We took a holiday and went to New Hampshire to enjoy the mountains, family and some nice weather. As the saying goes, ‘two out of three ain’t bad’! We had a nice visit with my Dad and Grandmother in Lyndonville. Only a month before my Grandmother’s 101st birthday!

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Later in the week we went on a hike up Lonesome Lake. It was a nice day for it and John, Sarah, Rebecca, Kate, Pepper and I went. Rebecca hiked the whole way and Kate did about seventy percent of it herself! For some of the hike we’d hold Kate’s hand because there are a few places with large rocks and steep stairs. Pepper decided she wouldn’t go for a swim when she got to the lake at the top — too bad, it looked inviting!

My sister Pam and her husband Kirk and their kids came down to visit as well. Cameron and Connor were happy to see Rebecca and Kate (and vice versa). They had fun playing and were extra happy to find out that they were going to Santa’s Village. Everyone drove over and spent the day at the park. The weather mostly cooperated and everyone enjoyed themselves. There was enough different activities that it kept the kids, from two to seven years old, entertained (I liked the Yule Log ride myself!).

I brought my camera and we snapped a few photos, as you can see below:

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Rebecca and Kate were busy making music today with their new guitars. With the weather so hot and humid it was hard to figure out something to do that wasn’t going to make me melt. While Kate was napping, I had Rebecca help me make some guitars out of some scrap pine and mahogany. I used a large diameter bit on my drill press to make the center hole and my Dozuki saw to cut notches in the bridge for the “guitar strings” — aka rubber bands. After Kate woke up from her nap, they both decided to rock the house down. I decided to take some pictures of Rebecca and Kate playing the guitar.

Rebecca and I decided to make some ice cream in order to beat the heat as well. We sat down and reviewed the different recipes from Nigela Lawson’s Forever Summer cookbook and decided on one. We took a little trip to the grocery store to get some ingredients for raspberry ice cream. Rebecca did a great job — except that she ran from the room when the beaters were whisking the ingredients together. The ice cream came out great and was quite delicious. There’s nothing like homemade ice cream!

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Sharing your plants with neighbors and friends is not only a good way to make people happy, but it also helps spread the immense enjoyment one can get from gardening to others. Perhaps, if the recipient of the gift is a gardener themselves, you may even get a handout in return. If that happens, then you’re potentially able to expand the diversity of your garden and learn the beauty of another plant.

Its a fact — most perennials benefit from being divided every few years. Naturally, there’s a right way to do it and a wrong way. Never do it on a hot, sunny and dry day. Its best done in the fall. The majority of them can benefit from being divided every three to five years. Some may need to be divided every year, like asters or chrysanthemums. Some, like peonies, don’t need to be divided, but can be if you’re looking to expand your stock. Some are best divided by hand like Pulmonaria and Sedum, and others by pitchfork or shovel like Hosta, Phlox and Echinacea. If the plant seems really hardy, then its a good bet that it won’t mind the business end of your shovel.

And the best thing about sharing your plants? If you ever have a disease, pest or other disaster killing your plant, you know that you can ask your friend if they might have any to share back to you. And chances are they’ll be more than happy to help out!

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