Needles. Thread. Cloth. A favorite old shirt in need of repair. Cozy wool socks with a worn out heel. An heirloom quilt that required some patching. Our mending class was a big hit. Each person brought some beloved fabric to mend and went home with the skills and confidence to do so. We’ll definitely offer this class again! 
Learning to make something…a loaf of bread, a pair of knitted socks, a raised bed, are all skills worth passing on.This class reminded me of the great worth and value of learning to repair. That’s a skill too. In this world of great abundance and a tendency to dispose or replace the things we need before considering how to fix them, the skill to repair can honor the maker and allow us to breath new life into things that we may deem obsolete or non-functioning. There is a virtue in repairing the torn or worn. There is satisfaction in fixing a problem or something broken. All of these things require us to look at the design and construction of an item and to recreate or repair the piece that no longer functions or operates. What a great way to sharpen and improve our critical thinking skills! Make. Fix. Repair. Mend. So, gather up all of your holey socks and frayed long johns, take out that favorite shirt from your mending basket, and watch here for posts about our next mending class!
Monthly Archives: April 2018
Slowly But Surely!
Hepatica nobilis
On Sunday, April 29th, 2018 from 10:00a.m. to noon Rick Sawyer of Fernwood Nursery will give a presentation on ‘Ephemerals and Early Risers’. The talk will focus on those plants which are first to emerge in spring within the woodland garden. Come join us for a walk and talk as we identify and enjoy the earliest of plants to bloom and learn how to incorporate them into your own landscape.
The program will take place in the gardens and studio of Fernwood Nursery from 10.00 a.m. to 12 noon.Space is limited so please pre-register. Also, dress for the weather…it’s spring and could be showery. Tea and a light lunch will be served. Sign up by phone or email. Happy Spring! (207)589-4726 or email us at fernwoodnursery@fairpoint.net
Please Excuse The Rush
Do you ever look at your blog posts or lack of and panic? I do. I calculate the time between posts and think “oh my, I’m letting you all down”. I’ve lost touch. Nothing to say. No time to write. Here I go, rushing out the door again! Then, all of a sudden, I come to my senses and realize who I’m dealing with. Friendly people. Gardeners. Farmers. Storytellers. Crafters. Writers. What am I worried about? Silly me. It does make sense that during this last push to have the nursery ready for opening day ( May 3rd!!), I’d more likely be out in the greenhouse potting plants or tidying the nursery rows after a fierce winter than be sitting at the computer crafting words. You understand, don’t you?
Well, how about a sincere howdy to you all and a quick photo of a plant we propagate at the nursery and one that shares a fickle nature with our Maine springtime. It’s in bloom now, a slow-growing fella, and one that is persnickety in the way of propagation. Helleborus thibetanus hails from China and is unlike most other Hellebores because it holds its flowers above the foliage and face outward, once they are fully developed. It’s the earliest to bloom here at Fernwood (Helleborus niger being the next one to bloom). The flowers are generally bell-shaped with pointed petals, white at first then transitioning to a rosy pink to green as the flowers age. We’ve propagated this plant with relative success, though the numbers we have for sale are limited. A lovely rarity that we continue to work with.
Well, excuse me as I rush out the door once again. The sheep are awaiting breakfast, the greenhouse benches need clearing to accommodate more plants, and there are still a few rows to uncover in the nursery ( the snow just now melting!). May 3rd, our opening day, is really just around the corner, isn’t it? Oh, my! See you soon!
Tears? Holes? Split Seams?
Two years ago, I met a fine young woman in the village of Liberty who has a passion for textiles. Maya is an accomplished designer, seamstress, printer, and maker of all kinds of things.Oh, the talent! I really appreciate Mia’s eye for detail and her style. She also has a deep affinity for breathing new life into old objects, particularly garments. Whether it be a battered civil war jacket or an old flannel shirt from her sweeties closet, Maya will mend it with precision and make it lovely once again.
I asked Maya if she’d come teach a mending class here in the studio. “Of course”, she said, “I’d love to”!
So, on Sunday, April 22nd from 1:00-3:00, Maya will be here at Fernwood for an afternoon of sewing instruction. If interested, bring along a project that needs mending and learn both sashiko and traditional darning methods. All of the materials and instruction will be provided…and, as with all classes here at Fernwood, tea and scones will be served.
Class size is limited, so please sign up in advance. You can visit our classes and more page for additional information or email us here at the nursery: fernwoodnursery@fairpoint.net.
Come join us! Afterall, it’s Earth Day, what better day to upcycle or recycle a favorite piece of clothing!!
The Month Of April At Fernwood Nursery
It doesn’t matter that after a long day of potting in the greenhouse we sat with cups of tea and looked out at this…
We are confident that any emerging plants are hearty enough to weather a little snow falling on them. The ground is warming and many plants are now able to utilize the water that’s being absorbed into the ground. This snow will melt quickly and provide some extra moisture for their new and rapid growth. No worries. It is the potential frigid temperatures we worry about, especially after new growth has started.
As you can tell, our pup Lucky finds that the greenhouse (at 88 degrees) is the perfect place for an afternoon nap. I must admit, that deep warmth does feel awfully good! Some early greens are on hold for just a bit longer before being transplanted into the hoop house. Of course, my favorite early green, tatsoi, will be the first to sink its roots into the warm hoop house soil. I wrote a post about tatsoi last year and you can read about it here if you would like. I can’t wait to be harvesting our very first bunches of this nutrient-rich green. The best!
tatsoi
The onions are coming along and the peppers and tomatoes are developing their first ‘true’ leaves which will provide them with an ability to photosynthesize. As many of you know, the first little leaves to appear are cotyledons or ‘seed leaves’. These are actually part of the seed and they provide a food source for the sprouting seedling.
During this time of year, we use the greenhouse for potting some of the plants that will go into the nursery this season, for sowing seeds that have been in winter storage, and for starting vegetable seedlings. It’s filling fast! 
Its a precarious time of year. The snow may fall, we are still walking planks that we’ve set down along the paths to the woodshed and the studio to keep from sinking into mud, and on some days all of the windows and doors in the greenhouse must be opened to keep it from getting too hot! April really does have a flavor of at least two seasons mixed into one month! We are so looking forward to our doors opening in the first of May… yet another nursery season! So many great plant selections, old and new. Some great classes scheduled (check here) and some in the works and waiting to be posted. A really fun and skilled based class on mending clothes is scheduled for April 22nd. A fine young textile artist will be on site to teach both traditional and sashiko mending methods. I’ll post this class in the upcoming week! Until then, enjoy this lovely (and somewhat unpredictable) April!
3 Spots Left
Interested in learning more about bluebirds here in the northeast? We still have 3 spots left for our bluebird class with Jeff Nimms on Saturday, April 21st from 1:00 to 3:00. Visit our classes and more page to find out more!
Fernwood Nursery & Gardens 