English ivy is a determined escape artist. It sneaks under garden fences while no one is looking to set up house in neglected or forgotten places, then starts working on […]
Farm & Garden
What would it look like to grow, harvest, and protect our bounty?
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SEASIDE GARDENER
Snow-Sowing in February for a Payoff in Summer Blooms
A bit of science weaves hardy annual seeds into an airy garden tapestry
The first time I walked outside on a late February morning and scattered a packet of poppy seeds on the snow I felt the same way I did the few […]
BUSHY BEARDS
Lichens Like It Here
Shrubby lichens like the bushy beard (Usnea strigosa) are sensitive enough to air pollution to be bioindicators: the bushier the beards, the cleaner the air. Judging by the robustness of […]
BLACK LOCUST
In the Grove
Once you learn to identify the black locust by its deeply furrowed, interlacing bark, you’ll start to see it everywhere on the Outer Cape — where there’s one, there are […]
ON THE BEACH
What It Means to Have Oyster Eyes
The hunt for a bivalve that’s not as sedentary as you might think
At no time of the year is oystering more challenging for those who farm them than now, when we’re on the verge of colder weather and the possibility of sea […]
YUCCA
Washashore Takes a Stab at Cape Life
Since our local ecosystem is mostly dominated by pitch pines, which keep our winter vistas green, it’s easy to forget that the roster of evergreen natives in our area is […]
BITTERSWEET
Death by Choke-a-Lot
A tendril of Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet) snakes along the boughs of a native black cherry at the periphery of a property on First Light Lane in Truro. This invasive […]
PLOTS
Putnam Farm Grows Agriculture as ‘an Ally to Conservation’
Orleans is taking applications from growers for 8 new plots
ORLEANS — Even though most of the farmers who work the land at the Putnam Farm Conservation Area have tucked their plots in, and the swooping tree swallows have gone […]
PRETTY SEEDY
Goldenrod Shows Some Backbone
A handsome line of seaside goldenrod in seed marks the height of the tidal zone at the mouth of the Herring River in Wellfleet, where the first leg of the […]
THE DIRTY WORK
The End Is Only the Beginning of a Garden’s Path to Summer Glory
Stormy Mayo and Laura Ludwig dig their not-so-visible autumn dahlia rituals
PROVINCETOWN — Stormy Mayo is kneeling in the withered remains of his dahlia garden, his hands tugging at something hidden beneath the decay. Beside him, Laura Ludwig throws down flattened […]
BARNYARD CONFIDENTIAL
On Molting and Other Losses
Animal husbandry serves up plenty of opportunities to contemplate impermanence
The recent killing frost has us backyard farmers recalibrating. After a bountiful summer with heady blooms and eggs aplenty, the hens are holding back, and tired plants are nodding their […]
SEASIDE GARDENER
Garden in a Cup
Herbs for tisanes that recall a midsummer afternoon
There’s something about growing edible plants: they make a gardener feel useful. I’m especially fond of herbs, as they’re an easy way to that satisfaction. Nearly a decade ago, I […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
Ruled by the Low Angle of Autumn’s Light
The animal inside us knows to welcome winter’s stillness
Every year, around the middle of November, I feel sad. It is a gentle sort of sadness. It doesn’t inspire tears. It is not sharp or stinging. It is a […]
GARDEN PLOT
Planting Garlic Is a Down Payment on Spring
Each clove will give you two crops come summer
The early morning air is crisp and clear. As I head out to the kitchen garden, brisk winds following on the heels of a faraway tropical storm carry swirls of […]
SEASIDE GARDENER
The Other Mums
Lesser-known hardy chrysanthemums loll romantically in autumn beds
Depending on whom you ask, chrysanthemums are either beloved symbols of autumn or one of those plants that are so commonplace that they’ve become boring. I’m reminded of Maggie Smith’s […]
