by Colby Galliher NEW ENGLAND – It’s deep in winter, and a nor’easter is dumping snow outside. In between the howling winds you hear a boom! Maybe a heap of snow fell from the roof, you think, or a giant icicle crashed from the eaves. A few minutes later, another[Read More…]
Columns
Remembering Tasha Tudor (1915-2008)
by Henry Homeyer CORNISH FLAT, N.H. – Tasha Tudor, one of America’s favorite children’s book illustrators and writers and a great gardener, died peacefully at home on June 18, 2008, at the age of 92. She sold her first book, “Pumpkin Moonshine,” in 1938 by going to New York and[Read More…]
A Year in the Garden
by Henry Homeyer CORNISH FLAT, N.H. – As we begin 2024, I think it is good not only to look back on the year we have just concluded, but also to plan ahead. We can’t know if we’ll be facing hot and dry or wet and soggy this summer or[Read More…]
Thor was in a Charitable Mood
by Willem Lange EAST MONTPELIER – The narration, a modern version of the second chapter of Luke, began the old familiar Christmas story. Mary and Joseph shuffled down the church aisle on cue, Mary cuddling a bundle clearly intended to be the baby Jesus, and Joseph strangely empty-handed. The mother[Read More…]
The Potential for Screw-ups is Forever Before Me
by Willem Lange EAST MONTPELIER – You know you’ve reached the age of mental saturation when, in spite of everything that’ll be happening between now and New Year’s Day, your major concern isn’t whether or not you’ll take the Polar Plunge into the sea to welcome in the new year,[Read More…]
Six-Legged Creatures of the Winter Stream
by Michael J. Caduto READING – One winter day, while teaching a winter ecology class, I pulled on waders and rubber gloves, grabbed a catch net, and led my “Minibeasts of the Stream” program, discovering a rich variety of insects in the frigid waters of Kedron Brook in South Woodstock.[Read More…]
USDA Hardiness Zones Provide Vital Information
by Deborah J. Benoit, Extension Master Gardener, University of Vermont NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – There are countless things that can go right or wrong in a garden. Some of them are obvious: too much or too little water, diseases, pests and critters that nibble on our plants. Other things that[Read More…]
Don’t Try This at Home
by Henry Homeyer CORNISH FLAT, N.H. – Over the years I have come to realize that not every pretty flower deserves a place in my garden. Some bring more trouble and aggravation than they are worth and require constant vigilance to keep them from completely taking over the garden. As[Read More…]
How Trees Prepare for Winter
by Rebecca Perkins Hanissian LYME, N.H. — Of all life’s synergies, I appreciate most the one between my propensity for domestic procrastination and my love of moving through the outdoors: countless adventures are born of it. During a late November weekend, when faced with a day spent winterizing our home,[Read More…]
Grow Ginger Indoors in Winter
by Nadie VanZandt, Extension Master Gardener, University of Vermont PANTON – Praised by foodies and lovers of Asian cuisine, ginger is known for its culinary and medicinal properties. Grated, chopped, juiced or cut into thin strips, ginger is versatile and consumed as a spice, a beverage or an accompaniment in savory dishes[Read More…]
We Haven’t Changed a Bit in 180 Years
by Willem Lange EAST MONTPELIER – For almost 50 years, during the week before Christmas, I’ve been haunted by a spirit – the ghost of Charles Dickens, who rose from the grinding poverty of his childhood home to become England’s most famous writer. At the peak of his fame, crowds[Read More…]
Decorating the Outdoors in Winter
by Henry Homeyer CORNISH FLAT, N.H. – Winter is here, and there’s not much for gardeners to do outside. All we can do is sip tea, tend houseplants, and dream of spring. I try to avoid the blahs by making my outdoor environment as cheerful as possible. I love the[Read More…]
