The Gardens at Maple Hill Farm

I had not yet met Ellen Nichols the first few times I went to Maple Hill Farm. I knew that Maple Hill Farm had beautiful gardens and a trail system operated by the Beaver Brook Association. It was a beautiful place to visit and I would go there with my children who were about 3 and 4 years old.

I was working as the Activities Director at an Assisted Living Facility when I met Ellen Nichols who was there only a short time recovering from an injury (I believe it was a broken hip). We talked about the area and Hollis, NH and she asked if I was familiar with Maple Hill Farm. Of course I was, and explained how I would take my boys there. She was thrilled as she explained that she and her husband, Hollis Nichols, had donated the land and that the Beaver Brook Association had been founded by her husband and his cousin.

This past weekend I went back to visit the gardens. It has been at least eight years since I visited. It was a beautiful place to spend the afternoon, a great place to say good-bye to summer, and great place to remember a lovely lady from Hollis, NH.

Ellen B. Nichols
May 5th 1911 - Sept 22nd 2000

The Eat Local Challenge...

I got extremely busy at the end of last week and did not add a follow up post during the Eat Local Challenge Week, as I had intended to. It was a fun challenge and I stopped at more local farmstands than I might have otherwise.

Although I continue to use items outside of the 100 mile range, I am really inspired to incorporate even more local foods than I had been previously.

We just got a couple of days of much needed rain and the garden looks great.

Thank you to "the girls" for insect control, compost, and eggs.

I made potato salad from our garden potatoes this week.

Garden cucumbers with (local) sour cream and fresh dill.

Homemade salsa...

Awesome guacamole...

...and I just picked up some wild blackberry jelly from a local farm stand. I can't wait to try it on the homemade bread that my friend Erica made this morning!

Wordless Wednesday - In the Garden

This morning...

I am recycling this post for ABC Wednesday- G
for geese, goslings, and my garden...

I noticed that one gosling is significantly smaller than the rest...

I love to watch geese parent their goslings...

It was raining again last night...this morning I made the rounds in the garden...

My peony is about to open up...

The daylillies look vibrant under this overcast sky...

The raspberries are coming along...

...and it is getting harder to keep up with the salad bed.

Have a great day!

Today in the Garden...

It doesn't know whether to rain or shine today.
I started off by heading to Meadowstone Farm to see if they had some fresh greens...

It will be a little while before I eat my own spinach, kale, and lettuce...

I decided to introduce Lucy to the chicks...

At first they were wary of each other...

Then Ruby found a worm and Lucy tried to steal it away...

I hadn't even noticed that the bleeding hearts were in bloom...

I started weeding the flower beds and then I surprised our garden snake...and it surprised me! No picture...it slithered away so quickly, but it sure got much bigger this year!

The air is perfumed by the scent of lilacs...

...soon they will be in full bloom.

The Lily of the Valley are just opening up...another one of my favorite scents...

A carpet of violets is growing along the edge of the driveway, spilling out of the flower beds...

...and the hosta is unfurling..

...and that's how my garden grows.

Happy May Day!

May Day is observed on May 1st and is a celebration of the arrival of spring.

It is believed that the May Day holiday originated in Roman times as a festival of flowers. Although it isn't widely celebrated in the United States, it is pretty popular in other countries.

Maypole dancing is a form of folk dancing that has its participants dancing around the pole, weaving in and out with the streamers that are attached to it. There are actually several kinds of May Dances, which vary by country. Many believe that the dance itself is a fertility ritual. It's still practiced today in many parts of the world, especially Scandanavian countries. 

Let's celebrate Spring!



Hens and Chicks



 Our hens and chicks are growing along the rock wall.



Rhubarb



The first lettuce and beet seeds have sprouted in the garden and the chives and rhubarb are off to a great start.

I started some seed potatoes in containers indoors and they look wonderful.



Robin's nest



Mama robin has returned for the second year to build a nest under the roof of our porch.

The heavy rains unearthed some interesting bottles and a silver spoon from the banks along our brook.