When a gardening friend recently told me that she was “sadly watching the seasonal demise” of her garden, I began to examine my own feelings about...
On a recent Sunday morning I found myself strolling through a field in Hadley surrounded by row upon row of exquisite flowers — legions of many...
As spring makes its grudging arrival in the Pioneer Valley, we are welcoming back the birds, bees and other insects that were missing from our...
April always tests our patience with chilly damp weather, but I know that spring is here when Andrew’s Greenhouse in South Amherst hangs out a sign...
The landscape looks pretty somber these days, especially when it’s cold and gray. Even the evergreens appear nearly colorless under overcast skies....
Although we are surrounded by plants and depend on them for our lives and livelihoods, many of us know practically nothing about plants and what...
One of the most eminent gardeners in Amherst’s history is the historian and journalist Ray Stannard Baker, who lived on Sunset Avenue in the early...
Most of the gardeners I know and write about work in the ground, digging up dirt, pulling out rocks and roots, and making pleasing landscapes with...
I’ll never forget one magical evening last summer when I discovered how much wild birds need water during dry spells. My husband and I were sitting...
By MICKEY RATHBUNWhen Jane Bryden and her husband, Chris Krueger, sold their house in Amherst five years ago to move to a smaller house in...
Deadheading. It’s a not very nice word for a not very nice task. Nonetheless, gardeners avoid it at the risk of letting their plants go to seed...
Back in April, I wrote an article about Laurel Park, a residential community in Northampton that grew out of a 19th-century Methodist summer camp...