Village Condominium Association
Roses
by J. F. Weiler
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| A Village garden rabbit that will never eat your lettuce! Photos by J.F. Weiler |
Grant Avenue Hosta "Patriot " |
June Roses
Roses are said to be the world’s favorite flower. (Second are chrysanthemums and third are tulips.) Roses like full sun, well-drained soil, monthly fertilizing and weekly watering. Dead-heading (removing dead blossoms) will allow new blooms. (This is true for lilacs too.) Early spring pruning helps provide bigger blooms. Remove dead canes (stalks) anytime. By-pass pruners are best. They have curved blades and cut like scissors. And don' t forget to take time out to smell the roses!
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| Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill Photos by J.F. Weiler |
Small Gardens for Small Spaces
We recently toured the small and shady Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill. The intermixing of different perennials and annuals helped create interesting gardens. Here is a partial plant list of what we saw: 1. Daffodils; 2. Hosta, not as many as you see in the Village Gardens! Hosta originally came from China and Japan. There are over 70 species; 3. Climbing hydrangea; 4. Irish moss; 5. Ivy, both Boston and English; 6. Peonies; 7. Trumpet vines (not blooming yet); 8. Purple wisteria, blooming beautifully!
Things to Do & Places to Go
AGWAY is a great place to buy garden tools. Located at 50 Emerson Road, Waltham; phone 781-894-4880
Garden helper. A Villager is looking for someone to help with gardening. If you know of any students who might be interested, please send me their contact information and I will forward it. WeilerPhotoGallery@comcast.net
Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature and the Shaping of the American Nation, by Andrea Wulf is a great read for gardeners and American history buffs. This new book weaves together the history of our nation's birth and the seed collecting and gardening work of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Madison. They were convinced that America’s political independence would be based on our argricultural independence. Wulf, an excellent garden writer, provides lots of details, including descriptions of the ha-ha, a major 18th-century gardening technique, and how gardens were used to express political ideas and virtues of the new Republic.
Written for the June 2011Village Newsletter.