Poltrack Blog

This is a great time to take a stroll around New Ipswich and see what is blooming. June is a great time for plants, the pests haven't done their damage yet, with the exception of the Viburnum Leaf Beetle . As soon as my Miss Kim Lilac bloomed an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail arrived. I love the scent of this flower. This year I bought a Hydrangea from Mason Brook Nursery variety "Endless Summer". It is off to a good start with lots of blossoms. As an added treat a dragonfly visited the bloom The Rosa rugosa are in bloom right now In the woods in my backyard I found some Mayapples in bloom. These plants are poisonous including the unripe fruit. Supposedly when ripe it is eatable in small amounts. I'm not going to try them. I regret that I made the mistake of planting  a Chinese Fringe Tree in the woods. It deserves to be in the middle of the yard. The flowers are fragrant. Another view of the tree

No more killing frosts here in New Ipswich. Our "safe" date for planting is May 30th so I've planted the tender plants like beans and squash. I get my plants from our local nurseries, Amazing Flower Farm , Mason Brook and Mason Hollow . They are the best, they know what will grow in our area and each has a unique selection of plants. The photos are not exciting but the plants will grow quickly once the chicken manure kicks in. Ugly isn't it? I bought a small stock tank from Tractor Supply Company and filled it with sphagnum moss and two Pitcher  Plants. I wonder how this will come out. Cactus in New Hampshire? Yes and they winter over! They look like hell all winter but they plump up in Spring. I'm going with heavy mulch this year. A big thanks to my friend Lora for giving me all this hay

Years ago I planted an American High Bush Cranberry (Viburnum trilobum). It is a native plant that has white flowers in the spring, red berries in summer and  bronze foliage in the fall. Birds love the berries which apparently can be made into jams. I planted it on the edge of my yard and slowly it is being strangled by invasive Rosa multiflora and Oriental Bittersweet . It managed to survive in spite of this but is now facing a new crisis. While looking at the skeletonized leaves I discovered the larvae of the Viburnum Leaf Beetle Ugly things too small to hand pick Not much leaf left

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" Muhammed Ali Good morning, Yesterday I spread some straw in the garden (available at Mason Brook Nursery ) to maintain the moisture and protect the soil from being compacted.I was pleased to see that the snap peas were just beginning to blossom. Won't be long till the first harvest of 2016. The Kousa Dogwood is flowering. This is a great tree for our climate, it is very hardy The "rain covers" have formed on this pitcher plant. I believe this variety is Sarracencia flava Athyrium niponicum Japanese Painted Fern really lights up shady areas. I'm trying to get it to spread out. The Miss Kim lilac is in full bloom now. This variety is unbelievably fragrant, almost cloyingly so. I find it almost intoxicating and it is a magnet for Eastern tiger swallowtails ( Papilio glaucus ) Papilo glaucus When I moved to New Ipswich in 1974 I found an early blooming daylily on the property. Th...