Over 15” of rain in July alone has meant an explosion in the tick and mosquito population! Please be sure to turn over empty buckets, wheelbarrows, and the like in your yard to cut down on areas for water to collect and create mosquito breeding grounds. Empty and clean birdbaths frequently, too, then refill for the birds. It’s…
There are more deer per square mile than ever before in our area. This season, they have even sampled a few native plants at my back stoop! Garlic clips attached to a bamboo stake stopped this invasion, and the native Rubus odoratus (Flowering raspberry) and Porteranthus tridentata (Bowman’s root) have sprouted new growth, albeit shorter than usual. This reminds…
As a Board member of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association, Priscilla was active in early 2020 promoting the passage of the Healthy Soils bill at the State House. We recently received news about the funding of this bill, and concurrently, news about state funding for a study of the impacts of…
Where soil is disturbed, weeds will grow! We utilize hand tools to remove, or in some cases, cut weeds to the ground. Curly dock, for instance, is best controlled through repeated cutting so that photosynthesis does not occur and seed heads do not form. It has a deep root system that is hard to dig out, so…
Allison Doherty joined us this summer as a member of our crew. She quickly proved herself with an artistic eye for shrub pruning and an ability to climb ladders. This fall, she’ll be working on our project planting crew. Allison has a background in sales, grounds maintenance, and interior painting. …
Recently I read the Boston Sunday Globe article about a field of 3,000 sunflowers that artist Euka Holmes has planted in front of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. What a great idea to take advantage of the full sun and bring a smile to the faces of passersby! And another artist, Elizabeth James-Perry, has surrounded the…