Tag: Downeast

A 17th century herb garden

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

Well, this is how it looked last September.

The English colonists knew their herbs and spices, as shown in the Pemaquid state historical site’s garden. The selection includes bee balm, betony (lamb’s ear), celandine, chamomile, chives, clove pink, crane’s bill, dill, evening primrose, feverfew, Johnny jump up, lady’s mantle, lavender, lemon balm, mint, parsley, sage, savory, tansy, tarragon, thyme, and yarrow. Many of these were grown for their medicinal applications.

We never had much more than salt and pepper back in the ‘50s, at least as I recall as a kid.

Making the best of a break in the fog and rain

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

We’re feeling sorry for vacationers to our end of Maine the past two weeks. Especially those with children in tow.

It’s been cold – our furnace is still on – and very foggy and damp, accompanied by showers and thunderstorms.

It’s not what you’d want to run into on your well-earned summer getaway.

At least we’re getting a break, however brief.

Today’s forecast is for mostly cloudy, followed by two partly cloudy days. And then another solid streak of rainy days resumes.

Glimpses of real sunlight and blue sky will lift spirits, no doubt. I might even stop reminding folks of six straight months or so of this for people living in Seattle. (You know, it could be worse. We might even have to start watching movies in German.)

One thing you can also anticipate is the sound of lawnmowers the moment the grass dries sufficiently. Otherwise, a failure to mow in time can lead to an impossible task, as I remember when I had to learn to scythe back in Dover … and my vow to myself never to do that again.

For us, it also means doing laundry. We have a washer here but not a dryer. So we’re anticipating hanging wet clothes and linens out on the line to dry. There is a backlog to address.

Another must-do is a big round of grilling. Maybe even dining al fresco, if the temperature cooperates.

Well, as we’ve been saying all along, this too will pass.

Now, for the latest installment of our island garden venture

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 2 Comments

Few of our nights until late as June have stayed above 50 degrees, a detail that will likely surprise fellow gardeners across the rest of the U.S. That’s meant bringing flats of basil and other temperature-sensitive plants indoors overnight, in addition to the plastic tunnels my wife devised to warm the soil and protect our tomato and pepper seedlings outdoors until now.

Our new raised beds, as previously noted here at the Red Barn, are an attempt to work around extremely high lead levels in our soil. Beyond that, the chicken-wire fencing is an attempt to deter Moose Island’s ravenous urban deer. That barrier will be further reinforced in the coming days.

The first night our fencing was up on the first bed, though, a wayward critter wound up bending – not just pulling over – one of the corner posts. The steel post was the stronger, pricier variety. I couldn’t bend it, I’ll tell you – not without an anvil and heavy hammer or maybe some heavy jumping. (Sorry I didn’t get a photo. We were too busy getting that corner repaired against a possible second attack.)

So here’s where we are now, in the midst of about three inches of rain in a week or so.

With a garden, there’s always more to do. Sometimes it even involves eating.