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Wednesday, May 22, 2012
by Christine Yeres

Under the auspices of the Garden Conservancy (“Preserving America’s Exceptional Gardens”), this Saturday, May 25, two of the best-kept secret gardens in the country—one small, one vast, both hidden treasures of New Castle—open themselves to visitors from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Be “At the Horace Greeley House with Shobha Vanchiswar” at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7, for some talk on “Getting Ready for the Growing Season”

April 19, 2013

After what seemed to be an interminably long and harsh winter, it is finally, really, spring!  Yet now I feel as though I can’t quite keep up with the accelerated pace of this much-awaited season.

March 1, 2013

Mind-Altering Magic in the Garden

February 22, 2013

The Listening Garden

When my daughter was very young, we’d go on Listening Walks. We’d explore the neighborhood in total silence. On our return home, we’d talk about the outing.

January 25, 2013

The Case for Composting

I was recently asked what I would suggest if someone were to attempt just one new thing in the garden. That took some thinking on my part. It finally came down to two things. To plant a tree or start a compost heap. And the winner is – a composter.

And does leaving a trickle of water running help prevent it?

Tuesday, November 6, 2012
by Norm Jen

I wouldn’t recommend it.  It’s more of a myth that leaving a trickle helps.  Here’s why…

Fire on Nov. 4 on Gray Rock Park Road; homeowner was using the fireplace to heat the house
Friday, November 2, 2012
by Norm Jen

Many residents who reported outages to Con Ed—by the way, New Castle Police have advised calling Con Ed each day to tell them you’re still without power—have received robo-calls from Con Ed informing them that “the majority of households” in our area would have power restored “by next weekend.”  They aren’t saying “this” weekend, but “next.”  Let’s hope it happens sooner, but in the meantime I would like to throw two things out to NewCastleNOW readers who are out of power—about using wood-burning fireplaces to heat your home, the safe use of generators, and the dangers of carbon monoxide.

Rosemary Verey with a client, the Prince of Wales
Monday, October 1, 2012
by Shobha Vanchiswar

At 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 10, the Rocky Hills lecture series brings Barbara Paul Robinson and her newly published book on British gardening icon Rosemary Verey to the Chappaqua Library.  In preparation for the interview, of course I read the book, “Rosemary Verey – The Life and Lessons of a Legendary Gardener”—and thoroughly enjoyed it. To gain insight into Verey’s life was fascinating.

A Mothers Day present that lasts forever
May 4, 2012
by Christine Yeres

In tidying up for her Rocky Hills Open Day on Saturday, May 19, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., Mrs. Henriette Suhr is pulling up some of her profusion of forget-me-nots that create a soft sea of blue—some call it a cloud or a mist—every spring all across her 12-acre strolling garden on Old Roaring Brook Road.  They’ll be on offer as a gift this Saturday, May 5, at the Chappaqua Farmers Market.  No fussing required.  Either plant them or let them sit in some garden spot and dry out, leaving their seeds to surprise you next year and forever after. 

7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 19, 2012, at the Chappaqua Library
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
by George Shakespear

Based on her book, Embroidered Ground: Revisiting the Garden, Page Dickey will describe the pitfalls and pleasures of the thirty-year-long process of creating her garden, Duck Hill, in North Salem, New York. She will share her personal views on what makes a garden a success – structure, fragrance, the play of geometry and wildness, pattern and texture, multiseasonal plants. She will tell about gardening with a husband, with wildlife, with dogs and chickens, and the challenge of simplifying her garden in the years ahead.

April 13, 2012
by Susan Rubin and Suzi Novak

In an Grand Opening Celebration this Sunday, April 15, at 1:00 p.m., members of our Community Garden will officially thank the Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps for the use of its land (for a second year now) and Chappaqua Paint & Hardware for donating a brand-new irrigation system.  Town Board members and the town’s Sustainability Advisory Board members have also been invited.

Dainty grape hyacinths
April 6, 2012

For I am but human …

April 6, 2012

Editor’s Note: Coyotes’ pups have now been born and their parents must feed them. Watch your pets and small children, especially on hikes in natural habitats.  Parks are home to lots of wildlife.  Coyotes are at the top of the food chain in these parts and the mice they live on are in short supply. Below we’ve reprinted Steve Coleman’s advice on co-existence with coyotes.

There are still a few plots available.

Photos by Kevan Full, at kevanslens.com; see more pics of the seed-starting meeting and of the community garden at CVAC in Photo Gallery
Monday, February 27, 2012
by Susan Rubin

Spring is just around the corner!  Many gardeners try to get the jump on the season by starting seeds indoors.  This was the topic of a workshop given at the Chappaqua Library last Sunday by Suzi Novak and me, Susan Rubin, coordinators of the InterGenerate community garden at the Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps yard on North Greeley.