Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘flowers’

Spring Planting

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 15, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

The big thermometer on the garage may have said 40 degrees when I woke up this morning, but I’m still thinking spring.

My husband has planted an array of annuals and perennials, and both kids are seeding lawns.

Since I am rather a fan of Mass Challenge winners and I also had a heartfelt testimonial from Mimsey, I encouraged both families to try a 2010 Mass Challenge winner, Pearl’s Premium grass seed.

Mimsey said that she had thrown Pearl’s into a wooded area next to her house, expecting nothing. Before she knew it, a lovely velvety carpet had grown there. Sounded to me like the beans Jack’s mother threw away that led to Jack’s adventures at the top of a beanstalk.

And speaking of plants, the plant identification site Mister Smarty Plants, a big supporter of this blog, needs my support tonight. So if you would like to help him get recognition at a Mass Innovation Night on June 10, vote for him here. It took me a while to figure out the voting. You have to vote for four entries in the event and make a comment. But you don’t have to give your name. Thanks!

Read Full Post »

Sunshine and Shadows

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 5, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

This morning as my almost-three-year-old grandson was “fixing” the downspout with a pair of pliers, I passed along what I like about spring.

You don’t have to put on coats and scarves and boots and hats and mittens every time you go out. It’s warm and sunny. There are lots of flowers. The flowers smell good.

He didn’t say much, probably because he had already gotten me to smell a large, red tulip, and he was focused on his work.

Here are some spring pictures. Look closely to see the mural of a rabbit in the shadows at Olga’s, where our one-year-old grandson escorted us for brunch.

Help me identify the sprays of flowery branches? The only one I can say  for sure is the yellow forsythia. For the others, I will have to upload the photos at the website of the almost-three-year-old’s dad to get a crowd-sourced identification, Mister Smarty Plants. Do you think the pink spray is quince?

rabbit on wall at Olga's

brunch at Olga's

spray of white at bank

forsythia

could it be quince?

shadows on back door

Read Full Post »

First May Day, Then Mother’s Day

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 17, 2013 | 2 Comments »

Today’s mild weather reminds me that May Day and Mother’s Day aren’t far off. Mother’s Day is a highlight of the year at Luna & Stella, Suzanne’s lovely birthstone jewelry company, for which Suzanne’s Mom blogs.

I hope you know about May Day, too. I’d like to see it revived, the ancient custom of leaving flowers at people’s doors in honor of spring. (I don’t begrudge the workers of the world their version of May Day, but they shouldn’t hog the whole thing.)

Why don’t Girl Scout troops do May Day? Why don’t florists? It mystifies me.

I still remember a May basket I made as a kid from a punch-out book. I thought it was a thing of beauty and kept asking my mother to get me another book like that. But they stopped making them.

Now I work from scratch if I have time. Last year I blogged about one kind of a homemade basket, here.

It’s always a surprise to see what flowers are available on May 1 any given year. Since these are in my yard now, I suspect there will be different ones by  May.

small rhodadendron

blue scylla

andromeda

forsythia

Read Full Post »

Revisiting Mister Smarty Plants

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on March 18, 2013 | 7 Comments »

The plant-identification site Mister Smarty Plants, which I first blogged about here on May 23, 2011, just keeps getting better.

One innovation from the past year has been rounding up tweets containing photos of flowers and plants that people around the world want help identifying and bringing them to the site to be identified by the growing number of readers.

I used to get a lot of identifications right, but Mister Smarty Plants queries are quite exotic now, which makes the site both exciting and challenging.

Today, John announced a new design with special features like kudos to the week’s most successful plant identifiers.

The Smarty Plants concept has always been that the more people who come to the site with their questions, the more who will be available to identify plants. John has been persistent about finding new ways to reach the folks who need the service.

Even if you think you don’t know much about plants, check it out. It’s almost like playing a game, and believe it or not, there are people in other parts of the world who don’t know what a dandelion is.

MisterSmartyPlants

Read Full Post »

Weather

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on April 1, 2012 | 4 Comments »

First it was 80 degrees, then it was 20.

Some flowering trees seemed to be OK with that. Others, not so much.

I was pretty confused myself. If all the spring flowers were going to bloom in March, what would be left for a May basket? I do like May baskets.

Read Full Post »

Concord Farmers Market

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 10, 2011 | 2 Comments »

Concord’s main business street, sometimes called the Milldam because it was built over a dam, got blocked to traffic this morning, and farmers set up booths. Concord doesn’t do this often because most farmers around town have their own stands. I bought a small yellow watermelon, corn, lettuce, green beans, and a tomato. Because I was on foot I resisted buying more, but the raspberries looked wonderful as did some seasoned salt, pots of flowers, dried hydrangeas, and homemade soaps.

Among the farms represented were Verrill Farm (where we went for Mothers Day brunch this year),  Pete & Jen’s Backyard Birds, Frank Scimone Farm, and Hutchins Farm (pictured).

Last year we attended the Concord farms’ annual Stone Soup dinner, a benefit organized by the town’s Agricultural Committee – quite elaborate and delicious. A scholarship was awarded that night to a young local farmer as part of the campaign to encourage the next generation to pursue or stay in agriculture. I was surprised to learn that there are 18 farms in Concord. Read more here.

Read Full Post »

How the Big Dig Created a Lovely Urban Garden

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 24, 2011 |

Sometimes I take my morning walk in the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a lovely urban garden created on top of the Big Dig. I know the American Taxpayer paid too much for the Big Dig, but I just want to say I am really grateful for the Greenway. The mayor, among others, is concerned that not that many people use it yet, that it seems to be there just for Suzanne’s Mom and a few office workers. But now there is a carousel in summer and the Boston Harbor Islands visitor center and various food vendors — all of which are expected to attract more visitors. One vendor is Equal Exchange, the fair-trade coffee company. (You can follow Equal Exchange’s carts on Twitter at EEFreeRange.)

Read Full Post »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 253 other followers