Every year at this time, nature gives us a brilliantly colored gift. Many folks head north, called leaf peepers by the locals, to see autumn in all its glory. But you don’t have to travel to Vermont or New Hampshire to experience splendid fall foliage. You don’t even have to leave your property. Maples are often the first fall foliage tree one thinks of. And it’s true; maples are responsible for much of the brilliant reds and oranges you see. Sugar maples grow in twenty-three states with red and silver maples not far behind. “Sugar maples are beautifully multi-colored,” said Young’s Nurseries…

Generally, the words flower show don’t conjure up images of swimming pool noodles, driftwood, or soda cans, but all three were components in works of floral art at the Wilton Garden Club’s 90th Anniversary Flower Show,  "Friends, Fun and Flowers."   The first Wilton Garden Club flower show was held at the Wilton Library on September 14, 1922. Since then the show has moved around to various locations such as Gilbert and Bennett’s School, and both Ambler and Weir Farms. “We change the location often,” said member of the garden club Mya Smith. “But we felt that this anniversary was a celebration…

They certainly have been busy over at Ambler Farm this summer, especially Ambler Farm’s Program Manager Kevin Meehan and his group of kids that are part of the Apprentice Program. “We are in the process of redoing our education gardens,” explained Meehan. Presently at the farm there are five educational gardens which equal over nine-thousand square feet of land being used for educational purposes. In a little over a year, 95 raised beds have been built at the farm. “It’s fundamentally changed how we work in the gardens,”said Meehan. Raised beds means that it’s easier for kids, staff and …

There are a total of fourteen historical gardens in Connecticut, as listed on the Connecticut Historic Gardens (CHG) website, and Wilton’s Weir Farm National Historic Site is one of them. Each year the CHG organization holds an annual day specifically designed to get people out and headed to the beautiful gardens which dapple the state from one county to another. Last June photojournalist Margaret Waage set out on this appointed day, camera in hand, to explore these gardens and immortalize their early summertime blooms in print. “That’s how it all started,” explained Waage, a Waterbury …

One of the simple pleasures of summer is the peach, the fuzzy-fleshed fruit that requires a napkin and results in smiling faces and sticky hands. Nectarines, which are basically smooth-skinned peaches, are a bit sweeter and tend to be less tart. Although they taste quite similar, peaches are used more in recipes than their cousin and they go far beyond your basic Peach Melba and pie. Cooking 'em “I like to use my peaches in savory dishes,” said chef Alison Milwe, owner of the Wilton company AMG Catering and Events. Grilled peaches with prosciutto and parmigiano-reggiano cheese is a favorite …

It’s hard to believe, but in only four short weeks, we’ll be saying ‘hello’ to the autumnal equinox. Sure the summer thunderstorms persist and the heat and humidity don’t allude to orange leaves, but there’s a change in the way the wind blows, as the skies become darker earlier each evening. As the days of summer go by, the ground continues to be fruitful for Ambler Farm on Hurlbutt Street, and each passing week brings new additions to the harvest, including fresh Fennel. This past weekend, the popular end of summer, the early fall root vegetable, the carrot, made its debut at the farm stand …

When planting season rolls around, many gardeners head to their local hardware store or peruse catalogs for seeds. It may sound like a harmless way to get the garden going, but Millstone Farm in Wilton has a sustainable technique for growing vegetables plants and herbs. Seeds and Salsa Seed Saving Workshop will be held at the farm on August 27 with the goal of teaching attendees seed saving techniques and the importance of participating in this component of sustainable agriculture. “As time goes on and with climate change we need seeds that are appropriate for our region,” explained Master …

The Wilton Continuing Education 2011 fall schedule is posted and if you didn’t make it to Poliana Danila’s How to Design a Perennial Garden class in the past two years, now’s your chance. Danila, who became a mother four-and-a-half months ago, has worked at the prestigious Poundridge Nurseries for many years, but recently scaled down her workload, committing only to personal clients and teaching in Wilton, so that she can spend the majority of her time raising daughter Sophie. Danila herself grew up in Romania, where he father was an avid gardener. She not only learned a love of nature and …

Most golfers will agree that although they may be able to drive the ball off the tee, it’s the putts and chips that require the most practice. “It’s all about the short game,” said Prolinks Putting Greens owner Neil Robertson, a longtime Wilton resident. Robertson’s company installs synthetic putting greens on personal properties throughout Westchester and Fairfield Counties and even up to areas such as Lyme, Connecticut. Whether installed inside a home or outdoors, a main benefit of owning one of these putting greens is that it allows for practice time whenever you want, even in the middle …

Evenings outside are what great summer nights are made of. Giggling children catching fireflies is Americana at its best, but not all steamy weather insects are fun. It seems like the second the sun goes down they arrive in droves and send happy s’mores making families seeking shelter indoors. And mosquitoes are not just annoying; they carry a variety of diseases including malaria and locally the disease West Nile virus. What attracts the pesty and potentially deadly creature to us is the carbon dioxide we expel during exhalation. Only the females of the species “bite” and according to the …

Between being constantly bombarded by bleak economic reports and other seemingly endless tragic stories on the news, living happily day to day can become increasingly difficult. Finding an interest such as gardening that you can delve into can literally mean the difference between waking up stressed out to falling asleep relaxed and exhausted, a perfect combination for a good night’s sleep. “I think basically anything that you enjoy doing reduces stress,” said licensed clinical social worker Robin Canter. In her psychotherapy practice in Wilton, Canter works with adolescents, adults and …

Wiltonians, your Gardening Guru has been dealing with a problem: it’s annoying and embarrassing, it carries disease and at this point, it appears to be multiplying. The problem is a Norway rat that decided my bird feeder would be a perfect place to dine, night and day. In the beginning, a “shoo!” and a wave of my hands sent it back into the cover of the ivy, but eventually even that only caused my new unwanted visitor to flinch slightly and then continue to munch away. According to the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection’s website, Norway rats can have up to twelve …

Kent, Connecticut, resident Emily Brooks is the founder of the company Edibles Advocate Alliance. A small business consulting group that specializes in guiding small farms and agriculture, Edibles Advocate Alliance has clients all over the United States. “One in ten businesses fail,” explained Brooks, “and in this economy I don’t think we can afford to watch nine hard working people fail.” Brooks believes that self sustainability is the apex to everything about healthy food, environmentalism, and the community. An environmentalist herself, Brooks spends ninety percent of her time advocating …

It’s been raining and raining and well, raining. All this precipitation may make pulling weeds easier, but too much rain can be very detrimental to your garden. “Root crops, such as turnips, beets and carrots, decay the fastest when the ground is excessively moist,” explained Farm Manager at Millstone Farm Farah Masani. The wet soil can also bring a garden pest called the moss maggot who is never a welcome visitor. Masani has been working hard to keep the crops at Millstone happy and productive, the organic way. “We’re trying to keep our garden well drained,” she said. Masani has been …

Although gardening is not without backbreaking work, most gardeners would say that they find the ritual of planting, digging and harvesting to be relaxing. There can be hazards to your health out in the dirt though. Spider and tick bites rank high among concerns of gardeners, but there is a potentially deadly disease that can be lurking in the soil and amazingly it can be prevented. “You get tetanus from a toxin that is produced from the bacterium called Clostridium tetani,” explained Wilton Internal Medicine Physician Nancy Gade MD. The bacterium can be found in the soil but is usually from …

There is something about the smell of a fresh garden tomato that immediately transports me back in time to when I spent my hot summer afternoons in the garden with my father. I can clearly remember plucking the ripe vegetable, or fruit if you would like to get scientific, and inhaling deeply, my nose pressed to the red skin. For me, nothing says summer gardening like a fresh tomato. The difference between a store bought and fresh garden tomato is astonishing. No wonder once the temperatures rise, folks run to the nursery to grab up as many plants as they can fit on their property. With so …

Sure, you can always count on organic transplants at the Ambler Farm Farm Stand such as tomatoes and lettuces, but this year the farm is catering to its feline loving customers. “They grew the catnip for me,” said Ambler Farm member and farm stand volunteer Mary Kimberlin.  “I take care of the cats.” People who have cats know that the stuff makes them go wild. I remember when I first planted catnip in my garden I had practically every cat in the neighborhood rolling in it. The plant itself spread a bit, but didn’t take over and was quite a robust crop. Surprisingly, cats aren’t the only ones …

Nothing is more satisfying when you are a gardener than waking up on a leisurely morning and enjoying a cup of coffee on your patio surrounded by beautiful blooms. And conversely, noting is more infuriating than finding out that all the hard work you have put into creating beautiful flowers went right into a critter’s belly. “Everybody likes our crops,” said Millstone Farm Master Farmer Annie Farrell of the other mammals that feast on our plants. “We are battling nature constantly.”  It is a fine line between loving nature and wanting to rid your yard of pests. Here are some helpful tips and …

The Wilton High School garden may have had a bit of a tough start -- the student garden was broken into during its first year -- but all things are looking up toward the sun for this educational project. After classes let out on Friday a variety of people involved with the garden got together for the high school’s Organic Garden Celebration. “I think what Jim [Hunter] and Kate [Eckenrode] have done here and how they have perservered and encouraged staff and students to get involved shows social entrepreneurism at its best,” said garden supporter Jesse Fink. The Fink Foundation donated funding…

Maybe it’s the way they hover in mid-air, extracting nectar from a bright fuschia foxglove. It could be the joy of catching a glimpse of the rather illusive creature. Or maybe it’s simply that their presence signifies the beginning of summer warmth. Whatever the reason, hummingbirds are a welcome addition to a garden and they’re relatively easy to attract. Knowing a bit about hummingbirds, and specifically the ruby-throated hummingbird which most commonly visits Wilton, can help with inviting the winged beauties to your garden. The ruby-throated hummingbird starts its life inside an egg that …