I think I know what these are, November Snowflakes.. no? How about
Black Swallow-wort? This invasive vine is trying to take over.. the seeds are so pretty floating and flitting in our chilly breeze. They look so harmless, but our National Park Service puts Black Swallow-wort on ‘The Least Wanted List’. That web link to NPS says what I have found out..

“Black or Louis’ swallow-wort (previously Vincetoxicum nigrum and Cynanchum nigrum) is a perennial, twining herbaceous vine. The leaves are oval shaped with pointed tips, 3-4 in. long by 2-3 in. wide, and
occur in pairs along the stem. The small five-petaled star shaped flowers are dark purple to almost black with white hairs, about ¼ in. across, and are borne in clusters. The fruits are slender tapered
pods, 2 to 3 in. long by about ¼ in. wide, turning from green to light brown as they mature. Plants have rhizomes (underground stems) that sprout new plants and grow in clumps of several to many stems, forming
extensive patches.” I spent Halloween Weekend pulling the clumps of many many stems. We
keep fighting the invasive plants, they keep fighting back, there will
to sustain is most impressive

Next time, let’s talk about the touchy feely blackberries, they just grab hold and do not let go.

Step 1. Give Timmy a lesson on Clipping.

Step 2. Find the pumpkin (in this case, the pumpkin is hiding in The Japanese Knotweed)
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Step 3. Clip and Pose.

Left to right: Tommy, Timmy, Max, Timmy, and Sam

It's All Over But The Brussel Sprouts

Just Add Water Garden In August

And Just as we did back in early May, my husband, son and I shoveled manure from a nearby horse farm onto the raised bed. The difference now is that my almost 4 year old has become a farmer. Without questions or whining, Zach went to the shed, grabbed his wheelbarrow and shovel, attacked the compost pile, only asking for direction once with a jaunty “where do you want it, Mommy?”
Now I can’t say for sure that it’s a summer’s worth of fresh organic vegetables that made the difference, more likely the passage of time, but it was a pleasure watching him grow along with the Just Add Water garden over the last six months.
I look forward to gardening with all of you again next spring!

Scituate MA October 5, 2009

The red vine is one of the many invasive vines spreading throughout the northeast.

What’s wrong with this big barren tree in Norwell Massachusetts? Once thriving, I believe Birch, tree is now dead. The reason? Invasive vines choked it off.

Norwell MA October 5, 2009

Here in the NECN woodlands we have a nice looking hardwood near the southeast corner of our parking lot. This tree may be a birch too. from a distance it looks healthy.

Newton MA October 5, 2009

My dilemma is.. Do I let the tree choke to death by the grip of the invading vine.. or do I dress in my landscape outfit (instead of weatherman suit) and get to pulling the roots out from around the base of the tree in effort to save it’s life?

The tree is not my problem, the land in not owned by me or even NECN. It is Commercial Real Estate. We have a beautiful office park here in Newton Massachusetts, but these trees fall between the cracks. As observer of the vine, it appears to be my responsibility to save the tree.. and the one next to it, and the one next to it. A nice spruce is also getting overtaken just a few yards away. I will let you know which way I go. (I have spent hours and hours doing this around my yard, now I may have to go on the road with my invasive vine termination effort, anyone want to join me )

On a related note: The New England Wildflower Society is hosting a discussion on ‘Invasive ID, Ecology and Control’ in Framingham MA on Sunday October 18, 2009, see detail here.

I was very happy to get home from my 3 day jury duty last week to find a Jeep full of Mums. Janet took it on herself to hit up Shaws great selection of mums at a reasonable price to decorate our yard. I am also happy to report that my pumpkin garden produced abut 4 fruits per vine, I had three main vines.

One of the vines, I sent over to our neighbors. I told the kids next door, that any pumpkin on your side is yours. Sam and Max were happy to harvest their shore last Saturday.

Sam was happy to do the snipping. He even named this pumpkin.. “Humungo”. Thanks Sam, but we know in this age of 300 pounders, “Humungo” is just big enough for a cute little Jacko.
A walk around town shows some summer Gardens still thriving, this one is one North River Lane in Scituate MA.

And I Love these fall blooming flowers that look like daisies. I have to get some of these.. what are they called.
I am sure I could find the answer in West Springfield where The Big E is in it’s 92d year of fun and farming.
As October arrives, so does another spotty frost throughout New England. To me Garden Season never ends, the chores just change. Time now to prune the wilted perenniels down to the ground.
Ben will soon be diggiing up the Dahlia Tubers for winter storage here at Barney’s in Duxbury MA.
I am turning over my grass compost to make room for the leaves. All the blighted vines are going to the town grinder. I hear that the blight can heat to death in compost and/or freeze to death in winter. New spores ‘develop’ in the spring.
The forecast also calls for the first touch of snow on our tallest mountains Wednesday. If we get the clouds to break we may have views of Red and Orange Foliage with White on top Thursday or Friday. Bad news is we have a wet forecast Saturday into early Sunday. The sun should return as we hit peak foliage in our mountains early next week. The forecast for Columbus Day Weekend is great color, but we have to wait a bit to make the call on what weather to expect.

The dahlias typically bloom until the first hard frost. But, I had such bad results with so many of them this year, I didn’t expect them to ever come around. I’ve attached a photo of a beautiful orange dahlia that we picked this week and put in a vase. Better late than never.

I guess that I will try to get them in the ground earlier next year….or maybe start them inside. Like Amy, I am taking notes. I’ve also vowed to plot the plan of my flower garden this fall, so I remember what lives where next spring. ( I vow to do this every year and never seem to get it done.)

It was not a great summer in our garden. In fact, I’d call it one of the worst in recent memory. But there were a few highlights.

In early August, while searching for a pre-school backpack, my husband and I found some very nice healthy hosta plants on clearance at K-mart. There were many varieties, in gallon pots, all reduced to $1.50 each. It was a steal! After a few return trips, we had planted 75 new hosta in our gardens. They blend in so well, that I couldn’t tell you where we put even half of them at this point. I have had success with some hydrangeas for the first time this year. I wish I had planted more of them! And, my morning glory seed experiment worked too. Our fence is wrapped in vines with little purple flowers poking out here and there.

As we move into autumn, the sedum look beautiful. They are full of bees, and are slowing changing color. I am thankful that they have thrived this year. I’ll be busy picking flowers until the frost.
Let’s all hope for more sunny days in 2010!

For her day off of work, Allison Hale of Burlington, Vermont, decided this would be the perfect activity. Around lunchtime, accompanied by their appetites, she and Mike McGonegal made the trip to Shelburne Orchards to welcome in fall with a bag of hand-picked apples.

Orchards across Vermont are starting to bustle with activity, as crowds turn out to pick what many farmers say is looking to be a bumper crop — in part because of, not despite, the rainy summer weather that has plagued many other crops.

Another likely beneficiary of this summer’s wet weather is the fall foliage, just starting to show its colors in Vermont. Tourism officials say moisture is a key ingredient in bright displays, and the warm days and cool nights we have had recently, have only helped.

Just Add Water Garden Early September

As you know, I started the season with seed suggestions and a 10′ by 10′ layout from the great gardeners at Johnny’s Selected Seeds here in Maine. For the most part, their varieties and succession planting ideas worked well, but I will make a few changes next year based mostly on personal preferences. (Click on layout to the right if you’re curious about what I grew.)

A Bouquet of Carrots, Red Lettuce and Chard.

I had bad luck with some transplants. Neither my cuke or basil seedlings fared as well as the plants that were sowed from seed into the garden. Next year, I won’t bother starting those indoors.

The peas, beans, lettuces and spinach have all been delicious. All will be invited back.

Thanks to the confines of the 10′ by 10′ space, I found I was much more disciplined about succession plantings. In the past I tucked veggies all over my garden beds and sometimes forgot about them. Not this year. Even in mid-September, every inch of the Just Add Water garden is still producing. Beans are coming up in the tomato graveyard. New rows of lettuce and spinach are launched next to the beans. I tucked in some discounted celery and cauliflower seedlings where the peas once grew. Those will be harvested in the coming weeks. The buds on my brussel sprouts are starting to swell. And the chard, carrots cucumbers and squashes are growing like gangbusters.

Cauliflower On The Way

What lessons does your garden have to share? If you’re like me, you won’t remember them in February and by then your garden won’t be in the mood for conversation.