Monthly Archives: May 2014

Moss covered paths between scarlet peonies, Pale jade mountains fill your rustic windows. I envy you, drunk with flowers; Butterflies swirling in your dreams. – ‘Visit to the Hermit Chui’ by Qian Qi (Tang Dynasty)   I first fell in … Continue reading →

I think we all probably associate certain plants with particular events and people in our lives. The smell of pear blossoms or pine bows, hyacinths or lilacs, can sweep me into the past as magically as a madeleine once transported Proust. I was struck by … Continue reading →

The growing season in the Berkshires is at least two weeks behind this year. It wasn’t until late April that I finally glimpsed one of the first signs of spring in our fenced-in vegetable garden: chive shoots — fine as cat whiskers — poking up through the … Continue reading →

The shoes put on each time 
left first, then right…    —from ‘Habit’  by Jane Hirshfield   I planted pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) a few days ago in our window box and in the old cement urn I inherited from my … Continue reading →