Salad, Fernwood-Style

 

 

 

Anna, coming inside after some weeding: “Denise, I’m hungry.” 

Denise, crossing things off her to-do list: “Why don’t you make yourself some salad?”

Anna: “Good idea.”

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Anna: “Ok, what next?”

 

Fernwood in the Rain

June is flying by, and all is growing, blooming, exploding with life faster than we can harvest it, trim it, weed it, or capture it on film. Somehow, though, work does get done: freshly picked spinach cooked into spanakopita, garden beds weeded, pepper and tomato plants watered in the hoop house, the new piglets fed, the sheep fence rotated, compost turned, chicken coop cleaned. We did manage to get a few photos for you, despite the lack of hours in the day, so that you could enjoy some of the beauty of Fernwood with us. These photos were taken just after rain all around our nursery and gardens. We hope you will come and visit us soon to see our June bounty for yourself.

Our Average-Sized Helper

 

And our mystery guest is……. Anna! (pictured here with her new favorite dog, Miller):

Anna comes to us from New York City, where she is a grad student in creative writing. She found us through www.wwoof.org, a website dedicated to bringing people who are interested in learning about organic farming together with the farms that appreciate an extra set of hands. Although she has never lived in a rural environment she is really enjoying Fernwood, where she does weeding, planting, watering, seeding, and helping us take care of our chicks, sheep, and new piglets.

She says, “I am working harder physically than I ever have to in New York– I am used to sitting behind a desk with a computer or surrounded by books and notebooks with a cup of coffee, which is a very different kind of work . I am also a teacher, which, while being draining, is not exactly physical either. Now here I am digging in the dirt for half a day and it’s amazing! Yesterday I got to weed around the hosta plants in the nursery, reading all of the plant variety names– there are like a hundred different kinds of hostas! Some of them have little ripples in the leaves, some have golden-edged leaves, some are huge and bright green, some tiny and striped– it’s fascinating. I am learning a lot every day.”

Actually, Anna, we have over 300 hosta varieties. “Oh. ok.”

As Anna slips into a rain poncho and rubber boots and skips over to the nursery to recount the hostas, let us fill you in on other Fernwood news. The Azaleas, Jack in the Pulpits and Lady Slippers are in bloom, as is the Amsonia.

Many of our customers have been curious about this unusual plant:

This Himalayan Ornamental Rhubarb, only 2 years old, is over 5 feet tall and sports a head of pink flower over deep-ridged, sprawling leaves. We love this addition to our garden and hope you can come see it for yourself.

And We’re Back!

 

We have been very busy here at Fernwood, planting, weeding, harvesting our first veggies, and welcoming new chicks. We have also welcomed a guest who will be helping us through the summer to keep up with our work in the nursery and garden, and on this blog. More on that later. For now, here are some photos from this morning. 

Today’s crop, consisting of the Oasis white salad turnip, Plum Purple radish, and French Breakfast radish– good for cheese/butter/lettuce/radish sandwiches:

Centaurea montana flowers blooming in the garden:

Who is our mystery guest? You’ll find out next week…