A Garden Fair Pictorial
The Hudson Valley Garden Association had their second Garden Fair on May 3 at Montgomery Place in Red Hook. My husband Dale and I’d never been to Montgomery Place and we couldn’t make Garden Fair last year. You know how sometimes in life you have a magical experience that only lasts a few hours, but it is … Continue reading
The Bird’s the Word: Barn Swallow
After a thunderstorm the other day I found this in a field (see above), which made me wonder what type of bird it belongs to? So I took it home and looked it up online and found out it is a barn swallow egg, which makes sense. There is a barn located only a short … Continue reading
Elegant Design & New Garden Friends
Recently I did some pruning and consulting with a dynamic couple in Poughkeepsie, John and Gayle. Forty years ago they converted a red brick barn into a contemporary marvel of comfort and beauty (John’s an architect). One of the outdoor design features that really delighted me was this fantastic tiered series of perennial planters in … Continue reading
Beavers
Beavers have moved into the neighborhood! Usually you do not see these large rodents, just their lodges, canals, dams and lots of gnawed trees. There are two varieties of beavers that live in streams, ponds, rivers, and marshes throughout North America, Europe and Asia and the reason we do not often see them is they are … Continue reading
Seeds for the People: Hudson Valley Seed Library
I just ordered my 2012 flower and veg seeds from the Hudson Valley Seed Library, founded by the charming and über-talented duo that is partners Ken Greene and Doug Muller. You don’t have to live in the Hudson Valley to order from them. They serve all of New York and those parts of neighboring states … Continue reading
Is it beauty? (If it’s toxic?)
Reprinted and revised from Idia’Dega Eco-Fashion Blog Recently I attended an event discussing the Beauty industry and its not so beautiful ways. In addition to the consistently culturally biased views of beauty so prevalent and globally distributed and sadly happily digested by the world. The way many of these products are made and what they … Continue reading
Larisa Code: “What smells better than fresh soil?”
Larisa Code, landscape designer, gardener, community green gal and all-around Earth lover’s bio begins simply: “Larisa Code has been an avid gardener her entire life.” And so she has. She no only uses her own home and garden as a real-life working and experiment on green gardening and eco-gardening. She balances designing the gardens of … Continue reading
Monarch caterpillars
Hatching monarch caterpillars is a tradition in my family and a year hasn’t gone by since we haven’t talked about seeing a monarch caterpillar or discussed how many chrysalis we have hatched. Once I moved to the Hudson Valley I was a little worried that the monarch butterflies didn’t exist here. The first couple of … Continue reading
Red Rocket Snapdragons
I’m looking through pictures of last summer’s glorious garden successes to comfort myself after seeing the devastation in our New Paltz community gardens, where all is lost after Hurricane Irene. The “Rocket” series of snapdragons come in red, pink, yellow, apricot, orchid … they are on long stems so make great cut flowers (don’t buy … Continue reading
Raspberry salsa
After spending the afternoon in the berry patch, I had to decide what to do with my red and golden raspberries. I decide that this was a great opportunity to try something different, so I decided to make raspberry salsa. This recipe will make you realize that you have many more taste-buds than you imagined! … Continue reading
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