Judith’s Garden: Farewell to autumn — and to our gardens

This autumn has surely been one of the most beautiful I can remember since Dick and I made our home in Goshen — over 25 years ago.

I tend a petite “kitchen garden” right outside my back door, plus a good-sized vegetable garden up the hill which is filled with tomatoes, beans, potatoes, kale and much more. 

After a long snowy winter Vermonters are all eagerly awaiting the arrival of spring.

It’s mid- January as I write this article. My garden, and most likely yours too, is sleeping under a light covering of snow.

What about the garden in winter, as it sleeps under a blanket snow? This can be equally beautiful. It’s all about the contrast of the seasons — something that I relish about living in the Green Mountain State.

Fall is here — that magnificent but fleeting season when the forests array themselves in their most splendid finery as they bid a final adieu to summer.

As I discussed in my last article — where I talked about the “ages and stages” of a garden — our gardens are living creations that slowly evolve with the passage of time.Surely, one of the delights for every gardener is when our initial creation — or perh … (read more)

Creating a garden is like taking a journey. An adventure which, at the outset, we don’t quite know where it will lead.Gardens are also living creations, first conceived and then lovingly nurtured by their owners over the years. And, like all living creati … (read more)

Peonies surely deserve the title of “June Garden Queens!”With huge blooms, often measuring six inches and more across, in colors from the deepest crimson to creamy white — and even some that are buttery yellow — peonies are a delight to behold.Peonies are … (read more)

The Merry Month of May O the month of May, the merry month of May,     So frolic, so gay, and so green, so green, so green! O, and then did I unto my true love say:     “Sweet Peg, thou shalt be my summer’s queen!” Thomas Decker (1572-1632)   For me the b … (read more)

When people mention a greenhouse, the image that often comes to mind is a vast hooped structure, 150-feet long or more, filled with growing plants, either to yield food or flowers during the coldest months, or alternatively to be sold at garden centers or … (read more)

Autumn is surely Vermont’s most beloved season.  For me, the early morning view across the misty valley to nearby Mount Moosalamoo, alive with the colors of fall — reds, yellows and oranges — is a sight I will treasure all winter.  And, as I walk through … (read more)

GOSHEN — It’s hard to believe that we are entering the final chapter of the garden for this year. But there is still activity to watch and plenty of flowers to enjoy. Every summer, for a scant three months, a profusion of tiny hummingbirds birds whirr aro … (read more)

When we think about creating a beautiful garden, most often it is the flowers that we think about first. But great gardens are much more than lots of pretty blossoms! Especially important is the way we incorporate different kinds of contrast into our gard … (read more)

June is peony time!  With their massive blooms in shades of red, pink, white and yellow, peonies — one of the most beautiful and venerated garden plants — are taking center stage in our Vermont gardens. For a match made in heaven, try combining them with … (read more)