Just Plain Neighbors: The glory of gardens -- year-round

[ Originally published on: Tuesday, October 06, 2009 ]

The Extension Service at the University of Massachusetts is calling its 2010 garden calendar, ''The Wonderful World of Plants.'' And the photos, in full color, carry out that theme.

The second part of that title is ''and the joy they bring us.''

Ellen Weeks of Colrain, a member of the Extension Landscape, Nursery and Forestry program, writes that as we move into the 21st century and struggle with a difficult economy we find that more and more of our friends and neighbors are becoming gardeners.

I know that this year I threw in some summer squash and cucumber seeds and was delighted with my harvest, especially since the tomatoes got the blight.

On Sunday, when my son Neil was pulling up all the dead plants for compost, he appeared at the house with a perfect large cucumber I hadn't even found.

In the new calendar, each month there is a beautiful photo, gardening tips for Northeast growing conditions, daily sunrise and sunset times, phases of the moon and plenty of room for notes.

To order, send $12 payable to UMass to Garden Calendar, c/o Mailrite, 78 River Road South, Putney, VT 05346. Bulk orders are available. For an order form and chart of shipping charges for large orders, go to:

www.umassgardencalendar.org.

THOSE FULL MOONS early in the month always elude me until I see the moon itself. The Oct. 4 moon was gorgeous Sunday night....

 

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