Tag: Gardens
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Poppies Aplenty
Poppies aplenty! A gardener can never grow too many poppies in my estimation. Biased? Yes, unabashedly biased when it comes to Papavers, I’m afraid. (The oriental poppies that we plant at Rosslyn are in the genus Papaver in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. No worries, you won’t be quizzed later.) So smitten am…
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Day Lily Daze
Lest the glories of midsummer be eclipsed by boat lift blues and lemon generators, I’d like to dazzle you with blossoms. I’m hoping to follow up this day lily daze with another shortly, the next leaning more toward whites and pinks and purples. But today we start with more familiar hues and patterns. This summer…
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Rosslyn Gardens: Mid-July Veggies
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mQqE7yNGkA&w=600&rel=0] After the rainiest spring/summer in years, the summer of 2012 appears to be one of the driest, and Rosslyn gardens have mostly profited. Time for an update on our mid-July veggies, plus an important question about squash blossoms at the end. Lake Champlain water levels are plummeting (waterfront/dock/boating update soon) and lawns are either…
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Hail Storm & Apple Tree
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNMPDFK5xPw&w=600&rel=0] An ancient and neglected apple tree. Actually some sort of crab apple tree with fruit the size of golf balls. Large golf balls that were tart but delicious. Griffin loved to scarf them up when they carpeted the lawn in autumn. For six years I pruned and nourished the crab apple tree back to…
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Fox & Squirrel Revisited
I’ve been quick to admit my fascination with the ongoing Rosslyn safari. Predation up close and personal from the comfort of my breakfast table! But this week, I had a change of heart…
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Rifle & Eggs
“Mornin’,” Wes said as he pulled the pantry door shut behind him and greeted Griffin with a scratch behind the ears. “Good morning,” I called back from the kitchen where I was scrambling eggs. “You don’t want me to run that thing on the tennis court, do ya?” he asked, referring to the lawn aerator…
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Timber Rattlesnake? Massasauga Rattlesnake?
Have you ever ever heard of an Eastern massasauga rattlesnake? Or a Sistrurus catenatus? Me either. Until recently. I’ve just come across notes that I scribbled almost three years ago on May 15, 2009 after seeing a large, unfamiliar snake behind the carriage barn. I tried to identify the exotic serpent but never solved the…
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Orchard Rumination
Lately I’ve been reflecting on all the trees I wish I’d planted in the fall of 2006 and the spring of 2007. We’ve been adding new trees for a year now — a half dozen or so each spring and fall — and yet I can’t help but imagine what might be today if I’d…
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Orchard Update: Apricots & Peaches
An early and mostly temperate spring has given us a jump start in Rosslyn’s gardens and meadows. The new orchard behind the carriage barn, already planted with plum trees and pear trees, has almost doubled in size over the last couple of weeks with the addition of apricots and peaches. Doug Decker, our carpenter-turned-jack-of-all-trades-handyman who…
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Rosslyn Gardens: Heirloom Tomatoes and More
Rain, rain, rain. That was the main melody this spring, and all of that rain delayed planting vegetables. But as Lake Champlain‘s devastating flood of 2011 begins to subside, I shift my attention to the garden. The latest video update takes a look at what’s been planted in the garden including lots of tomatoes: Beaverlodge…
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Soggy Soil Delays Planting
With some Champlain Valley residents being evacuated by boat and the Wesport Marina totally flooded, we’re feeling fortunate that a submerged boathouse and waterfront is the extent of our flooding problems. Although we have our work cut our for us when Lake Champlain water levels drop, another short-term challenge is the super saturated soil. Tilling…
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Reliance and Neptune Grapes
Neptune grapes? What? This spring one of my gardening priorities is developing Rosslyn’s long term fruit production. I’ve spent the last couple of years salvaging long abandoned apple trees, and this spring I’m planting additional fruit trees, shrubs and vines. Sounds factory farm-like… Not at all what I’m going for, so let’s start again! Neptune…