The coming Fall Wednesday, Sep 7 2011 

gardening acairfearann 21:55

We tend to think of Fall as the end of the growing season.  Yet, in New England or farther south, it can also be a last flourish and a promise to the coming year.  In more southern areas, late fall (November) is a time to plant many seeds that need a bit of extra time in the spring.  The frost cracks in the soil work the seed downwards.  Here in Connecticut, late fall is a time to plant dormant trees.  From October through November, planting trees at this time allows them to establish roots without having to support their leaves.  For the planter it means far fewer trips with the water bucket.  Early fall is a last flourish.  The lawn, which has sulked through the summer heat, suddenly starts growing again; the asters, goldenrod, chrysantheums all put on a spectacular show; the garden can produce another round of lettuce and spinach, while things like kale grow much larger.

Early fall is definitely here, the ashes have begun to turn and some of the early birches.  A few of the shadblows have started to turn, jewels of gold, amber and crimson floating in the dark green understory.  The horse has shed his summer coat and now grows fuzzier and glossier, darker.  It seems, always, to happen overnight.

 

September 1910 Tuesday, Sep 6 2011 

Historical Events acairfearann 11:44

From a newspaper clipping found in one of the guestbooks:

“A delightful musical and tea were given by Mrs Wm W. Ellsworth at Esperanza in the afternoon. On arrival, the guests, some fifty in number, were invited to the studio which was arranged for the occasion as a concert room where Miss Beebe pianist, of New York presided at the grand piano, accompanying (this is underlined with a notation: Not much she didn’t!!) Mr Dethiere (this has the last e crossed out with the comment: Two E’s are enough, even for him!), the celebrated Belgian violinist in a number of choice and varied musical selections rendered with wonderful technique and expression.

The delight of the audience in the playing of these accomplished artists was evinced by enthusiastic applause. After the concert coffee and refreshments were served in the dining and living room and the guests were introduced to the performers whose playing had given so much pleasure. Mrs Ellsworth was assisted in recieving by her daughters, Mrs van Loben Sels and Miss Ellizabeth Ellsworth and by her sister, Miss Carlotta N. Smith.”

The studio was across the lane, at the dairy farm, and is long gone.  However, the piano was the Steinway upright grand piano built in the late 1800s, currently still quite playable, if a bit sticky when humid.

The pieces played were: Handel, Sonata in D major; Schumman, Sonata in D minor; Grieg, Sonata in C minor.  Edouard Dehier was a teacher at Juilliard as well as a soloist with New York Philharmonic, New York Symphony and the Montreal Symphony, in addition to extensive touring.

Mr. Dehier was stayed for the entire month of September; Carolyn Beebe was a guest from July through October, while Helen E. van Loben Sels, and two of her children, HAE and Lucy Lois, stayed from July through September. A crowded house!

 

Gardening in time Saturday, Sep 3 2011 

gardening and Landscapes acairfearann 17:48

Gardens are generally classified by types of formality (cottage vs parterres), cultural (French, Italian, English), use (vegetable, perennial, cutting) and so forth.  Yet, gardening (as opposed to gardens) divides itself by time.  There is, of course, the relentless seasonal clock.  This yearly cycle’s implacability is both a frustration and comfort.  The seasonal change is often a relief for the garden.  Winter, at least in New England, cleans the garden; fall and spring clean-up is as vital to its health as division, planting or trimming.  It means that the evil looking squash bed will soon be swept away, and maybe next year will be better.  The seasons guarantee a constantly changing landscape, always something new to look at.

But time is also a much larger construct in gardening.  A garden can be a seasonal, decadal or generational construct.  A vegetable garden or cutting garden can be created for a season, from bare earth to bare earth in less than a year.   It doesn’t have to, of course; it can have a permanence in the use of borders or perennial herbs, horseradish, rhubarb, wormwood, thyme, tarragon…so forth.  A perennial garden needs a decade at least, it changes yearly as plants expand or die, but the best results are about five years in on a plan.  The master gardener is one who can continue to plan within the existing garden, they don’t need to start fresh every few years.  But then there is the landscape gardener.  They work with, and must have the patience and vision for, shrubs and trees.  The results of what they plan will usually  not be seen by them, but they know it any way.  Here the master is one who not only can work in the existing structure, but whose plan is pleasing at all stages of its growth.  While a perennial bed can look odd in its spring that lasts but a few weeks, a landscape’s spring lasts for decades, it must always work, even if its ultimate triumph is a century in formation.  Ideally, all gardens (landscapes) should incorporate the three senses of time, from the vivid flash of the impatiens to the oak’s centuries. 

If only!

 

Photo of the Day Friday, Sep 2 2011 

Julie's Pond and Modern Photos acairfearann 09:53

The first of the small ponds beyond Julie’s pond.  A year ago that would have been dry leaves there.  The floating bits of green are duck weed.

 

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