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Local Wildflower Honey for Sale
Local Wildflower Honey for Sale
Our pure, raw wildflower honey is harvested by hand with care from our hives here on Cape Cod. Never filtered, our honey retains all its natural goodness - the pollen, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. 11 oz. jar. Choose clear or white label. Limited quantity available. Shipping calculated at ch
About Sparrow Gardens
About Sparrow Gardens
Why Natives?
Why Natives?
Buttonbush ( Cephalanthus occidentalis ) is a magnet for pollinators, especially bumblebees and butterflies. It is also a larval host for several species of sphinx moths. photo: The Cosmonaut “Native plants are the cornerstone of Earth’s ecosystems and the base of the food chain that leads t
The Importance of Pollinators
The Importance of Pollinators
When we think of pollinators and pollinator decline , we generally think of honeybees . The plight of the honeybee due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and the impact that has on our agricultural industry has been well documented and rightly so. Nearly one in every three bites of food is directl
All About Peonies
All About Peonies
"And the wind upon its way whispered the boughs of May, and touched the nodding peony flowers to bid them waken." ~ Siegfried Sassoon
Becoming a Beekeeper
Becoming a Beekeeper
Being a gardener I am always amazed at the diversity and industry of the bees we see in the beds we tend, and for some time I had wanted to learn about beekeeping and why bees do what they do. I was also keenly aware of the crisis surrounding the honeybee - colony collapse disorder, the absconding o
Kousa Dogwoods
Kousa Dogwoods
The Kousa dogwood , or Cornus kousa , is a lovely spring-blooming deciduous tree whose popularity in our region came about due to the decline of our native species of dogwood - the Cornus Florida, or Flowering dogwood . Growing along the East Coast from Massachusetts to Florida, the native dogw
Witch Hazels for Winter Interest
Witch Hazels for Winter Interest
Just when all the color has faded from the landscape and it seems as if everything has shifted to varying shades of brown and gray the blooms of the witch hazel arrive to brighten the winter garden. Witch hazels are a genus of flowering shrubs in the family Hamamelidaceae, with four North American
Hydrangea Guide: Types, Care, Misconceptions
Hydrangea Guide: Types, Care, Misconceptions
hydrangeas Hydrangeas and summer on Cape Cod are so entwined that you can’t think of one without the other. In the warm days of July the iconic blossoms grace picturesque landscapes across the Cape, bringing color and beautiful form which lasts long into the fall. Hydrangeas are native to a wide ra
A Trees and Flowers Love Story Circa 1932
A Trees and Flowers Love Story Circa 1932
This Silly Symphonies cartoon produced by Walt Disney in 1932 is a wonderfully sweet plant love story, perfect for Valentine's weekend. Directed by Burt Gillett, it was the first commercial film to be produced in full-color three-strip Technicolor process. The film was a success, picking up the firs
Voles=Voracious
Voles=Voracious
Taking a walk around the garden in early spring we may notice small “racetrack” like paths running through the lawn and garden beds. These are created by voles, one of the most destructive and difficult pests to eradicate from our yards. Here on Cape Cod meadow voles are the second most common small
Fiddlehead Ferns
Fiddlehead Ferns
fiddlehead ferns If you’re a New Englander early spring signals the time to forage for fiddlehead ferns! These spring delights are only available for a few short weeks as they emerge from the ground usually in mid-to-late April (in our area). The fiddlehead name came about because the tightly coile
Sparrows: Of Names and Nature
Sparrows: Of Names and Nature
Growing Microgreens
Growing Microgreens
Growing Microgreens, or, houseplants you can eat! Remember in grade school when you grew a bean plant from a seed on the school windowsill? Growing microgreens is just as simple, and even more rewarding. Microgreens are full of vitamins, minerals and enzymes and the fact that you
Hummingbirds: The Original Snowbirds
Hummingbirds: The Original Snowbirds
Forest Bathing
Forest Bathing
forest bathing “It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanates from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.” - Robert Louis Stevenson The Japanese have a practice
Blueberry Bounty
Blueberry Bounty
blueberry bounty It's just about time to begin picking those beautiful, delicious, antioxidant-filled orbs we call blueberries! On Cape Cod our harvest window is from July through September. If you are fortunate enough to have blueberry bushes on your property, lucky you! If not, following is a lin
Rabbits in the Garden, Take a Number?
Rabbits in the Garden, Take a Number?
Harvesting Garlic and Onions
Harvesting Garlic and Onions
harvesting garlic and onions If you have a vegetable garden, mid-July is the time typically to harvest your garlic and onions. Though similar in many ways, they do have differences in the manner in which they are harvested. For bulbing onions, you can tell they are ready to harvest when the stems f
Minor Bulbs, Major Impact
Minor Bulbs, Major Impact
minor bulbs, major impact With the arrival of the earliest days of spring comes the first flush of blooms from the often unheralded but most welcome minor bulbs - crocus, squill, snowdrops, winter aconite, spring snowflake, grape hyacinth, glory-of-the-snow, wood hyacinth bluebells, and dw
Hellebores, Harbingers of Spring
Hellebores, Harbingers of Spring
High Summer, Echinacea's Moment
High Summer, Echinacea's Moment
The Two Sides of Forever
The Two Sides of Forever
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