At Your Fingertips-Garden Resources

Tappity tap...looking on line for gardening resources can be daunting since there are so many! If you garden in the Northeast, you should have the UMass Extension website in your favorites folder. They've got information on gardening, lawn care, pests and pest prevention. You can also send in soil samples from your yard or garden to check for PH, lead and nutrient levels. Super easy and helpful when you're planning a veggie garden and want to be sure the soil is safe.

On page 31 you'll find...

a picture of one of my early front garden designs in Julie Moir Messervy's new book, Home Outside: Creating the Landscape You Love. The book just arrived, and I'm eager to begin reading it, and writing more about it—but right now I'm happy to turn to page 31...
Here's a link to the publisher's website.

We don't just love them because they named the company after their dogs...

We’ve been carrying Dash & Albert rugs for a few years, and are still cheered by new shipments! We’ve got a wonderful range of colors in their classic striped cotton rugs, wool rugs, and the durable (as in machine washable, dryable and even bleachable) polypro indoor/out door rugs. They have a great website, which includes rug prices: www.dashandalbert.com. You can look at the rugs on-line, or at Derby Farm, and we’ll be happy to order any size or style, and can even have larger rugs delivered directly to your home.

This Cat's Paw Brown rug lives in our entryway, and besides looking perfectly at home in our 145 year old house, it shows no sign of the abuse it's received from contractors and kids.

Things That Make Your Skin Feel Good

McEvoy Ranch/80 Acres
We’ve been looking for a new body care line, but we’re picky so it took a while to find it. Gentle, smooth, and clean-smelling, 80 Acres was an exciting find! Made in California, 80 Acres’ is an offshoot of McEvoy Ranch, a 550 acre farm iwhich produces Tuscan style olive oil from it’s organically grown olives.

This past year McEvoy Ranch introduced their estate produced body care line, 80 Acres. They’ve developed a scent they call Verde, which has a fresh and clean fragrance, the kind of grassy smell we associate with spring days. We’ve tried these products and love them, and are eager for you to try them as well. Here are descriptions from 80 Acres:
Verde Hand and Body Wash
A blending olive oil and olive fruit extract, aloe vera, and a powerful medley of healing herbs and botanicals make this restorative infusion beneficial for hands or body. Richly hydrating so moisture stays in, leaving skin soft and dewy.
Verde Hand & Body Lotion
Nature meets nurture with this emollient and healing blend of olive, sunflower, jojoba and grapeseed oils infused with aloe vera, chamomile and lavender. Lightly scented and luxurious, the lotion penetrates quickly to smooth, soften and revitalize.
Verde Body Balm
Created by McEvoy’s gardeners for soothing, moisturizing and protecting skin from the elements, this estate-produced body balm is handcrafted with 87% organic ingredients.
Verde Olive Oil Soap
Handcrafted from the purest botanical ingredients, this luxurious cleansing bar deeply moisturizes with a rich lather and all the benefits of olive oil and refreshes with their signature Verde scent.

Rain, Snow, Sleet & Slurp

That's the weather report for today. Just back from the big Gift Show in New York where Sue and I examined hundreds of booths lining miles of aisles under a bright florescent sky (promising ourselves to accessorize with pedometers next year).

It's a crowded, somewhat chaotic, place—vendors from all over the world selling everything from glittery swan sculptures encrusted in quartzite and semi-precious minerals to alma mater-themed wreaths.

The show put green on its agenda, showcasing products made or re-made with the health of the planet in mind. While nearly everyone attempted to jump on the recycling bin and promote their product's environmentally sensitive bona fides, I was delighted to find that labeling has improved, and that "green" products are becoming more affordable and better looking.

Since I have to get out and shovel the ice off the sidewalk, I'll save the news of our new purchases for a future post. A tickler—we found a lovely new body care line made with olives organically grown on a California farm. Can't wait for them to arrive!

Plants Raves & Faves

Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’
Okay, I'm thinking about spring. I admit it. And about plants, and flowers, and temps above 5 degrees. Hydrangeas, in my mind, are quintessential garden plants, so they are the natural choice for my first plant raves & faves post!

Romantic and evocative of traditional gardens, hydrangeas are too often dismissed as old-fashioned plants out of place in contemporary gardens. For sure, the big blue orbs of Nikko Blue Hydrangeas can be found in all the wrong places, but usually hydrangeas are in perfect garden harmony.

‘Annabelle’ is one of my favorite old-fashioned hydrangeas—it is big, beautiful and exceptionally easy to grow. The flowers start off greenish and tight, expanding into fluffy six to ten inch white balls which make great cut flowers, and are easy to dry.

Basics: Annabelles thrive with morning sun, afternoon shade and moist soil. They should be cut back early March to about 18” in order to control growth and strengthen stems so they can support the heavy flower heads.

Look at http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/annabelle.html for information about growing Annabelle hydrangeas.

Photo credit:
Missouri Botanical Garden