Okay, all you trivia enthusiasts: What’s Hadley, Massachusetts, known for throughout the United States and Europe and even by the queen of England? Yes—asparagus. For some 50 years (1930 through the 1970s), Hadley was called “the Asparagus Capital of the World,” shipping what locals referred to as “Hadley grass” to the British royal family every […]
plants
The trees in the area next to my yard have been overrun by vines, and the ground is covered with evergreen undergrowth. The vines still have some orange berries from fall; the lower plants were topped with white flowerheads last spring. What can I do to save my woods? J.F., Worcester, MA Invasive plant species […]
Are daylily buds edible? How do you cook them? — F.P., Berlin, NH The flower buds, flowers, leaves, and even roots of the daylily (Hemerocallis) are universally considered edible. But with any new food, it’s always prudent to try a small amount first in case your system reacts differently. Some people, for example, may have […]
It’s been a bit rocky on the approach, but it seems that autumn’s official arrival this week will offer optimal conditions to kick-start the colors. Last week at this time, temperatures climbed into the 90’s across most of New England, rewriting records and stalling any progression that the trees were making towards changing colors. Fortunately […]
I’ve been fixing the same old pasture fence for more than 20 years, and in that time the fence has educated me. This old horse fence, unpainted wooden boards and posts, has schooled me in wood and tools. George Iselin built this fence 17 years before we bought our house with its old barn, outbuilding, […]
(1.) For 130 years, Ward Clapboard Mill has been a major presence in the New England timber industry. Still owned by the Ward family, the company produces beautifully crafted quarter-sawn vertical-grain clapboard (prices begin at 92¢ per linear foot for the popular 6-inch extra-clear clapboards) from locally sourced timber at the firm’s mills in Moretown, […]
On a perfect blue-sky summer day, two dozen members of the New England Unit of the Herb Society of America are mingling over coffee and fresh scones in the South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, garden of Eva Sommaripa. It’s almost time for the day’s main event: a talk and tour with their host, who, in these circles, […]
A thick summertime haze hung over New England last night, turning the rare ‘blue moon’ a pink hue as it rose over the Atlantic. The air was warm, and a bit humid, but a cool breeze was blowing off the water. It was a perfect summer night, the kind that seem to make you wish […]
On a Friday in mid-October, Eugene Ratner takes stock of the churning sea in front of his home in Nantucket’s Madaket region, on the island’s southwestern shore. “This is bad,” he says. High, white-rimmed swells break and slam a few feet from where he’s standing, sending up a salty spray. “This is what you see […]
Oh the donuts. I can smell them from fifteen miles away. Those crisp tender golden brown loops jumbled together in their glass jar turn my ecologically minded, calorie counting self into a reckless carboholic, burning my low- mpg- jalopy down a warren of pitted back roads: (along Seaver Brook to South Albany to Andersonville to […]
Japanese beetles can ruin your roses as well as many other landscape plants and vegetable crops. If your garden is infested with Japanese beetles, fight back fast by using these three methods to control those ravenous garden pests. Japanese Beetle Control The simplest way to get rid of Japanese beetles is to pluck them off […]
The owner of a 38-acre farm in Northumberland, New Hampshire, is looking for the next dreamer to buy his property—which comes complete with a hydroelectric plant, cider mill, pond, and orchard. Lost Nation? You’ve never heard of it? Well, it’s a real place, consisting of the northern New Hampshire towns of Lancaster and Northumberland. Some […]