HANDS IN THE DIRT....

Our hands have been in the dirt for the past few weeks.

With the gift of good weather  James and I have set out to
work in our gardens. This year it is somewhat of a different task.
While we were away in Umbria eating all the foods that were in season there, likewise, here in
New Hampshire a woodchuck was dining in our garden. It ate well.  I
discovered this caper on my first real look at the perennial border. Something was wrong,
I observed large gaps where by this time in Spring young plants should have emerged.
The first big clue..... all the missing Tall Garden Phlox, there was without doubt a
critter in the picture and it was most certainly a woodchuck. Phlox is a known  delicacy to
those garden raiders.

Strange, I though, other plants were also  on the Missing List; a large stand of Astilbe,
Baptisia, and Coral Bells. Were these plants lost due to winter kill, collateral damage caused
by this digging varmint or  simply eaten by it?

A garden restoration project was at hand. The damage was done but to keep from allowing any more James put up a critter fence, above ground and below.

We visited our favorite nurseries to replace plants, then got ready to get our hands dirty.

First on the list was to clean up the mess, filed holes and then prepared to replace plants.
Once the restoration was complete, then the usual weeding, edging
and mulching was left to do.

With the work complete it is time to share the view.

This is a private garden. It is tucked behind a wall and the house with a gate at the entrance.
It is an extension of our house and can be viewed from all of the windows on the southeastern side.
This garden is an intimate space where stepping out the back door lands you right into it's
midst and like any room it can be walked through. A  small bench in the shaded end of the border  provides a quiet place to sit. This is a very private place that requires an invitation.

OUTSIDE THE GATE

On the other side of the gate is another area under a stand of hemlock, this
is the Shade Garden. James and I ( mostly James) have been gardening
in these beds to stay cool and out of the sun.

Again I would say that this area is an extension of the house yet it goes beyond that,
inviting itself to be visited. The cool shade welcomes you to  refresh
yourself and to sit and rest awhile.

After marathon weeks in the dirt, we have taken back our garden.

Time to take a break in the shade.





Favorite Nurseries


Walker Farm
Dummerston, VT.


Spring Ledge Farm
New London, NH


Wentworth Greenhouse
Rollinsford, NH

BEYOND COLD

-9 Degrees F.

When the  morning temperature is -9 degrees just as it was yesterday and the day before yesterday, it becomes rather strange. The air is dry, the snow squeaks if you dare step out on it.
 It is ridiculously cold.

Since Christmas we have been living in this Arctic blast of sub zero temperatures.

And....there has been snow and ice to add to the mix. This deep freeze is not ending anytime soon.
We are living in an inhospitable world of gray and white.

If I can say anything positive about this, the snow cover is like a blanket and is beneficial for the garden to help protect it against these temperatures. 

Ahhhhh! Some color! Clementines are a must this time of year for Vitamin C and for their vibrant color to help those winter doldrums of the colorless environment outside our windows.

James has a cure for the winter blues....

A  glass of wine as a warm fire blazes. Although,
he admits to being tired of having to deal with cord wood, he loves the romance of a fire burning in our fireplace.
In the kitchen there is an Amatriciana sauce simmering and a duck breast roasting in the oven.
Winter cooking aromas fill the house.  All morning a chicken stock was becoming the basis of a soup for the week. This weather demands soup.

We did not leave the house today except to bring in wood.
We both work in our studios in the daylight hours, which are shortened by the winter season.
I have been studying Italian during the dusk hours hoping that my efforts will lead to longer conversations.

No end in sight for this cold.
Neither James nor I can remember a time when the world we live in here in New England was so frozen for so long. Climate change, yes.

As the full moon rises above our tundra we hope that the New Year 2018 will not only bring us a thaw, but on a global scale, civility, brotherhood, peace and respect for one another and the planet we all live on.

Daylily Season......and more

Many of our day lilies started life here as models for one of James' paintings.

Some were here when we purchased the house.

We have divided them and moved them around the garden, finding places that needed a burst of color in late July.

James and I like the combination of the Globe Thistle's texture and blue color 

in contrast to the warm yellow of this Daylily right outside our back door.

Yet, it is not all Daylilies grabbing our attention. This Astible is tall and

glorious and its placement outside our window makes for easy viewing, even when on 

hot and humid days, like we have been experiencing, we prefer to stay inside!

Echinacea blooms along with Russian Sage, Poppies, Globe Thistle, and the long lasting Yarrow.

For leaf contrast we have planted a dark purple foliage Cimicifuga, Tall Phlox, with

 variegated leaves, a yellow grass,

 Sea Holly with it's silver leaves and thorny blooms, as well as the evergreens, 'DeGroots', arborvitae  and boxwood.

,

Daylily, 'Elizabeth  Salter' is one of our all time favorites and I cannot tell

you how many times she has ended up in a painting. We first found her in Maine where she held 

a spot at the head of our stone walk. When we moved back to New Hampshire 

this  special Daylily moved with us.

Sadly, our last move was in the winter when here in the New England  States the

ground was frozen.

A couple of years ago we went looking for a daylily for James to include

in a painting that he was working on. As we wandered around the Daylily farm we

noticed 'Elizabeth Salter' was on their  plant list.

So, once again, she adorns our garden border!

Daylilies dancing above Coreopis ,'Moonbeam' and  Cranesbill Geranium, 'Rozanne'.

An array of greens in the shady end of the border.

A cool spot for an early morning cup of coffee.

A lovely pair gazing into the porch window, along with my shovel 

that I left outside today.

I best go retrieve it!

BACK ROAD IN AUTUMN....From Peterborough to Hancock, NH.

Here in New Hampshire the flag of autumn is shown in bright colors of the Sugar Maples followed by the more earthy russets of the oaks. The true sign of a pending New England winter is the wood pile and here is ours.

Out back, over the garden the trees at "peak" color just a few days ago. The tall New England Asters provide color and the bees adore them. I did attempt to cut a few stems for a vase, but the flowers were so full of bees at work I just left the flowers to them.

ON THE ROAD..... Peterborough to Hancock

First  to Peterborough to buy a newspaper, and some coffee for the morning.

Coming down the hill into town it was difficult to get a good shot of Peterborough through trees and with trucks going past, but here it is, although it really is much prettier.

The Peterborough Town House is at the corner of Main Street and Grove Street , aka, Grover's Corner, and if you are familiar with Thornton Wilder's play "Our Town", you will recognize this as the town that inspired Wilder. Copeland too was moved and composed a piece of music after the play, also titled "Our Town".
James tells me that if you listen very carefully you can hear this music as you enter town....

It is up to you whether to believe him...or not.

The Contoocook River runs through  town.

Like every town  there is a Main St., where you can find a market, a stationary store, The Mariposa Museum, a woman's clothing store and antique shop, Around the corner, a real diner, a movie theater and a great bookstore. There's more....just walk and see what you might find around each corner!



TIME TO MOVE ON.......to Hancock

It was such a glorious day that James and I decided to get out of our studios and take a ride to the neighboring town of Hancock. The clear blue of the skies made the colors of the foliage amazing and the long late afternoon shadows added drama to the landscape.

I often post about our time in Umbria with its beautiful landscapes, medieval villages , and art-filled churches and museums, but I must say that New Hampshire holds a wealth of visual splendor as well.

To reach Hancock, James drove up Windy Row. There are a few farms along the way and this one has a magnificent herd of herefords. These animals are huge! In the large pasture there is a sign that reads...

Approaching the village there is a field with  newly sheared sheep that are curious and come over to check us out.  There is another farm that has belted black and white cows and goats that are often out in the pasture, but not on this day. 

On Hancock's Main Street there is a place that sells goat cheese, aptly named Main Street Cheese.

Main Street, Hancock is rich in historic buildings, the Meeting House (1820) is a grand example of what we think of as New England architecture. The blue sky does does its part to show off this magnificent Meeting House.

The  curved carriage sheds behind the Meeting House once held horses and carriages of the people attending Sunday service, town meetings, weddings and funerals, etc. Of late, these  outdoor stalls are where the Saturday Farmer's Market is held in the summer months.

Norway Pond reflects more of the colors of the season.... a cliche, I know, but I couldn't resist!

These sheep are having a fall feast!

Right in our own back yard the color the season is lit up by the setting sun. I love this time of day when through the windows of our house the western sun is sinking behind mountains and like a flare lighting the sky and illuminating the rooms, if only for a few minutes, the rooms that face west.

Twilight and  a rising moon.

BACK ROAD IN AUTUMN....From Peterborough to Hancock, NH.

Here in New Hampshire the flag of autumn is shown in bright colors of the Sugar Maples followed by the more earthy russets of the oaks. The true sign of a pending New England winter is the wood pile and here is ours.

Out back, over the garden the trees at "peak" color just a few days ago. The tall New England Asters provide color and the bees adore them. I did attempt to cut a few stems for a vase, but the flowers were so full of bees at work I just left the flowers to them.

ON THE ROAD..... Peterborough to Hancock

First  to Peterborough to buy a newspaper, and some coffee for the morning.

Coming down the hill into town it was difficult to get a good shot of Peterborough through trees and with trucks going past, but here it is, although it really is much prettier.

The Peterborough Town House is at the corner of Main Street and Grove Street , aka, Grover's Corner, and if you are familiar with Thornton Wilder's play "Our Town", you will recognize this as the town that inspired Wilder. Copeland too was moved and composed a piece of music after the play, also titled "Our Town".
James tells me that if you listen very carefully you can hear this music as you enter town....

It is up to you whether to believe him...or not.

The Contoocook River runs through  town.

Like every town  there is a Main St., where you can find a market, a stationary store, The Mariposa Museum, a woman's clothing store and antique shop, Around the corner, a real diner, a movie theater and a great bookstore. There's more....just walk and see what you might find around each corner!



TIME TO MOVE ON.......to Hancock

It was such a glorious day that James and I decided to get out of our studios and take a ride to the neighboring town of Hancock. The clear blue of the skies made the colors of the foliage amazing and the long late afternoon shadows added drama to the landscape.

I often post about our time in Umbria with its beautiful landscapes, medieval villages , and art-filled churches and museums, but I must say that New Hampshire holds a wealth of visual splendor as well.

To reach Hancock, James drove up Windy Row. There are a few farms along the way and this one has a magnificent herd of herefords. These animals are huge! In the large pasture there is a sign that reads...

Approaching the village there is a field with  newly sheared sheep that are curious and come over to check us out.  There is another farm that has belted black and white cows and goats that are often out in the pasture, but not on this day. 

On Hancock's Main Street there is a place that sells goat cheese, aptly named Main Street Cheese.

Main Street, Hancock is rich in historic buildings, the Meeting House (1820) is a grand example of what we think of as New England architecture. The blue sky does does its part to show off this magnificent Meeting House.

The  curved carriage sheds behind the Meeting House once held horses and carriages of the people attending Sunday service, town meetings, weddings and funerals, etc. Of late, these  outdoor stalls are where the Saturday Farmer's Market is held in the summer months.

Norway Pond reflects more of the colors of the season.... a cliche, I know, but I couldn't resist!

Right in our own back yard the color the season is lit up by the setting sun. I love this time of day when through the windows of our house the western sun is sinking behind mountains and like a flare lighting the sky and illuminating the rooms, if only for a few minutes, the rooms that face west.

Twilight and  a rising moon.