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In the Garden

On gardening with Bill Cary

Bill Cary

Bill CaryBill Cary’s idea of a good weekend is to dig in a few dozen bulbs, turn the compost pile, pull weeds for a couple of hours and fill the car twice with new annuals from the nursery. He grew up in Louisville, Ky. His gardening was limited to growing parsley and impatiens on the windowsill of Manhattan walkups until the mid-1990s when he bought a rundown old chicken farm on 8 acres in the Hudson Valley. Now he spends his weekends chasing deer, hacking away at invasive shrubs and vines and wondering why he doesn’t have more meadow and less lawn.

E-mail Bill Cary at wcary@lohud.com

Entries written by Bill Cary

Garden Calendar

July
17

July 19
Ossining: Wildflower Island Tours. Reservations; access to the island only on tours. Children must be 12 years or older. $6. 10 a.m. Teatown Lake Reservation, 1600 Spring Valley Road. 914-762-2912.

July 20
Scarsdale: Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program. Self-guided tour of six Westchester County private gardens. Tour begins at the Zimbard Garden, or the Sieh-Takata Garden, [...]

Posted by Bill Cary on July 17th, 2008 | Post a Comment »

Woman Dies After Eating Mushrooms

July
17

Sad story today by Greg Clary and Rob Reyser about a White Plains woman who died after eating poisonous mushrooms she picked near the Bedford rest area on Interstate 684.

A couple of quotes from the story:

“One cannot assume that because all mushrooms are ‘natural,’ they are therefore all edible,” said Dianna Smith, vice president of [...]

Posted by Bill Cary on July 17th, 2008 | Post a Comment »

Coming Up in Rockland

July
17

News from Donna Cooke about classes and tours led by the master gardeners of Rockland County on Sunday, July 27. Note the free composting bin offer:

“Sunday in the Garden” at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rockland:

“12 noon: “Backyard Composting” class: Rockland residents attending this class will receive a FREE compost bin (with proof of residency). Please [...]

Posted by Bill Cary on July 17th, 2008 | Post a Comment »

Creek Walk and Movie Night

July
16

News from Pam Freeman at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook about an event on Friday evening:

“The Wappinger Creek Watershed Intermunicipal Council (WIC)
and the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies present:

Creek Walk and Movie Night
An evening of environmental fun!
Friday, July 18th, 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. – Join Cary Institute [...]

Posted by Bill Cary on July 16th, 2008 | Post a Comment »

Native Plant Center Tours

July
16

Along with the five private gardens in Westchester that will be open on Sunday, July 20 as part of the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program, the demonstration gardens at the Native Plant Center at Westchester Community College in Valhalla will be open for the day.

I imagine the natives there will be thriving in this [...]

Posted by Bill Cary on July 16th, 2008 | Post a Comment »

The Latest From Stone Barns

July
16

Here’s the latest from the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills:

“African-American Foodways Festival!
Sunday 7/27 10 AM-5 PM
FREE for Stone Barns & HHV Members!
$15/Adults, $12/Seniors, $8/children 5-17

“Join us for the 3rd annual Okra, Beans & Leafy Greens Festival at Stone Barns and Philipsburg Manor! Enjoy activities all day at both sites. Click [...]

Posted by Bill Cary on July 16th, 2008 | Post a Comment »

A Man Named Pearl

July
15

Pearl Fryar simply wanted to win Yard of the Month from the local garden club, becoming the first African-American to get the honor.

He and his wife, Metra, had been stung by a racist remark — “Black people don’t keep up their yards” — after looking for a house, their first, in a white neighborhood in [...]

Posted by Bill Cary on July 15th, 2008 | Post a Comment »

Alternative Energy Symposium

July
14
The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook is hosting a symposium on alternative energy sources on Sunday July 27 from 11 am to 2 pm.

Here’s info from Pam Freeman:

“Sunday, July 27, 11AM, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY WHAT IS THE ANSWER? Join the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies for a lively discussion about one of the [...]

Posted by Bill Cary on July 14th, 2008 | Post a Comment »

New Zinnia From Renee’s Garden

July
11

Along with a luscious-looking zinnia called ‘Apricot Blush,’ Renee’s Garden is introducing a new pure white zinnia called ‘Polar Bear.’

It offers fully double 4-inch blooms that will remind most gardeners of dahlias as much as zinnias. Each bloom has a golden center that unfurls into little yellow stars as the flowers mature.

The multi-branched stems are [...]

Posted by Bill Cary on July 11th, 2008 | Post a Comment »

What to Do This Week in the Garden

July
11

Do it now

Perennials: Continue planting seeds of hardy perennials and biennials, also English daisies and pansies. If you have a bad problem with powdery mildew on foliage, use fungicides on phlox, zinnias, lilacs and roses.

Prune climbing roses and ramblers after they have bloomed. Remove dead canes and 2-year-old wood, and cut back the tops of [...]

Posted by Bill Cary on July 11th, 2008 | Post a Comment »

About this blog
Features writer Bill Cary writes about gardening in the Hudson Valley.
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About the author
Katie Bill Cary grew up in Louisville, Ky. His gardening was limited to growing parsley and impatiens on the windowsill of Manhattan walkups until the mid-1990s when he bought a rundown old chicken farm on 8 acres in the Hudson Valley. Now he spends his weekends chasing deer, hacking away at invasive shrubs and vines and wondering why he doesn`t have more meadow and less lawn.


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