If you celebrated Easter last weekend, you might be reading this beside a cellophane- or foil-covered pot of lilies, hydrangeas, hyacinths or daffodils. Typically, spring gift plants like these are enjoyed until their flowers fade, and then are thrown away like stale Peeps.
But, if you treat them right, these gift plants can thrive in your garden, often for years to come.
Your first step should be to remove the pot’s wrapper, which traps the water draining from the hole at the bottom of the container, placing the plant at risk for root rot.
Then, set the plant by a sunny window and water lightly whenever the soil dries. Snip off spent flowers as they fade and continue to care for plants indoors until the danger of frost has passed.
Plant lilies in a sunny garden spot at the same depth as they were growing in the pot. Water thoroughly, apply mulch to retain soil moisture and suppress weeds, and feed with a 10-10-10 fertilizer.
The next meeting of the Agawam Garden Club will be held on April 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Agawam Public Library, 750 Cooper St., in the Feeding Hills section. After a short business meeting, club member Ken Guerin will present a program about “Gardening in Small Spaces.” Included will be information on bonsai. Club meetings are open to the public and not restricted to Agawam residents. More information about the club can be found online at agawamgardenclub. com or on Facebook.
The Hampden Garden Club will present a program on “Beekeeping 101” by guest speaker Lee Duquette on April 18 at 7 p.m. at Academy Hall, 625 Main St. Duquette is a local beekeeper who has been keeping bees since 2009. For more information, call Lil at 413-566-1137. Guest fee is $5.
to high school seniors who reside in Monson and plan to continue school at a 2-or 4-year college to study in any branch of the life, natural, or environmental sciences.
Applications with instructions may be obtained through the school guidance office and are due by April 23.
The Springfield Garden Club’s final “Gardening Basics” class on the basics of starting a garden will be held on April 13 at 10 a.m. The last class in the series is “Composting.” Garden Club member and master gardener Janet Dolder will present on how to turn kitchen scraps and garden waste into brown gold. The class will be held at the Shea Building at Forest Park, 300 Sumner Ave. Cost is $10. Tickets are available on Eventbrite, by emailing spfldgardenclub@gmail.com or by calling 413-285-3163.
needed for the remainder of the season. The plant should bloom next year.
Warning: All of these plants are toxic to cats. Chewing on one lily leaf or simply licking its pollen
Repeat feedings monthly throughout the growing season. Although you may see new growth during spring and summer, the plant will not likely bloom again this year.
Plant gift hydrangeas similarly, then provide one dose of a slow-release, balanced fertilizer (10-10-10). No further fertilization should be
lead to kidney failure.
When hyacinth foliage turns yellow (this may be well after the danger of frost has passed), dig a hole as deep as the container and toss in a handful of bone meal before planting. Water, mulch and fertilize with a 10-10-10 product weekly throughout summer to provide energy that the underground bulb will store to produce next year’s flowers.
Tulips aren’t very reliable rebloomers outside of their native range of Central Asia and Turkey. Gardeners in most other regions face
diminishing returns for a few years until, one day, nothing but leaves and stems show up. Because of this, many gardeners treat tulips as annuals, planting new bulbs every year. Still, there’s nothing to lose by experimenting: Plant tulips outdoors following the guidelines for hyacinths — and hope for the best next spring.
Warning: All of these plants are toxic to cats. Chewing on one lily leaf or simply licking its pollen can lead to kidney failure. If you suspect your cat may have ingested any part of a toxic plant, no matter how small, call your veterinarian immediately.
Jessica Damiano writes regular gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter.
The Monson Garden Club has announced that two $500 scholarships are available
Berkshire Botanical Garden will host “Decoupage Workshop” on April 13, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
In this hands-on workshop taught by Marsha Edell, participants will learn the steps for creating four unique,
Spring gift plants on display in Old Brookville, N.Y. (JESSICA DAMIANO VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS)
can
SOME PEOPLE GET their kicks from hang gliding; some from racing cars. Call me mundane, but I get a similar thrill, minus the fear, from seeing cuttings of some new varieties of figs that I am propagating take root. The cool thing about hang gliding, racing cars, and rooting cuttings is also the sense of satisfaction
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waterproof, botanical-themed, ceramic tile coasters. The focus will be on creating 4-by-4-inch, corkbacked coasters which will be completed and ready to take home at the end of the class. Supplies will be provided but feel free to bring in any decorative papers. Cost is $90 members, $110 nonmembers. To register or for more information, visit berkshirebotanical.org. Berkshire Botanical Garden is located at 5 W. Stockbridge Road.
Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Associations’ in-person Spring Gardening Symposia final symposium is on Saturday, April 13, in South Deerfield. For more information, registration forms and/or online registration visit wmmga. org
The final symposium, “Gardening in Changing Times!” will be held at the Frontier Regional High School, 113 North Main St. This half-day event will feature “The Art of Container Gardening” with Eliza Healy, from Sugarloaf Gardens: “Yoga in the Garden” with Christina Gabriel, from Christina’s Garden, in Ashfield; “Practical Permaculture Design Skills for Your Landscape” with Kay
you get from doing it well.
The current batch of cuttings provides special satisfaction because the method I used, gleaned from the web (see, for instance, what turns up with a search for “fig pops”), permit me to check and observe progress frequently. Usually, I stick a cutting into a rooting mix and learn that rooting has
Cafasso, from The Permaculture Place in Shelburne Falls: “Vegetable Gardening Basics” with Ron Kujawski, retired UMass Extension Educator; along with classes from WMMGA Master Gardeners.
The West Springfield Garden Club has two $1,000 scholarships available for qualified high school seniors or post-secondary students during the spring of 2024. Applicants must be West Springfield residents. Scholarships are available for students with a focus of study in a horticulture or agriculture field. Applicants must submit a completed application along with a written one-page document that demonstrates their plans for after graduation in any of the above-mentioned fields and how the grant will assist in their career choice. Application forms are available at the guidance offices of Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative located a 174 Brush Hill Avenue, the West Springfield High School at 425 Piper Road or on the West Springfield Garden Club website, wwsgarden club.org.
All applications must be received by the scholarship committee by April 12. The successful candidates will be notified via mail in mid-May.
taken place by the resistance of the stick to an upward tug or by roots escaping through the drainage hole in the bottom of the pot. With fig pops, I get to see each cuttings wiry, white roots wending their way through the rooting mix soon after they first start to
develop. Fig pops are also a way to root lots of cuttings in a small space.
The current figs are rooting in 3” by 8” clear, thin plastic bags filled with my usual 1:1 mix of moist peat moss and perlite. I pushed the cuttings, fig “sticks” of last year’s
growth 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, into the mix almost to the bottom, then sealed the top closed with a twist-tie. One cutting per bag. Roots need to breathe, so I poked each bag full of holes with a toothpick. That’s it, except when the
If you have a newfound interest in gardening, you’re not alone. In the years since the pandemic, America has more growers than ever. But while a horticultural hobby can be rewarding, and even beneficial to your physical and mental health, starting a vegetable garden can seem a bit intimidating.
The truth, though, is that anyone can grow vegetables, whether it’s in a big backyard or a tiny window box. The best time to start planning an edible harvest is in the early spring, so use these pro tips to set yourself up for success.
under 50 square feet.”
You can always add on to your garden, but the more space — and plants — you have, the harder you’ll have to work. “There’s watering and weeding and looking for bugs, and a lot of people don’t really want to put that much time into it,” Awot-Traut says.
Once you’ve chosen the spot, you should assess the soil. A good growing medium should be rich and loose, without a lot of rocks or roots, and the dirt should absorb water without holding onto too much of it.
fee, some state agriculture departments offer testing, as do the local extension services of many universities. “If you have low nutrient levels, you should be adding in compost or manure or some type of organic fertilizer,” Kemper says.
Even if you’re buying high-quality soil and compost, either in bags or by the truckload, keep in mind that you eventually will need to add nutrients.
“The soil needs to be fed,” Kemper says. “People get the idea that they’re going to be ‘natural,’ and never use fertilizer or manure or anything. They’ll end up tapping out
“If you’re sitting on the ground in your garden and you’re cold, it’s too cold for plants. Or, you can stick your finger in the soil about an inch deep. If you can comfortably leave it there for a minute, it’s warm enough to plant.”
Though it may seem obvious, the first step to starting a garden is figuring out where to put it. “You want a spot that’s sunny, so we always suggest people pick the southern-facing side of their property,” says Dan Kemper, a master trainer at Rodale Institute in Kutztown, Pa. “If you can get eight to 12 hours
of light, that’s what we would consider full sun. That’s where most plants will do their best.”
There are a lot of ways to create a garden: if you have the space, you can sacrifice some lawn or build raised beds. If you don’t want to put plants directly in the ground, you can also grow veggies in containers. That’s a great way
to get started, says Nancy Awot-Traut, horticulture expert with seed and plant company Burpee.
“I would recommend new gardeners go with containers first, especially if they’re in a smaller space like a condo,” she says. “If you are doing a raised bed or going into the ground, don’t go too big. I always tell people to start with
“If the soil is constantly wet, that’s an issue,” Kemper says. “We want to have nice drainage. If your existing soil is too wet, you can plan to make raised beds where you just put soil on top of the ground so that it can be a little bit better drained.”
There’s plenty more to learn about your soil beyond its moisture content, Kemper adds, and there’s an easy way to determine what you’re working with. “At least once every three years, if not once a year, you should be doing a soil test,” he says. For a small
the nutrients of the soil and then nothing will grow. You always need to think of your soil as the crop itself: you have to keep feeding it because it’s alive.”
Deciding what to grow — and when to plant it — starts with determining your hardiness zone. The U.S. Agriculture Department maintains a map that breaks the nation into growing zones based on temperatures and average first and last frost dates. Knowing
This device could help you recreate the eclipse
SOLAR ECLIPSES, like the one over North America on April 8, have fascinated observers for thousands of years. The Maya of Mesoamerica used their astronomical observations to predict eclipses. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle pointed to the round shadows that appear during eclipses as evidence that the Earth is round. European Renaissance figures like Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton paved the way for more widespread interest in and more advanced devices for learning about the orbits of planets around the sun.
One such device was the orrery, believed to have been invented in the early 1700s. The name comes from the Earl of Orrery, whose commissions helped popularize them. The orrery is a kind of planetarium that models the position and motion of planets relative to the sun. This one was made about 1900 and sold for $630 at Donley Auctions.
The sphere in the center, made of brass, represents the sun. A small globe on a wooden arm represents Earth, with a smaller sphere connected to it by a wire for the moon. Another small sphere closer to the sun stands for Venus or Mercury, one of the planets whose orbit lies between Earth and the sun. The gears and chains that allow the arms to move are visible, and the base is labeled with the seasons and months of the year as well as the names of the 12 zodiac constellations.
It makes an effective teaching tool to show how Earth revolves around the
sun but remember that it’s not an accurate model of the solar system. If it were, the sphere representing the sun would have to be more than 100 times wider than the one representing Earth, to say nothing of the distance between them!
Q. My wife and I cruise the local antique shops regularly. A vase marked “Royal Haeger” on the bottom was given to my wife by her aunt upon her passing as her “inheritance.” We have been unable to find out anything about it. Can you tell us anything about it? Since it is a family heirloom, it will be staying with us, but we would like to have some idea if it is worth anything.
A. Your vase was made by Haeger Potteries of Dundee, Illinois. They started making commercial pottery in 1914. The “Royal Haeger” mark was first used about 1938, when designer Royal Hickman started working for them. Hickman worked for Haeger from about 1938 to 1944 and again from the 1950s to 1969. Royal Haeger vases usually sell for less than $100 unless they have unusual features like three-dimensional figures or a multicolor drip or crackle glaze.
Q. We inherited 12 dinner-size plates from my husband’s grandmother. In the process of shipping them to our daughter, three of them were broken. They have the Mintons hallmark on the back, along with the name of the business T.M. James and Sons, Kansas City. I researched online and found that the business was established in 1863 and that they were wholesale/retailers in “crockery, glassware and cutlery and importers of fine china.”
However, searching high and low, I have not been
This type of planetarium, called an orrery, models the relative positions and motion of the sun, moon, and Earth. With a strategically placed light source, you could use one to demonstrate an eclipse. (COWLES
able to determine their value. That issue has become more important now that we must file an insurance claim with the carrier.
A. Twelve-piece sets of Mintons dinner plates with a retailer’s mark sell at auction for about $300 to $500. However, appraisal values are not always the same as sale prices. Values for insurance purposes are often higher. Check with your insurance carrier to see what kind of appraisal you need. They may require a written appraisal by a licensed provider. You can find accredited appraisers through the American Society of Appraisers, the International Society of Appraisers, and the Appraisers Association of America. Most auction galleries also provide appraisal services. Be sure to check your appraiser’s background and look for reviews.
Q. I have an old bottle of Crown Royal with the seal intact bought at Thule Air Base from 1956 to 1958. Before we crack it open at a celebration, I thought I should make sure we weren’t doing something foolish. Do you have any
thoughts on valuation? I was sent to you by the Crown Royal people.
A. We have seen unopened Crown Royal bottles from the 1950s sell for about $200 at auctions. If the original box and bag are included, the price will be higher. Vintage Crown Royal bottles tend to sell at house sales and estate auctions. They may also sell at sales of whiskey or liquor bottles held by national auction houses.
TIP: When stacking dinner plates, put a piece of felt or paper between each plate. Never put more than 24 in one stack.
Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
Dental, toothbrush, electric, Bugs Bunny, carrot shape, detachable head, figural stand, battery operated, box, Sears, 1973, 9 1/2 inches, $35.
Textile, table cover, embroidered, crewel, scrolled vine with oak leaves and acorns, green and blue, picot edge, 27 1/2 x 26 inches, $50.
Porcelain-Chinese, incense burner, pierced lid, foo dog finial, blue and white, side handles, three-footed, four-character mark, 5 inches, pair, $60.
Thermometer, M.A. Finnell, Renaissance Revival style, walnut case, carved leafy crest, mid-1800s, 57 x 13 inches, $250.
Brass, coffee set, coffeepot, lid, folding handle, sugar, lid, six cups, round tray, silver and copper inlay, damascened, tray 14 inches, coffeepot 6 inches, nine pieces, $375.
Advertising, sign, Clabber Girl Baking Powder, Praised By Experts, red and black lettering, yellow ground, metal, wood fame, 36 x 60 inches, $550.
World’s Fair, vase, amethyst glass, iridescent finish, art nouveau mount, view of Cascade Gardens, St. Louis, 1904, 4 inches, $740.
Rug, Persian, Isfahan, pictorial, three figures, blossoming trees, birds, light blue border, multicolor animals, fringe, silk, wool, 66 x 40 inches, $875.
Terry Kovel and Kim Kovel answer readers’ questions sent to the column. Send a letter with one question describing the size, material (glass, pottery) and what you know about the item. Include only two pictures, the object and a closeup of any marks or damage. Be sure your name and return address are included. By sending a question, you give full permission for use in any Kovel product. Names, addresses or email addresses will not be published. We do not guarantee the return of photographs, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. Questions that are answered will appear in Kovels Publications. Write to Kovels, The Republican, King Features Syndicate, 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803 or email us at collectorsgallery@kovels. com.
Terry & Kim Kovel | Antiques & Collecting SYNDICATE INC.)LOS ANGELES — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose modestly last week, holding below 7% as it has for much of this year.
The average rate on a 30year mortgage rose to 6.82% from 6.79% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.28%.
When mortgage rates rise, they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting how much they can afford in a market already out of reach for many Americans.
Rates have been drifting higher and lower in recent weeks, often from one week to the next. The average rate for the benchmark 30-year mortgage is now just below where it was two weeks ago.
After climbing to a 23-year high of 7.79% in October, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage has remained below 7% since early December, though it also hasn’t gone below the 6.6% it averaged in January.
In late February, it got up as high as 6.94% after stronger-than-expected reports on inflation, the job market and the economy clouded the outlook for when the Federal Reserve may begin lowering its short-term interest rate.
Many economists expect that mortgage rates will ease moderately this year, but that’s not likely to happen before the Fed begins cutting its benchmark interest rate.
“While incoming economic signals indicate lower rates of inflation, we do not expect rates will decrease meaningfully in the near-term,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.
Cecilia E. Salter, representative, Maggie Mae Griffin, estate, and Maggie M. Griffin, estate, to Property Advantage Inc., 75 Regency Park Drive, Unit 75, $65,000.
Linda M. Cardaropoli to Haczynski Homes LLC, and Kmak LLC, 7 Agnoli Place, $200,000.
Linda Yelinek, representative, and Joseph J. Mihalski, estate, to Jessica Uschmann, 10A Mansion Woods Drive, $275,000.
Margaret M. Cahillane and Karen Sullivan to Clifford J. Wheelock and Ann M. Wheelock, 55 Dogwood Lane, $294,000.
Mary A. Ruscio, James E. Foley, Edward D. Foley and Paul S. Foley to Edward D. Foley and Eileen Marie O’Connor, 22 Center St., $203,000.
Prime Partners LLC, to Rafael Orlando Cornier and Delilah Cornier, 42 Independence Road, $460,000.
Bruce B. Payton to Lynn Elizabeth Payton and Marianne Payton, 76 North Pleasant St., $1,333,337.
Lynn Elizabeth Payton and Marianne Payton to Pappas Roots LLC, 76 North Pleasant St., $100.
John H. Fanton and Rebecca E. Fanton to Michael Andrew Fox and Amy Kenney Fox, 49 Owen Drive, $980,000.
Helene Cunningham, Helene B. Cunningham and John Cunningham to Jonathan Chang Sheng Chen and So Young Lee, 45 Oakwood Circle and 45 Oakwood St., $725,000.
Daniel Nachbar to Suzan Luna Jaffe, trustee, Amy Sue Jaffe, trustee, and Luna & Amy Jaffe Trust, 120 Pulpit Hill Road, $555,000.
Sigmund J. Roos, trustee, and Jeanne Ray Juster Trust to Robert Pomeroy and Holly Thompson, 35 Amity Place, $442,000.
Vincent M. Biggs and Brigid E. Demers to Ian Adams and Javonate Gamble, 1823 Hawley Road, $777,000.
Julio C. Canizales Sr., Julio Canizales, Deborah J. Canizales and Deborah Canizales to Kelly Canizales, trustee, and Julio C. Canizales Sr. & Deborah J. Canizales Irrevocable Trust, 28 Magnolia Lane, $100.
Linda S. Fidnick, trustee, Carol Booth, trustee, and 6221 Nominee Trust to Laura R. Robinson and Robert H. Eveleigh, 21 North St., $275,000.
James Walker to Prianka Musa and Gazi Joki Uddin, 62 Gold St., $420,000.
Helena R. Gois to Mike Goncalves and Lindsay Robillard, Chaucey Walker Street, $105,000.
Marc H. Dodson and Nancy P. Dodson to Beverly A. Finnivan and Joseph T. Finnivan, trustees of the Finnivan Family Revocable Trust, 35 Avery Road, $554,000.
Sheralyn F. Scott to George L. Goodridge III, 92 Clesson Brook Road, $100.
George L. Goodridge III, to Sheralyn F. Scott, 92 Clesson Brook Road, $100.
Amanda Plasse, trustee, and Wolfindale Family Irrevocable Trust, trustee of, to JRCHR LLC, 125 Nonotuck Ave., $210,000.
Christine Drost and Christine D. Wayson to Citrus Property Investments LLC, 13 Beston St., $125,000.
Debra J. Hilton to Frank Dingman, 62 6th Ave., $250,000.
Gail A. Boyd, trustee, and Martha F. Kusiak Family Nominee Trust, trustee of, to William Boyd Jr., and Gail Boyd, 115 Nutmeg Circle, $240,000.
Jesus Garcia to Nancy Ann Huber Palecek, 68 Colonial Circle, Unit A, $189,000.
Marek Grzejka to Lucy Wilson, 47-49 Moore St., $350,000.
Rafael Cornier and Delilah Cornier to Rebeca Rios and Luis Rivera Matias, 157 Amherst St., $285,000.
Wladyslaw Pikula and Janina K. Pikula to Jose A. Negron, 94 Arthur St., $382,000.
Colorado Ave., $850,000. Dzanc Books Inc., to Steven J. Cohen, 19 Highland Ave., $536,500.
Helen Wang to Aaron Burnham St. John and Audrey Sher-Ping St. John, 13 Shattuck Road, $615,000. 63 East Realty LLC, to Pied Piper Properties LLC, 63 East St., $725,000.
Robin C. Clark and Wayne R. Clark to Jocelyn Crowningshield and Max Leh, 198 West Hawley Road, $267,500.
Bruce C. MacDonald, Scott D. MacDonald and Melissa L. Makosiej to Scott D. MacDonald, 157 River St., “fka” River Street, $20,000.
DEERFIELD
Elisabeth S. Armstrong-Bushey to Dana M. Lavigne. River Road. $16,800.
Margaret K. Doyle and Robert W. Doyle to John Decoursy and Lainie Decoursy, 251 River Road, $585,000.
EASTHAMPTON
Steven R. Malinowski and Karen R. Malinowski to Bryan Malinowski and Justin Malinowski, 18 Zabek Drive, $100.
Yarasavych Irrevocable Trust, Paul-Michael McKenna, trustee, and Christina T. Yarasavych to Elizabeth Jensen and Anthony Rueli, 5 Orchard St., $375,000.
Susan Paton, personal representative, and Maureen A. Connor, estate, to Priscilla Rosado and Georgeshua Agosto, 112 Plain St., $335,000.
GRANBY
Travis C. Scheinost and Joanne Scheinost to Gabriel C. Nelson and Abigail F. Nelson, 6 Green Meadow Lane, $350,000.
Carol Ann Zebrowski to John Zebrowski, Michael Zebrowski and Lynn Patruno, 13 Sherwood Drive, $100.
Christine Kuzmeskus and Peter Kuzmeskus to Maureen Pollock, 71-73 West St., $280,000.
Sherman Realty LLC, to Stonewall Entities LLC, 155 Main St., $1,100,000.
Allan E. Keyes and Janet E Keyes to 28-34 Colorado Ave LLC, 28 & 34
James M. Desrochers and Kathleen M. Desrochers to Robin C. Clark and Wayne R. Clark. 90 West Hawley Road. “aka” West Hawley Road, $225,000.
Gail S. Bielizna, Gail Bielizna Pafford, Timothy D. Pafford and Jane C. Pafford to Abigail Glogower and Joshua Boydstun, 277 Walnut St., $175,000.
Jose A. Negron to Jesus M. Candelario, 164 Pine St., $60,000.
Kevin R. Lumb, Erica Dinapoli Lumb and Erica Dinapoli Lamb to Mishaela L. Brennan and Willis P. Brennan, 102-104 Allyn St., $394,000.
Linda L. McDonald and Dale H. Vieu to Priscilla A. Hardy, 610 County Road, Unit 5, $285,000.
Mental Health Association Inc., to Joseph Morrison, Joseph E. Morrison, Jennifer Voyik and Jennifer L. Voyik, 763 Homestead Ave., $500,000.
Frank A. DeMarinis to Jake W. LaChapelle, 26 Allen Coit Road, $140,450.
Michael L. Williams to Mariel Lumen and Nathan Yale Lumen, 42 Cushman Road, $450,000.
Al-Tahoun Trust, trustee of, Ehdaa Ali Tahoun, trustee, and Samer Moustafa Tahoun, trustee, to Babatunde Idowu, 128 Converse St., $539,900.
Dominic Kirchner II, trustee, and A-O-K Realty Trust, trustee of, to Wendy L. Foy, 117 Edgewood Ave., $333,000.
Stuart M. Ransom and Cindy Cherico to Kelley A. Bergin, 51 Village Drive, $410,000.
Clarke D. Kennedy and Paul Kennedy to Joyce Darlene Roswess, 348 West St., $180,000.
Jose A. Dias to Joel F. Marques, 139 Yale St., $282,000.
Manuel J. C. Salgado, Maria Helena Salgado and Silvia Alves Salgado to Nery Leonidas De Leon Reyes, Nery Leonidas De Leo n Reyes and Silvia Alves Salgado, 80 Letendre Ave., $130,000.
Robert D. Bourdeau II, representative, and Robert D. Bourdeau, estate, to Peter E. Miccoli Sr., and Tamara J. Miccoli, Deroche Circle Lot 2, $210,000.
Robert J. Lefebvre, commissioner, to Daniel Moriarty and Melissa Moriarty, 164 Prospect St., $330,000.
Tiago Boacas Martins and Jeffrey C. Dias to Branden Simard and Elizabeth Simard, 208 East St., $335,000.
William F. Richardson and William F. Richardson III, to Sean McKeever and Cheryl Clarke, 181 East St., $225,000.
Karen A. O’Toole to Quaboag Construction Corp., Bethany Road, Lot A, $52,000.
Tyler Montgomery to Tyler Sean Montgomery and Alexis Justine Fastiggi, 6 Pine Ridge Road, $100.
Patrick H. Yarrows to Margaret C. Lindquist, Dennis T. M. Yarrows, Mary A. Achor, David F. Yarrows Jr., James A. Yarrows, John P. Yarrows and Theresa A. Yarrows, 27 Pilgrim Drive, $53,125.
Robert W. Driscoll, personal representative, and Ann C. Driscoll, estate, to Healthy Neighborhoods Group LLC, 31 Park St., $450,000.
Willis P. Brennan, Mishaela L. Brennan and Mishaela L. Smith to Kevin Doubleday and Alison Daigle, 118 Florence St., $305,000.
Peter L. DeRose to Peter L. DeRose and Florence DeRose, Kennedy Road, $100.
Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield to Sunwood Development Corp Inc., 3 Elm St., $1,100,000.
Ricki Ellen Kantrowitz, Ricki
E. Kantrowitz and Alexander Cohen to Ricki E. Kantrowitz and Alexander Cohen, 41 Warburton Way, $100.
Brant Lingle and Erin Lingle to Ryan Jeffrey Shea and Hanna Marie Shea, 65 Hatfield St., $430,000.
Timothy D. Scott, Deborah Keisch and Marion S. Keisch to Krista Hennings-Vinocur and Claire Vinocur, 642 North Farms Road, $699,000.
Wendy Decou to Justus Perry and Kelly Noonan, 1181 Burts Pit Road, $365,000.
Colleen M. Allen to Emerald City Partners LLC, 17 New South St., $100.
Hava Doom LLC, to Evan R. Hagerstrom and Rachael Hanley Hagerstrom, Kennedy Road, $110,000.
Tyler Q. Grossman and Markayla S. Tansey to An Nguyen and Marvin Quelex Turuy, 232 East Main St., $301,000.
Norman Bartlett and Rhonda Bartlett to Eli Miller and Amanda Phelps, 52 Briggs St., $160,000.
Sherry J. Whitney to Michael R. Edson and Michelle L. Edson, 113 New Athol Road, Unit 28 Pioneer Place Condominium, $335,000.
RUSSELL
Anatoliy Tereshchuk and Katerina Tereshchuk to Casey Belieu, 210 Pine Hill Road, $390,000.
SHELBURNE
Daniel Sonntag to Albert E. Gray Jr., and Angela M. Jann, 139 Main St., $290,000.
SOUTH HADLEY
Theresa M. Magrath to Kenna Magrath, 21 Maple St., $200,000. PMDM Realty LLC, AQRS Realty LLC, 180 Old Lyman Road, $690,000.
Michael N. Gagnon and Joanne C. Gagnon to Sandra Stoughton, 25 Chileab Road, $490,000.
Geoffrey R. Fleury to Allison M. McFadden, 77 Crooked Ledge Road, $535,000.
Linda B. McQuade to Lynette L. Litourneau, 3 Rosewood Lane, $235,000.
Aisha A. Pizarro and Arleen Pizarro to Lydia I. Quiles, 58 Brewster St., $300,000.
Bruce D. Brown to Baitus Salaam Corp., NS Hazelwood Ave., $500.
Christian B. Wiernasz to Bobbie C. Gentry, 83 Lorimer St., $290,000.
Courageous Lion LLC, and Altostratus LLC, to MLM Holdings LLC, 284 Denver St., $137,500.
Fay Servicing LLC, to M&M Renovations LLC, 115 Carroll St., $190,000.
Filipe Lima Brito Rodrigues to 49 Sylvester Street LLC, 49 Sylvester St., $160,000.
Hlre Development LLC, to Rafael Severino, 21 Greenwich St., $430,000.
Jessica Y. Gonzalez to Rosario Del Rosario, 129-131 Hamburg St., $360,000.
Judith M. Lemieux to Tracy Bradford, 24 Metzger Place, $290,000.
Junior Properties LLC, to Kelnate Realty LLC, 157 Kensington Ave., $200,000.
Justin Provost to Maynard Hamre Investments LLC, 140 Chestnut St., Unit 407, $25,000.
Kayla Nieves to Lisandra Sepulveda, 28 Whitmore Drive, $235,000.
Kelli Ann Cabido, Kelli Ann Chenaille and Antonio J. Cabido to Joseph F. Giordano, Sharon A. Giordano, Samantha M. Giordano and Zackary J. Giordano, 433 Nassau Drive, Unit 433, $249,900.
Larry Lawson to Efe Gunaydin and Sevinc Aslan, 761-763 Saint James Ave., $380,000.
LKN Realty Investments LLC, to Xavier Adorno, 252 Bay St., $255,000.
Northern Flooring & Remodeling LLC, to Daphney Williams and Hugh M. Williams, 408-410 Central St., $495,000.
Maria Santiago to Flora Hernandez, 42-44 Grover St., $290,000.
Marianna Alvarado to Andre Ferdinand, 25-27 Merida St., $380,000. Mass Rentals LLC, to Mindruns Properties LLC, 446 Liberty St., $515,000.
Melissa Bailey, trustee, Orleans Realty Trust, trustee of, and Icie Jones to Prestigious One LLC, 333-335 Saint James Ave., $145,000.
Nicholas C. Pappas to Equity Trust Co., custodian, Robert Lareau IRA, and Robert Lareau, 352-354 Page Boulevard, $262,500.
OB Properties LLC, to Tiffany S. Clark, 30-32 Moulton St., $330,000.
R. M. Blerman LLC, and RM Blerman LLC, to MLB Property Management LLC, 84-86 Bowles
St., $295,000.
Raffaele Russo to Veteran Stan LLC, 52-54 Adams St., $200,000.
Selana Marie Picard to Dank Trustee Services, trustee, and Tinkham Road Trust, trustee of, 38 Tinkham Road, $287,456.
Topher Properties LLC, to Ariel Properties LLC, 35-37 Bartlett St., $301,000.
Wilmington Savings Fund Society, trustee, and Stanwich Mortgage Loan Trust I, trustee of, to Filipe Lima Brito Rodrigues, 49 Sylvester St., $140,000.
David L. Letellier and Lise M. Letellier to Richard D. King Jr., and Rebecca Graven, 14 Brook Lane, $345,000.
Go America LLC, to Castlerock 2023 LLC, 28 Woodland Heights, $40,500.
John R. Eskett and Jean B. Eskett to Ashley J. Eskett and Logan J. Wojcik, Fisherdick Road, $100.
Gary J. Buelow Jr., Corie Ann Croke and Corie A. Buelow to John P. Mogle and Annette M. Mogle, 17 Pleasant St., $258,000.
Angelina Roman and Axel Roman to Amy Mathison-Start, 72 Eagle St., $169,900.
Mar Angelo Delrosario and Megan C. Delrosario to Emiliano Osmani and Jessica Santiago, 130 West Main St., $225,000.
Ebenezer Construction & Cleaning Inc., to Thomas Hubbard, 88 West St., $250,000.
Arthur N. Allen, trustee of the Clinton W. Allen Trust Agreement, to New England Power Co., Wendell Depot Road, $96,666.67.
Arthur N. Allen, personal representative of the Estate of Elsie A. Woods, to New England Power Co., Wendell Depot Road, $48,333.33.
Daniel P. Szostek, Paul E. Szostek and Steven D. Szostek to David J. O’Neill, Bancroft R. Poor and Henry Woolsey, trustees of the Whetstone Wood Trust Fund, Kentfield Road, $17,000.
Adam M. Ciborowski and Kathleen Ciborowski to Omar Shehzad, 6 Plateau Ave., $263,500.
Amber Beninati to Talia Jeanine Wujtewicz and Steven Michael
Lindner, 576 Kings Hgy, $310,000.
Brian J. Kolodziej to Douglas J. Richard, 153 Bonnie Brae Drive, $390,000.
Fatima Apartments LLC, to Caring For Others Health Agency LLC, 80 Riverdale St., $305,000.
Kevin C. Huyghe to Vincenzo F. Suffriti and Brittany Anne Suffriti, 478 Amostown Road, $341,500.
Michael L. Discenza and West Springfield Town to Annaka Paradis-Burnett and Noah Paradis-Burnett, Lewis Avenue, $5,000.
80 Egleston Road LLC, to Luke & Diane Holdings Inc., 80 Egleston Road, $735,000.
Daniel B. Daley and Kathleen Abreu to Amanda Marie Larose, 152 Elizabeth Ave., $443,400.
Judith Clowes-Gamache to Terence E. McCarthy, 419 Southwick Road, Unit N61, $258,000.
Kathryn Lapointe to Daophone Dala, 555 Russell Road, Unit E32, $185,000.
Maria Pantoja and Maria L. Sotolongo to John Linscott, 143 Holyoke Road, $330,000.
Michelle W. Urbanski, representative, and Michael J. Urbanski, estate, to Dominic Kirchner II, trustee, and Amenadiel Realty Trust, trustee of, 23 Leonard Ave., $138,000.
James Sooyong Kemper II, and Amanda Joy Kemper to Scott Currie and Lisa A. LeBlanc, 71 Northwest Road, $434,817.
Diamond Home Improvement LLC, to Max Majors, 8 Maynard Road, $435,000.
Joao Paulo Barbosa Inacio and Chimenia Xavier Cros Da Silva to Double R Enterprises LLC, 24 Oaks Farm Lane, Unit 24, $475,000.
Madison M. Chmyzinski and Jonathan M. Levin to Corey Sanders and Rachel Sanders, 106 Springfield St., $436,000.
Yvette J. Belisle, representative, and William G. Johnson Sr., estate, to Yanqiong Zhang and Stephen Chevalier, 3075 Boston Road, $280,000.
Adin Maynard and Llama Maynard to Tree Sprites Inc., 61 Adams Road, $10,000.
TOKYO — Crowds gathered Friday to enjoy Japan’s famed cherry blossoms in Tokyo, where cold weather has delayed their bloom.
Cherry blossoms, known as “sakura” in Japanese, are the nation’s favorite flower. People often have sakura viewing parties beneath the falling petals, where there are also picnics and sake drinking.
Vidyuth Lakshman, 36, a tourist from Canada, said she’d seen cherry blossoms
in her homeland but “not on this scale. The scale here is crazy.”
The trees usually are at peak bloom in late March to early April, at the same time the country begins a new school and business year.
“They’re really breathtaking,” said Silver Shea, 47, a tourist from the United States who was visiting Japan for a month with her 11-year-old daughter. “We leave in about a week, and we were getting nervous that we weren’t going to get to see them blooming.”
A person takes photos of the seasonal cherry blossoms at the Ueno Park on Friday in Tokyo. (EUGENE HOSHIKO / ASSOCIATED PRESS)
A good tip for beginner gardeners: seed packets are often printed with detailed information about when to plant, and whether seeds should be sown directly in the garden or started inside.
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your zone can keep you from planting too early, a common mistake that often results in plants getting zapped by a late frost. Even veteran gardeners should take a second look at the map: For the first time since 2012, the USDA made updates for this growing season that moved roughly half the country into a new zone.
Other than simply paying attention to the forecast, Awot-Traut says there are some basic ways to know when it’s warm enough to plant. “If you’re sitting on the ground in your garden and you’re cold, it’s too cold for plants,” she says. “Or, you can stick your finger in the soil about an inch deep. If you can comfortably leave it there for a minute, it’s warm enough to plant.”
Seed packets are often printed with detailed information about when to plant, and whether seeds should be sown directly in the garden or started inside. “For a first-time gardener, I’d say if a seed packet says to start indoors, put it back,” AwotTraut says. “It’s a couple of steps up because you need seed-starting equipment, and among beginners I see a lot of failures, so I don’t recommend it.”
Having a successful first season can be a big confidence-builder, so experts suggest sticking with easyto-grow varieties at first. “I
recommend summer squash or zucchini, bush beans, cucumbers, lettuce and cherry tomatoes,” Awot-Traut says. “It is really hard to fail with a cherry tomato.”
Some plants are a bit more finicky, Kemper says. Broccoli and onions, for example, aren’t plants he suggests to newbies. On the other hand, “hot peppers are great starter plants,” he says. “They can take a hurricane or a locust swarm and still come out on top.”
And whether it’s your first or fiftieth growing season, Kemper says, everyone should be growing garlic. “I don’t think there’s anything easier,” he says. “You pull off a clove, stick it in the ground in the fall, mulch it, and wait for the next summer’s harvest. You don’t have to do anything else: Just set it and forget it.”
A vegetable garden also doesn’t have to be limited to, well, vegetables. Adding some flowers and herbs can attract beneficial bugs and deter pests. “You can plant something like marigolds, which are great for attracting pollinators,” Awot-Traut says. “They also help to keep some of the bugs away without worrying about spraying.”
The most important piece of advice when it comes to choosing plants is simple, she adds: “Don’t plant anything you don’t want. Radishes are easy to grow, but if you don’t like radishes, don’t plant them!”
Have the right attitude
There are lots of growing
bags seemed too dry I stood them in a pan with a couple of inches of water for awhile.
(Dipping the cuttings in a commercially available rooting hormone would probably improve rooting, but I don’t use them. To me, the health precautions needed when dealing with them takes the fun out of gardening.)
derfoot, these grafts grow very vigorously and bear relatively quickly — sometimes the year after grafting.
Alternatively, I make a whole new tree by grafting a scion onto a one-year-old rootstock that I purchase or grow. These small trees will take longer to come into bearing, how long depends on the kind and variety of fruit, and the rootstock.
practices that can make a garden successful in its first year, and no shortage of advice and resources to help new hobbyists learn the ropes and avoid common pitfalls. Planting things too close together, for instance, can promote bacterial and fungal growth. Healthy plants need space to grow, Kemper says. “Spacing them out allows maximum airflow, and that reduces disease.”
Pests and birds can also hurt your harvest, but netting or row covers can protect the plants. Weeds can rapidly get out of control, but mulching can help with that, Kemper says. “We use straw or leaves raked off the lawn,” he says. “You can use wood chips. Some people get creative with newspapers or cardboard.”
But no matter how hard you try, the reality of gardening is that something will probably go wrong. “You might need to do some experimenting,” he says, “which means a little bit of success and failure.”
Failure - whether it’s an herb that withers, a tomato that never fruits or a squash bug invasion - is part of the hobby, say the pros, and it’s the best way to learn. It’s bound to happen, Awot-Traut says, so don’t let it stop you from growing.
“To start, you don’t have to spend a lot of money and you don’t need a lot of things,” she says. “If you want to be a gardener, wherever you are, you just have to start gardening.”
Kate Morgan is a freelance writer in Richland, Pa.
All that, and time, would have been enough. But to speed things up, I moved the cuttings to a place where they’d get some warmth on their bottoms. That could have been atop a refrigerator, above, but not on a radiator (too hot), or, in the case of my cuttings, on a seedling heating mat.
No light is needed until cuttings start to leaf out. Which is an exciting moment, because roots might — or might not — begin to show about then. All that’s needed is to lift a fig pop and take a look. Some of mine showed roots after only 3 weeks! But it’s good to let them get well rooted before disturbing them. When the time came to move a well rooted cutting, I sliced the plastic on the bottom and up along one side of its bag and put the whole root ball in a bona fide pot, filling in with bona fide potting soil around it. That’s it. Growth will pick up with increasing warmth and sunlight. And then fruit, which could arrive on the branches even this growing season. Figs are admittedly easy to root by any method. As with any cutting, an important ingredient for success is patience.
Moving on, very soon, to another perennial source of excitement here in the garden: grafting. I do this every year about now? Why every year? Because I’m always getting scions (1-year-old stems for grafting) of new varieties of fruits, mostly pears, to try out or to replace existing varieties. Or I might want another tree or two of a variety particularly worth growing here.
If I’m replacing an existing variety, I do a Henry the Eighth on the tree, lopping off its head, low, to graft a new variety onto the remaining stump. With the established root system un-
A rootstock, whether the remaining stump of a lopped back mature tree or a pencil-thick young plant, has to be closely related to the scion that will be grafted atop it for the graft to be successful. Rootstock and scion in the same genus generally do well together, so pear on pear, apple on apple, even peach on plum are compatible. Occasionally, plants in the same family but different genus, such as pear and quince, also join well. One way to create a rootstock would be to just plant a seed, giving rise to the appropriately named “seedling” rootstock. A seedling rootstock’s main claims to fame might be its general toughness and its genetic diversity from other seedlings. That genetic diversity is a downside if you want to plant an orchard of uniform trees; it’s an asset if you don’t want some pest all of a sudden wiping out all your plants with genetically the same rootstocks.
Rootstocks have been selected or bred that impart special qualities to a tree, and these rootstocks are propagated not by seed, but by any one of a number of methods of cloning (cuttings, tissue culture, mound layering, etc). Most dramatic might be the effect on plant size. The Malling 27 variety of apple rootstock, for instance results in a tree that matures at about 7 feet high. As with many dwarfing rootstocks, the tree also yields its first harvest quickly with, although less fruit per tree than a larger tree, more fruit per square foot of space. And you can plant many dwarf trees in the same space as one full-size tree.
Most important: The rootstock, for all its effects, has little or no influence on the flavor of fruit grafted upon it.
I’ll be grafting in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned for the two or three easy grafts I use to make trees.
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