[BOOK REVIEW]
LIVING SEASONALLY:
The Kitchen Garden and the Table at North Hill
by Joe Eck and Wayne Winterrowd, Published in 1999 - Henry Holt and Company
Partial retirement doesn’t slow Bob down! (That’s Bob who put the “Harrison” in Harrison
McPhee) Here’s his literary review of two of his favorites. If this article piqued your interest,
be one of the first three to contact us and we’ll send your own copy!
Living Seasonally is a book about the
joys of living in New England and what each
season has to offer in terms of horticultural
diversity, with an emphasis on vegetable
gardening.
Joe Eck and Wayne Winterrowd were
former teachers who moved to southern
Vermont in order to live off the land and
develop one of the country’s finest
gardens.
As much as this book is about
gardens, it is a book about getting
the most enjoyment possible from
each day.
In Living Seasonally, each
season offers something to look
forward to with anticipation such as the first
planting of peas in the Spring, or tomatoes
in early Summer, or bulbs to plant in the late
fall. Winter offers a newly revealed landscape
to admire again before the cycle begins
anew.
The elegant writing and beautiful pho-
tographs showcase the joys of a life spent
outdoors, as well as the indoor enjoyment of
their efforts as they cook meals together and
enjoy the bounty of the land along with a
glass of wine. A beautiful book.
An earlier companion book written by
the same authors, who became renowned
landscape designers, as well as gardeners,
is A Year at North Hill, published in 1995 by
Little, Brown & Company. This is a month-by-
month accounting of the pleasures, chores
and surprises that nature brings to
their 5-acre cultivated garden, planted
intensely with specimen ornamental
plants and trees, perennials, as well as
vegetables, all challenged by Vermont’s
Zone 4 climate. Their glass-enclosed
Winter garden extends what might
otherwise be a short northern season.
Eck and Winterrowd impart useful gardening
knowledge to all gardener skill-levels, with
their wonderful writing and photographs.
Both of these books are meant to be
savored in tune with the reader’s time of
year, or the anticipation of the next on the
calendar, rather than absorbed all at once.
The information and stories continue to be
just as relevant and as enjoyable when revis-
ited year after year.
program gears up for 2018
KILN-DRIED FIRE WOOD
Kiln-dried firewood is ready for delivery. Our
firemaster, Ken, is a familiar face on many of
your properties and he’s in full swing, deliver-
ing and stacking the highest quality, cleanest
burning product available. Heat treated to 160
degrees for a minimum of 75 minutes, this fire-
wood lights easily and is free of insects, mold
or moisture, making it suitable for the most
discriminating living spaces and a first-choice
for wood burning ovens. Give Karen a call at
the office to schedule a delivery: 508-520-0084
At Harrison McPhee, Inc. we ensure that all Plant Health Care client properties are re-
viewed annually so accurate recommendations are made for the following season.
At the urging of many of our clients, we introduced an enhanced, concierge level PHC
monitoring program in 2016 that brings additional peace of mind to those who would like
more regular oversight of the activity on their property. During these visits, our certified plant
health care (PHC) specialists use an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to readily
identify emerging challenges. They are authorized and prepared to treat any issues immedi-
ately, to help keep insect and disease pathogens below a damaging level. Soil moisture and
fertility are checked and recommendations are made as needed. When necessary, pruning and
other cultural controls may be recommended to improve plant vigor.
All
programs are custom designed with the clients’ priorities in mind, and
executed with their preferred method of treatment. Our PHC specialists would be happy to
discuss this further to see if the
program is right for you.
14 Milliston Rd., Suite 202, Millis, MA 02054
HarrisonMcPhee.com