Tag: Organic Gardening
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The Impudent Carrot
Fair warning, gentle hearted readers. I’m about to share an image of an anthropomorphic carrot alongside a human hand returning the misanthropic gesture. Still reading? And accompanying this potentially offensive image is a potentially offensive poem. So if you’re super sensitive and/or if you’re indisposed to gardeners’ laugh therapy, no judgment (but best stop reading…
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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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Peaches This Year
Glorious indeed it is to report that our peaches this year are the tastiest I’ve ever grown. Also the biggest, juiciest, sweetest, and IMHO the prettiest. O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! — Lewis Carroll I’m chortling in my joy. Imagine, if you dare, the decadence of lifting a sun warmed peach, freshly plucked from the branch,…
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Amish Assistance
We’re grateful to our Amish community for assistance nurturing Rosslyn’s organic vegetable, fruit, and flower gardens; our holistic orchard and vineyard; and sixty acres of landscape. While there’s much to admire about the dedicated women who have planted and weeded, pruned and suckered, nurtured and harvested for us, I’m especially grateful for their petroleum-free, exhaust…
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Woodchucks & Cucumbers
Ever wonder how cucumbers would taste for breakfast? One of the joys of vegetable (and fruit) gardening is the opportunity to try new things, dip into the abundance in unusual ways, and experiment with combinations of ingredients and unusual pairings. As it turns out, a handsome woodchuck — a North American marmot (Marmota monax), if I’m…
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Poppy Poems
Poppy poems! At last I’m bundling a batch of verse celebrating my favorite blooms. Poppies. Papaveraceae. Coquelicots… Most of these poppy poems started out as Instagram posts inspired, at least in part, by daily snapshots of poppies blooming in Rosslyn’s gardens. For this reason I’ll include links at the end of the poem if you’re…
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First Peaches
It’s but a month and a day after Independence Day and we’re eating our first peaches of the season. Eureka! So memorable a moment each summer when I savor the first bites of the first peaches of the season that I’ve begun to wonder if we might need to create a floating holiday. It’s hard…
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Summer Supper Prequel
Sometime summer supper comes in springtime because the asparagus are perfect and I just can’t wait for summer. Or I want to jumpstart summer. Or… Let’s just call this a summer supper prequel and get in with the eye candy! Because asparagus season just happens to have coincided with the decadence of fresh lobster meat.…
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Catherine Seidenberg: Artist
I wrap my digital arms around friend, neighbor, artist, and gardener extraordinaire Catherine Seidenberg for this memorable birthday gift. Thank you! Catherine’s whimsical black and white watercolor of Rosslyn’s front facade offers a chance to reflect on the past decade Susan and I have spent reinvigorating this quirky property and an invitation to daydream about its future. The…
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Holistic Orcharding: Fruitful and Deer-full
I’m excited to report that we may finally be able to enjoy Rosslyn peaches, nectarines, and even a few pears and apples this summer. For the first time since we began planting an orchard, several trees have matured enough to set fruit. Fruitful Orchard Those bright red mulberry will darken as they soak up sun and…
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Friend or Foe: Colorado Potato Beetle
This morning I spied a Colorado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) or three in the vegetable garden. Here’s a fuzzy snapshot of one Colorado Potato Beetle contentedly munching away on young eggplant leaves. Do you see the yellow striped beetle? It’s approximately center frame. Here’s a closeup of another Colorado Potato Beetle once I flicked him/her…
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Holistic Orcharding: Michael Phillips
For several years I’ve been absorbing holistic orcharding and gardening wisdom from Michael Phillips. I no longer recall how I came across the pied piper of organic, non-toxic fruit tree propagation, but it’s quite possible that my first introduction was an article in Mother Earth News titled, “Organic Apple Growing: Advice From Michael Phillips“. If you’re…