinths will be lovely this year. I’ve never grown hyacinths from bulbs before (I always bought some), so I’m excited. The lilac is getting new buds; I’m even more excited about that!
We’re supposed to get 3-6 inches of snow. Originally, the storm was supposed to start tonight, but the new alert says 11 AM. I can feel it coming in. Winter in New England!
Last Day of the Full Moon in Capricorn, moving into Aquarius
Pluto, Saturn, Neptune Retrograde
Celtic Tree Month of Holly
Cloudy and humid
The squirrels have been a problem. Spiro Squirrel is the worst, going after the tansy all the time. I wonder if there’s something about the root he likes, or he’s just preparing for winter. I wound up taking in the tansy, and hope I can save it. The pot of tansy on the front porch is doing well. It’s a useful natural insect repellant, which is one reason I like to have it.
Bingo and Jingo, the pair that always pulls shenanigans together, are also all over the balcony, poking at this and that. They will be very disappointed when all the pots disappear from the balcony in the winter. Spiro is the one, though, who knocks on the window regularly at lunch time and expects us to pass out a sandwich. Just in case you worried, we do not.
As annoying as they are, the fact that they’re already burying things for winter concerns me. Along with the fact the cats shed their summer coats and are growing in thick winter coats already, and miserable, because the heat and humidity have gone up in the past couple of weeks, and are likely to remain so through the rest of the month (although it’s still much cooler than it was last year at this time). And, I noticed, out back, one of the large shrubs is starting to turn for autumn already.
I am planning accordingly.
The Celtic Tree Month of Holly began last Friday. This is about the immortality of nature, masculine energy, and protection. One of the things I miss from the Cape is the Ashumet Sanctuary in Falmouth, with all the wonderful holly varieties. Holly is one of my favorites.
The Farmers’ Market continues its wonder. The large tomatoes are now available, which is good, because our tomato plants haven’t even blossomed yet! We are getting our little, tiny cucumbers, though. They’re not supposed to grow more than 6” in length; they’re not even an inch yet, but there are a bunch of them. I put the pumpkin plant out back for the bees; once it’s been pollinated, I’ll bring it back in, before the squirrels cause problems. I harvested some spearmint, and it’s hanging to dry. I’ll harvest peppermint as soon as the spearmint is ready to strip and put in a jar.
The sugar snap peas from the market last week were spectacular, as were the new red potatoes. I bought extra lemon basil and put up some lemon basil pesto.
Last weekend, I finally stripped the pine wreath from Yule. It stayed green well into June. I have a jar of small branches to burn at Yule, and then 5 jars of needles to use in various concoctions. Tessa helped; she always loved working with me in the still room.
I bought cut flowers last weekend, a big, mixed bunch, and we have filled vases all over the house. Buying those pretty vases a couple of weeks ago at the thrift store gave me a good excuse to fill them!
I still haven’t replanted the jasmine, and I have to plant more cat grass, because the cats decimated what was there.
This weekend, in and around the work I have to do, I will take the cats out in their playpens onto the back balcony. The front porch has been too hot and humid for any of us to spend much time out there (although the plants enjoy it). The back balcony is cooler. The cats have been little fur puddles all week, although they enjoy the ceiling fans. Too bad their summer fur didn’t hold on for a few more weeks.
I’m ordering the tulip bulbs this weekend. We’re going to plant them in October and let them overwinter on the front porch, when we close it off for the season. It’s far too likely the squirrels will dig them up if we leave them out on the back balcony.
I’m looking forward to the Farmers’ Market again this week. And it’s such a pleasure to have mountain views both from the front and back windows. And so many trees out back! This is considered a “tree city” and trees are cherished.
We’ve been so lucky with the weather lately. It hasn’t bee too humid (except on the rainy days). The temperatures have been in the 70s and 80s. Pleasant. Blankets needed at night; the occasional cardigan early in the day. I’d much rather have this weather than in the 90s with high humidity.
But growth has slowed down. I feel like things should be farther along than they are, especially the tomatoes. They haven’t grown much at all for weeks. I mean, they’re supposed to be small and good for containers, but they haven’t grown large enough to blossom, and therefore, actually have tomatoes.
The cucumbers are blooming and are out back, until the bees pollinate, the cucumbers start forming, and I bring the pot back to the front porch, away from the squirrels, who have been a pain in the butt. They dug up my Blue Spruce seedling and that’s been moved to the front porch, too. (The front porch is enclosed, an extra room. The back balcony is open, but with a roof).
The pumpkin is about to flower; I will then put it out back for a few days to get pollinated, and return it to the porch. The dahlias are about 5 feet tall, but haven’t yet bloomed.
The borage is doing well, but the columbine and the cilantro didn’t make it. The night-blooming jasmine is quickly outgrowing its pot.
I have to harvest some spearmint and dry it, because that plant is going like gangbusters. It’s getting leggy, and I want to cut it back so it’s more bushy than leggy.
We’re eating our lettuce regularly, which is always fun.
We’re doing some seed saving, from produce bought at the farmer’s market, which we will try to plant next year.
The downstairs neighbors have their in-ground garden growing. The one neighbor, who had a garden last summer, has her plants all set, and they’re growing (although her tomatoes haven’t blossomed, either). The two guys that rent rooms from the other downstairs neighbor marked off a small patch. They are growing corn and watermelon, and they are so excited! It’s so funny to watch them croon over their seedlings. I love it.
All three cats now demand to go out on the back balcony regularly. Each has her own playpen, so we put the cat in, carry it out, set it up, and everybody gets a half hour or so outside after lunch, weather permitting. They are all very good, but it wouldn’t be safe for them not to be in the playpen. I tried only taking one per day out, but the carrying on and the Kitty Drama was too much.
The rest of the time, they have windows in which to sit, and the front porch, which they all love.
I’m hoping, in the next week or so, to get some black-eyed Susan plants and get those set up. I will not spend what I did on the brown-eyed Susan (Monrovia) plant, which gave it up after a couple of weeks. Live and learn, right?
We’re definitely in growing season now. Even some of the plants that initially hung back: lemon balm, marine heliotrope, columbine – are doing better. The dahlias are growing like crazy, as are the hollyhocks. Only one pumpkin vine is still alive, but it’s growing well.
The nasturtiums are still very unhappy, and the moonflowers aren’t doing well, either. The new batch of morning glories are better, but still nowhere near as strong as they were down on Cape.
I’ll have to repot a few plants who are outgrowing their original small pots. Even the night-blooming jasmine, who’s only been around for a few weeks, will need a bigger pot soon. But I have a special pot saved, just for her!
The basil, chives, parsley, cilantro, and lettuce are doing well, and I’m using them as often as possible.
The trip to Hancock Shaker Village on Tuesday included wandering around their medicinal garden. Seeing that comfrey, coltsfoot, horehound, and calendula do well in this region means I can try growing them next spring. I always kept them in my stillroom, because I use them for various cough blends and/or poultices or salves.
The Farmer’s Market starts up weekly this coming Saturday, and I am so excited. I can’t wait to create menus each week based on what’s fresh at the market.
Everyone in the neighborhood is fixing up their little patch of porch and/or green, and it’s a delight to walk around and see how creative people are.
How are things going in your neck of the woods, sea, or meadows?
Things are growing! It’s lovely to see the plants doing well. The tomatoes are still growing slowly, but that’s okay.
The dahlias, in particular, are nearly three feet tall. I got a book out of the library about dahlias, and it thoroughly intimidated me, but I am doing the best I can with them. My dahlia coach tells me they are actually pretty tough plants, so, fingers crossed they actually bloom.
We’re using the rosemary, parsley, lettuce, and basil. I will probably use some of the spearmint and peppermint over the holiday weekend. I plan to use the lettuce for the tacos I’m making.
The impatiens on the front porch, and the impatiens, geranium, and brown-eyed Susan on the back porch are all blooming with giddy joy. I hope to add a basket of petunias soon.
The lilacs have been gorgeous the past week and change. I’m so happy so many yards around here have lilacs. I can literally stop and smell the lilacs when I run errands. I might, just might, purchase a lilac slip next spring and put it in a pot, like I did on Cape. Having lilacs out back would be lovely.
The good thing about all these blooming bushes around us is that there are plenty of bees, so when the tomatoes and cucumbers and pumpkin need pollinating, I can put them out on the back balcony for a few days and leave the bees to it. Imagine! I live in a city, and there are more bees than we had on Cape. But then, here, people aren’t putting pesticides on their lawns, and cutting down all the trees, either.
We’re spending lots of time out on the front porch. I’m trying to spend more time on the back balcony, too, since we have it set up so nicely. We took Willa out there in her playpen yesterday. She loved it. There was so much to see and smell, and it was so different from the deck in Cape Cod.
Charlotte sat on the kitchen chair inside and watched us, very sad, so it will be her turn today. I might try Tessa out there, too, if I can get her into her playpen over the weekend. She hates being in the playpen. Willa and Charlotte don’t mind.
This weekend, passes go on sale for Windsor Lake, which is only a half a mile up the mountain. The season pass is very reasonable, and I’m looking forward to spending lots of time at the lake this summer. We’re also planning a trip to the Berkshire Botanical Garden.
In the meanwhile, we tend our plants every day. I probably fuss at them too much, but they seem to like it. I mean, the peace lily is a constant drama queen, but that’s a peace lily for you.
It’s time to give the Rose of Jericho a few days’ rest, so I will do that, and then, on Monday, the new moon, put it back in water.
There’s definitely a learning curve, and things grow very differently here than on Cape, but it’s a lot of fun to learn. And can I just say I don’t mind not having to mow, rake, and do all the rest of the yard work, at all?
Things are growing! It’s absolutely lovely to be in the Berkshires right now, and watching the trees go into leaf, and the sides of the mountains turn from brown to green. The air smells wonderful.
The weather is all over the place, with bands of thunderstorms and heavy rains passing through Further east, they had hail.
We bought two hanging baskets. One is definitely impatiens (or, as my grandmother used to call them, “patient Lucy”). The other is marked as a “flowering annual”, but the leaves look and smell like a geranium. The baskets are hanging in the back balcony, but I keep having to take them down when it rains, because otherwise they’d get battered.
The lettuce is doing well, and pretty soon we can actually use it. I’m already using the parsley, the rosemary, and the mint. The chives did well all winter, and continue to provide chives.
We repotted the rest of the plants we’d bought at Whitney’s Farm last week. I put some marigold seeds in with the ruby cherry tomato, and they’ve started sprouting. The nasturtium was unhappy up on the shelf on the porch, so I moved it where it gets more sun. Hopefully, it will like it better. I reseeded the morning glories and put the pot out back. Fingers crossed.
The brown-eyed Susan is blooming well in the back, and Norway spruce seedling is growing. The peace lily is being its normal, drama queen self.
We’re keeping the cat grass growing, although they’re not eating much in the current batch.
The missing night-blooming jasmine was replaced. It’s much smaller than expected but I put it in a smaller pot than planned, and it seems perfectly happy so far.
There are lilacs here, so I might get a small lilac slip next spring and start it in a big pot. I miss my lilacs so much. I loved the old-fashioned lilac tree in our previous yard, and I’d nurtured the other potted lilacs for nearly ten years. It was a wrench to give them up, especially the white Edith Cavell lilac, which is not easy to find.
But our garden spaces are coming together, and we enjoy using them. The neighbors are setting up their porches and balconies, too, so it’s fun to see how everyone decorates and enjoys their various spaces. It adds so much to the quality of life.
The Celtic Tree month of Hawthorn began last Friday, so what does that mean?
Hawthorn has a lot of masculine energy. On a medicinal front, Hawthorn is used for circulatory issues and to lower blood pressure (always check with an accredited herbalist first, and discuss any medical conditions before trying an herbal remedy, especially if you’re on ANY kind of medication). On spiritual levels, it’s about clearing negativity and stimulating forgiveness.
It’s been cool enough the past few days to close the windows and for the heat to kick on overnight, but it’s supposed to get up into the 90’s this weekend, which I am not looking forward to.
However, I am looking forward to buying my season pass for Windsor Lake and spending time up there all summer!
The focus, the past few days, has been on our version of garden. On Tuesday afternoon, we headed over to Whitney’s Farm and bought all kinds of plants: a red geranium, a brown-eyed Susan, rosemary, basil, a small tomato, spearmint, peppermint, impatiens, parsley. I saw what the black-eyed Susan vine will grow into, and it’s very exciting.
Yesterday, while the computer ran a 14-hour update, we used the time to start setting up the back balcony and the front porch as our Enchanted Garden spaces. It’s not finished, but they are both shaping up to be lovely.
We repotted the pumpkin to a larger pot, and moved the aloe into the former pumpkin pot. We repotted the brown-eyed Susan, the geranium, the basil, spearmint and peppermint, and then we ran out of potting soil. So that is on the agenda for today. More potting soil. We’d bought more pots, but we didn’t get all the proper sizes, so we might grab another pot or two.
We took out some of the big plants that overwintered inside and put them out back. That includes the peace lily. I have so much extra room in my office now! I oiled the bench and the two bistro chairs; we brought out the bistro table, and the small red table. I hung the stained-glass hummingbird and the stained-glass lighthouse. We put the green shelf unit that we use to define the space at the door (the length of the balcony is shared by the two apartments on this floor, but the other tenant uses his half as extra storage). We put out some of our decorations, and put down the red patio rug we bought. It looks good, but I think we need another one to run down the whole space,
We had to take all the furniture out of the front porch in order to put down the green rug I’d bought for that space. By a stroke of luck, it was exactly the right size. I mean, I’d done a rough measurement, but I’d bought the rug because it was the last one in the color I liked, and hoped for the best. It’s kind of a sage green, and it really brightens up the space. We then rearranged the furniture on it. Because the plant stands/shelf units are all on the back deck, we have to figure out what else we need for the plants still on the floor. But it’s a nice, inviting space.
I was tired and achy by the end of it, and I’m sore today, but it was worth it. Still more to do, but we have two lovely gardenesque spaces to enjoy this season!
The photo above is not my front porch or yard, but it’s definitely inspirational!
The weather is still all over the place. We’re back into a cold spell now. It will warm up for a few days, and then, toward the end of next week, get cold again.
In other words, the plants can’t stay outdoors yet.
But the forsythia and azaleas are blooming. There are some bushes that I think are weeping cherry, maybe, also blooming. It smells lovely when I walk around to do my errands. There are daffodils and hyacinths up, and people are planting more. Really lovely. People are excited for spring.
I’ve been working to oil the teak furniture. I have one more small table to do, and then, once it’s warm enough, I can oil the bench and the two bistro chairs and the bench out on the back porch.
Plantwise, I’ve just about given up on the mallow. It’s been nearly a month or slightly over a month since the seeds were planted (the plant journal is in the other room, and I’m too lazy to check). I can repurpose the pots for other herbs or maybe some lettuce.
The mesclun greens seeds popped up and faded immediately. The cilantro came up fast and isn’t doing well. It may well be similar here as it was on Cape – makes more sense to buy lettuce and herbs as plants, rather than trying to grow them from seed. The morning glories, who’ve always grown well for me, are not happy, either. I might have to get a new packet (from a different company) and re-sow. Some of the columbine is doing well. The marine heliotrope and echinacea are not. The lavender has not yet come up.
The snapdragons and tansy shoots are still small, but they’re holding on.
The sweet peas, nasturtiums, and four o’clocks are growing well. The moonflowers are undecided; they’re hanging in there, but it’s almost as though they’re worried about the morning glories. The hollyhocks and black-eyed Susan vine are doing well. The dwarf sunflowers are doing well.
The cucumbers and tomatoes are up, but not really doing much of anything. The pumpkins are doing well, and I will have to replant them a larger pot soon.
The dahlia bulbs have both sprouted, and that’s very exciting. Those are going to be big plants. Since this is my first foray into the Cult of the Dahlia, I’m excited, but also a little intimidated.
I mentioned that I got a small Norway Spruce seedling last week, a gift from the grocery store for Earth Day. It’s sitting in its little pot, doing its thing. Since it’s a tree seedling, I have it out on the enclosed porch, with the chrysanthemum I brought from the Cape house (it used to be in the barrel outside). Eventually, I will probably move the tree seedling to the back balcony, but we’ll see.
It’s supposed to get cold again, one more time, next weekend (not the one coming up, the following one), and then, it should be steadily warm enough to set up the back balcony and leave everything out in front and in back.
Soon after that, once the car is fixed, it will be time to head to Whitney’s Farm again, and get in lettuce and maybe some more geraniums, and some begonias.
All of our philodendrons died. The move shocked them. They’d been in the same spot, growing up the walls inside the Cape house for a decade, so it’s not surprising that the move would be too much. And, after all, the biggest of the plants (that looked like it could be an understudy in a revival of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS), was originally given to us in 1966, when my dad was in the hospital after a heart attack.
But I want another philodendron. I might make a trip, in the next couple of weeks, to Plant Connector, which just moved to Main Street, and see if they have a small philodendron, and if they have a spider plant. We used to have lots of those, and I used to pot up the offshoots and give them to people. But none of the spider plants survived the move to the Cape.
I want to be more creative on how I decorate indoors with plants. I’m looking at lots of photos on Instagram and going through the garden books that made it up (I have to get the rest out of storage over the coming months). I don’t want to overdo it inside, because of the plants that spend most of the summer outside who have to spend the winter inside. But I do want to be a little more creative inside with plant choice and plant placement.
When I lived in NYC, I had a stack of books on houseplants. When I moved to the Cape, they were packed away (and are now in storage), and I focused on outdoor container gardening and outdoors, in general. I don’t have a yard here, but between the enclosed porch, the back balcony, and the wonderful natural light from the large windows, I can do a mix.
Patience, right? Isn’t that what gardening is supposed to teach? I still have a lot to learn in that department!
The weather has been all over the place, veering from snow to rain to sun back again. Very bizarre.
Last Saturday, as the temperature plummeted, we took the plants in from the porch. We brought them out again for a few hours on Tuesday, but now they’re back in, because it’s just too cold for them out there.
One of the dahlias is starting to come up, which is very exciting, along with the snapdragons. The cilantro started, too, which is good, since I use a lot of cilantro. I’m still waiting for the mallow, and about to give up on it. I’ve given up on the pear and the clementine. Obviously, those were GMO seeds.
In honor of Earth Day (which is tomorrow), a local grocery store gave away Norway spruce seedlings. I got mine yesterday — a teeny, tiny little sprig. I planted it in the pot where I’d given up on the pear seeds. That pot is out on the front porch (along with the chrysanthemums, which always lived outside on Cape). When I set up the back balcony, I’ll probably move the seedling there. It’s supposed to grow about 2 feet per year, so I have a few years before I have to worry about donating it to a community garden. It’s only about 5 or 6 inches tall at this point.
The dwarf sunflowers have sprouted, out of the kit, although the lavender hasn’t done anything yet.
Quite a few of the plants seem to have stalled. They shot up, but now they’re sitting there, not getting taller or the stems getting thicker. So, we’ll see.
And, of course, I’m alternating the two pots of cat grass, one always seeded and growing, one down where Charlotte and Willa can enjoy it. Tessa doesn’t like cat grass.
I’ve started oiling the outdoor wooden furniture with teak oil. I should have done it at the end of last season and didn’t, so it’s very thirsty now. The chairs have needed two applications so far. I need to be on the lookout for more teak oil. I’m almost out. This bottle lasted me nearly ten years, so I have no complaints.
The Celtic Tree Month of Willow began last Friday. What does that mean? Willow is about being in touch with deep emotions, understanding them, and working with them, not against them. Willow bark has properties similar to aspirin. I’ve used willow bark tea for headaches in the past. With the sun moving into Taurus now, which is about stability and pleasure, and the tree month being Willow, emotion, there’s an opportunity to enjoy and stabilize emotions. Really feel the pleasure, and work with the unpleasant emotions.
Plant growth wise, we are moving into growing season (well, we will, if it ever stops snowing). All these little, tiny plants struggling to get out into the sun and be somebody.
Gratitude and Growth: A Garden Journal 