TASHA  TUDOR  & FAMILY

Red efts are a familiar sight in New England in muddy, soggy spring, but the first glance of one brings excitement indeed! I tweeted two weeks ago that the Red Efts were crossing, as they make the journey from the muddy woods to the ponds. The Tudor family has long known this is a sure sign of spring, one of nature's many clues to us that winter will soon be banished for a few months of glorious Vermont summer.

We had lovely weather this year for our June Secret Gardens Tours. We welcome this weekend each year with great anticipation, looking forward to new friends, old friends, invigorating conversation, and delicious Stillwater Punch from Tasha's cookbook. Everyone gathers from afar, bringing with them the stories that drew them to Tasha. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend...

On a partly-sunny day, when the skies are heavy with impending rain, but the sun refuses to be entirely hidden, the greens around Tasha's house are stunning. The leaves offer a hundred shades of green when the sunlight teases us and catches the dew.

Though the snow is on the ground spring is near. The trees are budding against the full moon, and the days are longer. Yet spring in the hills of New England is relative. It is near, only in that it may be seen from afar, rather than not at all.

We hope you had a great Valentine's Day and George Washington's Birthday! 

 Did you enjoy your St. Nicholas Day last Thursday? We sure hope so! we heard from many of you that you included Tasha's traditions of the first appearance of Dundee Cake at tea time on December 6th, one of our favorite traditions!

We've had a lot of cold, rainy days this summer. It's been quite astonishing, really, in stark contrast to the heat of last summer.  Then again we have had many beautiful days, sunny, 75 and perfectly pleasant. On days like this it's a shame to be inside, so we take reading outside, work outside, the children and animals outside. We take lemonade and watermelon and iced tea out on the porch. We tell stories outside, laugh, run, swim, pick berries. 

Winter evenings brought to Tasha a quiet expanse of hours between the end of evening chores and bedtime. After the dishes were washed, dried and put away, the goats and chickens fed and watered, corgis walked and the canaries' cage covered with an old grey apron to diminish drafts, Tasha sat in her wooden rocker with the blue wool checked blanket over the back, put her feet up on a chair near the cook stove fender, and wrote letters. She wrote to family, friends, publishers and people she had not met but whose lives and endeavors were of interest to her. 

In the fullness of summer, on the longest day of the year, Tasha threw a party. Late June was always peak flower season so at this time of year Tasha invariably heard from friends and admirers requesting a visit to her exquisite garden. Always one for mixing efficiency with pleasure, Tasha decided to host an event every year on the summer Solstice where friends, family, and admirers could come marvel at her vibrant garden while also enjoying live music, dancing, food, and more!

I remember hearing someone ask my grandmother which season she preferred best. She explained she liked them all, and that when one ended she looked forward to the next. I don’t recall her exact words in answer to that question, but imagine it was a good explanation of her views on the matter. In any event, by the time winter ended she was always ready for spring. 

By January the snow on the ground at Tasha’s home in Vermont is here to stay until spring. Tasha was always grateful for the snow and the cold. Her perennials were far more likely to come back in the spring if able to sleep beneath the snow, and the cold killed some of the diseases and troublesome insects that haunt all gardens. Her barn, house and animals were warmer when a nor’easter banked two feet of snow around the foundations and on the roof. She always commented on the beauty of blue shadowed snow immediately after a storm.