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From left, Joe Deriso, Dottie Sottichio and Mary Anne Deriso pose at the farm stand. Photo by Irene Ruddock

By Irene Ruddock

For the past 17 years, Ann Marie’s Farm Stand, owned by Mary Anne Deriso and her husband Joe, has been a fixture on North Country Road in Setauket, providing the community with fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers and friendly conversation.

Season after season, there was always a reason to stop by, whether it was for Ann Marie’s strawberry-rhubarb and blueberry pies, herbs and tomato plants for the garden, a hanging plant for the deck, pumpkins, special goat cheese from an “out east farm,” Christmas trees or just to visit with the goats, bunnies, chickens and Timothy the miniature horse. And who can forget the fresh corn? A summer without fresh-picked corn from Ann Marie’s would be impossible!

It has been the meeting place that Americans so love to find, a place to congregate, almost like a town square. I think we all yearn for that community touch and we surely found it at Ann Marie’s. Artist Al Candia recently commented, “Ann Marie’s is such a wonderful resource to have in the community; there’s a charm to that country farm stand as it is part of the roots of the area. The history of Long Island was always devoted to farming so we all want to hold on to that for as long as possible.”

“It is so inviting and people-friendly that it is like something from a movie about Americana. Ann Marie’s retains the sense of a small-town feel in the finest tradition,” said Assemblyman Steve Engelbright (D-Setauket)in a Dec. 29, 2011, article in the Village Times Herald.

The end of an era is drawing near as the farm stand will close on June 15 to relocate to Port Jefferson Station. The landlord has decided to sell the property.

Stopping in for a visit, I met up with Mary Anne’s daughter Jackie (the farm is named after her third child Ann Marie). “What did you like about living here?” I asked. Jackie replied, “It was very comforting having my parents so close by since our home is right on the property. Living here, you really got to know a lot of people and you always felt like you were a part of the community. When I became a nurse, I realized how many families I knew and were already a part of my life. It made treating them so special to me.”

When I entered the building, I spoke with Dottie Sottichio, who came to Ann Marie’s to work “from the old place [on Old Town Road],” and never left because “I met the two greatest people I ever knew — Mary Anne and Joe Deriso, and now they are part of my family.” Mary Anne says, “Dottie has to stay now because we can’t live without her!” I then sat down with Mary Anne to ask her a few questions about her 17 years in Setauket.

What is the best part of the having the farm stand?
The people! Over the years, the customers have become your friends and they are a part of your everyday life. We developed true friendships — we laughed together, we cried together. We watched all the kids grow up and witnessed the good and the sad parts of their lives. We lived their lives as much as we lived ours. Children who came with their parents now come back to visit and that is always special. They tell us their stories about what they remember about being here. Some are funny, some I can’t tell! But there is such a warmth in my heart for all of them.

What are your fondest memories of the farm stand?
Oh, when the children are playing with the animals and watching my own children grow up here.

What was the biggest surprise?
The biggest surprise was when (in 2011) my aunt called to tell me to look in the [Village Times Herald] paper because there’s a story about me. I asked, “Is it good or bad?” It was then that I learned that I had won “Woman of the Year in Business.” One of my customers even sent flowers. Another surprise is that recently one of our customers insisted on holding the mortgage for us so that we could purchase a little house!

What is it like working with your husband every day?
Working with your husband is “interesting!” Every woman out there knows what I mean! No, honestly, I couldn’t do it without him. We’re a team. He does all the buying and farming and I work behind the desk. It’s been a wonderful journey for us!

What about the other people who worked here?
Well , Tom came to work with us about 20 years ago [at the previous location on Old Town Road] and never left. He’s part of our family now and we visit him often in the Mills Pond Nursing Home in St. James. Claude Riley and everyone who works here usually stay or come back to visit.

What is in your future?
We feel very blessed to have found a new farm stand location at 680 Old Town Road, Port Jefferson Station, right by Jayne Blvd. [The number will be 631-371-6197. The hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week.] We will miss our old home and this farm stand, and we really appreciate not only all our customers but the landlord who we had a good working relationship with over the years. They were always there to support us. We are also touched by the benefit art sale that the Setauket Artists are going to have on May 29 and May 30. I hope people come to look at the wonderful art. We are so excited about it. Thanks to everyone for all your years of loyal friendship! Hope to see you at our new farm stand!

Irene Ruddock is coordinator of the Setauket Artists.

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Above, Morgan May at the LSST site in Cerro Pachón, Chile, last month. The dryness of the site is essential for good viewing. Water vapor in the air causes stars to twinkle, or to have blurred images. Only the heartiest small cactus can survive at this elevation and in this low moisture. The LSST site is on the southern edge of the driest desert in the world, in the middle of 85,000 acres of land which is kept undeveloped to avoid light pollution for astronomy. Photo from Morgan May

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s … billions of galaxies. Impossible to see with the naked eye, only vaguely visible through good telescopes, these galaxies will come to life in a way never seen before when the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope starts providing images from its mountaintop home in Chile in 2020.

Before this technological wonder is completed, people like Morgan May, a physicist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, are testing to make sure this ambitious project provides clear and accurate information.

Recently, May and his colleagues at BNL conducted two tests of the telescope.

The LSST will have 200 individual silicon sensors that are the film in the 3.2 gigapixel digital camera. The process of making the sensors is imperfect, with the sensors starting out as molten mass.

Impurities or variation in the temperature can cause imperfections that look like tree rings around a central circle, which create electric fields that can cause a distortion in the image.

“Because we are trying to measure things at a much higher level of precision, the tree rings were a source of great concern,” said May, who receives funding from the Department of Energy’s Office of Science-Cosmic Frontier Research.

They found that these radial imperfections were much smaller than in previous detectors, which was already a benefit to the project. Looking at the likely actual measurements using these sensors, May and his colleagues found that these tree rings had a small effect on the data, which was a pleasant surprise, but one that took some time to prove.

In another test, May, working with Columbia University graduate student Andrea Petri, examined whether differences in the sizes of the three billion pixels in the camera might also cause problems interpreting the information.

May and Yuki Okura, a postdoctoral fellow from Japan’s RIKEN laboratory who is stationed at the RIKEN-BNL Research Center, measured how much light each pixel picked up in the detector. While the variation was small, they weren’t sure whether it was small enough to keep from causing problems with the data.

The team simulated a night sky. Once they gathered the information they would have collected from these slight pixel differences, they compared their simulated image to their original.

Fortunately for the scientists, this effect also proved manageable and won’t create confusion.

May and Okura’s work “did have a good outcome,” said Sam Aronson, director of the RIKEN BNL Research Center. “They showed that the sensor imperfections measured on the LSST sensors will not affect LSST’s science objectives.”

While May is relieved the telescope passed these two tests, he continues to search for other potential problems with this revolutionary telescope.

“I am confident the LSST is going to be successful in its goals, but we have to work very hard to follow every possible issue and resolve it,” he said.

As a part of the LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration, May said his primary research goal is to answer the question, “What is dark energy?” May said he will be studying subtle features of enormous amounts of information that will become available. May will be researching a force that causes the universe to expand faster and faster, rather than contract.

Until the 1930s, everyone thought the universe was contracting. Edwin Hubble, for whom the Hubble Space Telescope is named, was the first to observe this expansion. It is as if a ball thrown in the air slows down as expected and then accelerates away from Earth, May said. One well-regarded hypothesis is that the universe is filled with something called dark energy that causes a gravitational force that repels rather than attracts.
Once the telescope goes online, the information will become widely available.

“We’re going to make our data public to the everyone in the United States,” said May. It will be possible for “children in high school or even elementary school to have their own galaxy or supernova.”

Born in Brooklyn, May lives on Long Island with his wife Dana Vermilye. The couple have a 23-year old son, Michael, who is in medical school and a daughter, Julia, who is a high school sophomore.

May sees cosmology and astrophysics as a new frontier in science. “It’s an area where great discoveries are being made,” he said. “If you are interested in science as an observer or a career, I would say [it’s] really in the forefront.”

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By Matthew Kearns, DVM

I recently read an article in Time magazine entitled, “The Mystery of Animal Grief” and found it fascinating. The author, Jeffrey Kluger, referenced evidence that crows and elephants hold “wakes” for their fallen mates, and female chimpanzees have been known to carry their dead young sometimes as long as two months. This forced me to ponder the fact that as much as I know how people feel about their pets dying, how do pets in the household feel? And how can we get them through the grief?

Yes, it is proven that dogs and cats grieve after the loss of both another pet and a human owner. However, dogs and cats see this loss as more of a change in the dynamic of the pack or pride. If we can understand that concept, it will make it not only easier to tolerate their behavior but help them through this difficult time as well. Remember, we are grieving also; behaviors that do not make sense to us might make us less patient during these stressful times, as well as create lifelong behavioral issues for our pets.

The biggest mistake made in interpreting (or misinterpreting) any animal behavior is anthropomorphizing. Anthropomorphizing refers to giving human characteristics to things not human. Dogs and cats are not furry little humans, and we should not expect them to act as such. When dogs and cats grieve, it is usually for a much shorter period of time (sometimes as little as 3 to 5 days), and, in some cases, they do not grieve at all. If the pet that has passed was the dominant partner, the surviving pet may have been repressed (and now suddenly thrives). Do not resent this lack of remorse but rather realize what stress this pet was going through up until this time. Also, the more dominant pet may show no grief and this is normal also.

What to do? In the immediate aftermath, let the pet grieve. If your dog or cat is still eating/drinking normally and somewhat active, give him or her 3 to 5 days to adjust to the change in the “family” dynamic. In cases of severe grief, positive training may be the release he or she needs.

Positive training is really just setting aside some time for activity or interaction at the same time every day either with the guidance of a certified trainer or just the two of you. Positive training could be long walks, trips to the park for off-leash exercise, playing with toys (if your pet is more active),  short walks to the mailbox or grooming/massage (if your pet is less active). In rare cases, medications like anti-depressants are necessary.

What about adding a new pet? It is recommended to not replace a deceased pet immediately. Many dogs and cats are just as happy to live out the rest of their lives with just humans, so it may not be necessary to get a new pet. If you do decide to get a new dog or cat, make sure that you know the new pet will get along with the existing one. Consider getting a new pet of opposite gender even if the previous one was of the same. This will help to reduce the risk of fighting.

It is never easy to lose a member of the family, but I hope this article gives some general information on both the way that pets grieve as well as how to help them through this difficult process. Remember, each case is different, so consult your veterinarian for specific questions or concerns.

Dr. Kearns has been in practice for 17 years.

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Change out flowering plants seasonally in a container. Here mums and decorative cabbage are used in autumn. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

There are a lot of reasons why you might decide to grow many of your plants in containers rather than directly in the soil in your garden. Here are a few:

• If you have an area in the garden where many roots come to the surface, you can use containers to grow plants that wouldn’t survive amid the roots.

• Containers are great to control aggressive plants, for example, mints, which can take over part of the garden or cross with varieties you want to keep separate.

• If certain plants need to have a markedly different soil pH, it’s easier to control that pH in a container. Here I’m thinking of hydrangea macrophylla in particular, which needs a soil closer to neutral (7) or just slightly above that to have it turn pink.

Change out flowering plants seasonally in a container. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Change out flowering plants seasonally in a container. Photo by Heidi Sutton

• Container plants are great for decorating a bare spot in the garden, a deck or shed. They also can be used to decorate a tree stump, one that for one reason or another you decide not to remove.

• Plants that are viney, or hanging, do best planted in a hanging basket, where they can trail down.

• It’s easier to protect tender or iffy plants in containers. My fig trees are grown in containers, which I move into the garage to overwinter them. I know they’re varieties that supposedly are cold hardy in zone 7, but when I tried growing them in the soil, they didn’t make it through the winter. Remember to periodically water them over the winter, say once a month.

• Apartment dwellers who have just a small balcony or patio can enjoy a garden, albeit a small one, by growing their special plants in containers.

• Containers can be moved more easily, throughout the growing season or from year to year as conditions change.

• Containers can be moved out of areas that flood during nor’easters. Since virtually all plants, except those native to brackish, boggy water, can’t survive being submerged in saltwater, they need to be protected from it. How much time and energy you have dictates how many containers you’re willing or able to move when the meteorologist predicts flooding.

• A row of containers filled with vertical plants makes a nice privacy screen for a patio or deck. These could be tall grasses, small evergreens or even lowbush blueberries.

Remember, containers may need to be watered more frequently as they can dry out more quickly than plants in soil. Container plants that have large leaves frequently need special attention. The large leaves can act like little umbrellas that keep the rain from reaching the soil. Clay pots dry out more quickly than plastic or resin ones. Small pots dry out more quickly than large ones.

If you can’t find someone to water your containers while you are away on vacation, consider using watering gel (which holds excess water to be released as the soil dries out) or pots that are “self-watering,” that is, have a reserve of water for when the soil dries out. You can also set up a sprinkler on a timer.

Container size needs to match the plant or you won’t be satisfied with the results. For example, if you grow carrots in containers, you either need to have very deep containers or select a variety of carrot that is small and stubby.

Use a good quality potting soil rather than garden soil. Some potting soil already contains watering crystals and/or fertilizer. At some point, these will be used up and you’ll need to supplement the soil yourself. Read the package carefully.

Consider changing out container flowers throughout the growing season matching bloom time to maximize the seasonal impact.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Pinecones on a Colorado blue spruce add color to a drab winter garden. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

You’re probably wondering why I’m writing a column on winter interest in the garden in May, especially after the brutally cold and snowy winter we’ve just gone through. Shouldn’t I be touting spring?

Well, yes and no. If you looked at your garden this past winter and were disappointed in the overall effect, you need to think about what you are planting now to be able to look out your windows next winter and love what you see.

To create winter interest in the garden, think color, shape and texture. Let’s start with color. So much of the garden in winter is brown, so, look for plants that are not brown. That immediately brings to mind evergreens, whether you’re thinking of trees like pines, spruce, cedars etc. or shrubs like euonymous. Each of these brings beautiful green color. To make this even more spectacular, consider interspersing some evergreens with those that are tinged with gold. Now, not only do you have these beautiful green and gold colors in the garden, but, when it snows, you have a lacy, Christmas-card scene. Don’t forget holly since it holds its deep green leaves and much of its red berries throughout the snowy season.

But, there are other color possibilities. Recently, driving out on the East End, amid all the brown, bare tree trunks was a beautiful red specimen. It was a red twig dogwood, and the color stood out from blocks away.

By the way, there’s also yellow twig dogwood. Red twig dogwood has white flowers in spring, it’s drought tolerant as well as heat tolerant, so, should do well in unusually cold winters or hot summers. Yes, you can cut some of the red twigs for winter decorations in the house. The more sun, the brighter the colors will be, but it does grow in partial shade.

So, now we have green, yellow, gold and red. What about blue? Well, you could plant some Colorado blue spruce. One of its added bits of winter interest is the beautiful pinecones these, as well as other conifers, have.

For texture, look at tree bark. Sycamore trees have whitish bark that peels, creating an interesting pattern on the trunk. Oak leaf hydrangeas also have exfoliating bark as does paperbark maple. Note that the beautiful white birch (paper birch) doesn’t do too well on Long Island. A native of North America it is rated for hardiness zones 3 through 6 (Long Island is warmer at zone 7). While you will occasionally see one growing well here, it is the exception rather than the rule.

Unusual or twisted vines on a trellis or something like the twisted Harry Lauder’s walking stick create beautiful designs in the garden, especially when snow melts and refreezes, creating really cool icicles on them.

Shape is another way of bringing winter interest into the garden. Consider pruning some of your small evergreens into topiaries. They really stand out that way.

Ornamental grasses are beautiful in winter. They blow in the winter wind and become covered with not only snow but ice in the colder months.

So, as you enjoy the warm gardening days ahead, think about what will make your garden stunning next January.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Rabbi Chaim Grossbaum speaks at a ceremony last week. Photo by Barbara Donlon

The North Shore Jewish community is one step closer to getting its forever home as the groundbreaking ceremony for its new center took root in Stony Brook on Thursday evening.

Rabbi Chaim and his wife Rivkie Grossbaum addressed the eager crowd at the ceremony at R.C. Murphy Junior High School to mark the new Chabad Merrin Center at Stony Brook, named after Edward and Vivian Merrin, who donated $1 million to the center.

“Our wandering has come to an end,” Chaim Grossbaum said at the ceremony last week. “The Merrin Chabad Jewish Center is the answer.”

Since acquiring its first space at the Lake Grove Jewish Center in 1990, Chabad Stony Brook has spent much of its last 25 years wondering where it would offer its services. The growing Jewish community was hard to fit in the current center and it often relied on rental space to get the job done, Grossbaum said.

Members of Chabad at Stony Brook join with community leaders to ceremoniously break ground. Photo from Motti Grossbaum
Members of Chabad at Stony Brook join with community leaders to ceremoniously break ground. Photo from Motti Grossbaum

The current space can fit roughly 80 people, far less than the 400 families Chabad Stony Brook serves. The new center, now in phase two of the $5.5 million four-phase project, will be able to accommodate far more families once it is completed, he said.

The new center will have a banquet room, a gym, Mikvah and spa, a library, a pool, a santuary and more. The building is expected to open in the summer of 2016, the group said.

“It will pretty much be multi-use in many fashions for the several programs we service the community with,” Grossbaum said in a phone interview.

The center will offer Hebrew school, pre-school, summer camp and other school programs. According to layout plans, there will be five pre-school rooms and two regular classrooms.

The new center will be right in the heart of the Three Village community it serves, Grossbaum said. The center will also have a hospitality suite for the Jewish community taking care of sick loved ones at Stony Brook University Hospital, the group said.

The rabbi said he is hoping the center attracts new families to help Chabad Stony Brook grow exponentially.

“We want to give them reasons to want to go,” Grossbaum said. “It’s hard to create atmosphere in a rental space.”

The rabbi highlighted many of the difficulties the group experienced while going from place to place over the last 25 years. He said the center would help expand on everything they currently offer to enhance services.

Sheila Skolnick, an attendee at Chabad Stony Brook, said the center’s kind and welcoming atmosphere would draw many people into the new center. Skolnick along with many others said she is eagerly waiting for the new center to be built.

“The Merrin Center will be our place and we’ll know where to go,” Skolnick said. “It’s really a place for Jews to congregate from all over.”

Construction of the new center is expected to begin shortly. Kevin Harney of Stalco Construction is leading the project and John Tsunis of Gold Coast Bank is financing it.

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The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce held its sixth annual Health & Wellness Expo on Saturday, May 9, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Earl L. Vandermeulen High School gym.

The free event, with the theme “Healthy Living — It’s Your Choice,” kicked off with a 2K Fun Run hosted by the Port Jefferson Royal Education Foundation, and included free health screenings by Stony Brook University Hospital, St. Charles Hospital and John T. Mather Memorial Hospital. More than 40 vendors showed up and there were prizes, giveaways, games and raffles for free movie tickets to the Port Jeff Cinemas every 15 minutes. A mini-farmer’s market was held outside that featured Fairway Market and Sweet Melissa’s Dips, Cornucopia Cafe gave cooking demonstrations of healthy recipes and Starbucks and Phountain Water provided free refreshments. In addition, there were performances by members of the Port Jefferson high school choir and the Port Jefferson Jazz Combo.

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Face painter Melanie Torres poses with Zahra Gohary, 3, of Coram, during the Health & Wellness Expo in Port Jefferson. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Christian Jensen and Harrison Volpe, both 9-year-old from Port Jefferson, are tigers for a day at the Health & Wellness Expo. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Taylor Mecca, 6, of Rocky Point, tries her hand at the Port Jefferson Free Library’s version of the Minute to Win It game. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Tyler the dog poses with Roxanne Taranto and sister Maggie, of Port Jefferson, at the Health & Wellness Expo. Photo by Heidi Sutton
A visitor receives a free massage from a member of the North Shore Therapeutic Massage & Wellness Center. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Umaima Uddin from St. Charles Hospital hands out free samples of healthy smoothies and granola bars at the Health & Wellness Expo in Port Jefferson. Photo by Heidi Sutton
George Bernius, of Port Jefferson Station, gets his blood pressure checked by a member of Mather Hospital as his son gives moral support. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Jedd Kronberg, 10, of Port Jefferson, tests out the hula hoop at a St. Charles Hospital booth at the Health & Wellness Expo. Photo by Elyse Sutton
Nate Strittmatter, 6, and sister Charlie, 9, check out Huners Fitness Advantage's wheel of ailments at the Port Jefferson Health & Wellness Expo. Photo by Heidi Sutton

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Setauket Neighborhood House. File photo

By Bonnie Connolly

Despite living on Main Street in Setauket for 28 years, I only had a nodding acquaintance with the Setauket Neighborhood House. Then for several weeks last summer I watched as a new porch went up on the house. I thought, “Wow, that construction is a big deal. Keeping up this old house must cost a fortune.” For the first time I wondered who owned the Neighborhood House, and how the resources to maintain the building were generated. Well, this is what I discovered.

Construction of the Setauket Neighborhood House began prior to 1720 and the building was located on Setauket Bay. In 1820 Dr. John Elderkin purchased the house and had it moved to its present location. He added on to both ends of the original house, and it became Ye Old Elderkin Inn. In the 1860s the well-regarded inn serviced a stagecoach line.

When Dr. Elderkin died in 1885, the house was passed on to his niece, Julia, and then on to Julia’s niece, Augusta Elderkin and Augusta’s husband, Captain Beverly S. Tyler. The Tylers named their inn The Lakeside House and it operated until 1917.

Eversley Childs purchased the inn in May of 1917, and in the fall of that year the Neighborhood House was dedicated to the community. The Setauket Neighborhood Association was formed to maintain the house and the grounds. In 1979 the association formed a committee to restore and preserve the house.

Membership in the association is one way you can help to maintain this wonderful site. There are four membership categories ranging from $25 to $100.

Another way to support the house is to attend the annual Taste of the Neighborhood event on Friday, May 15, from 7 to 10 p.m. Last year’s successful event was able to raise funds to build a new front porch. This year’s benefit is to build a new ballroom floor.

The gala event will feature signature dishes from local restaurants that will be accompanied by beer and wine. Blythe Merrifield will be singing with Bob Boutcher on piano, and her daughter Liz Merrifield will be singing with Pat Morelli on guitar. There will be raffle baskets and prizes, and Robert Roehrig and Patricia Yantz, both members of the Setauket Artists, will be donating a painting for the raffle where all proceeds go to the SNH. Both artists will have many of their paintings for sale during the event and for a week afterward.

Tickets are $30 online at www.setauketnh.org or $35 at the door. For more information, call 631-751-6208.  Come join us while we celebrate this beautiful building and raise money for a new ballroom!

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By Bob Lipinski

“Some are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss and scold together.” — Pearl S. Buck

When we think of Mother’s Day, images of multicolored flowers, greeting cards with heartfelt words and perhaps breakfast in bed come to mind. Platters of cheese, dried fruit and chilled glasses of wine usually are not thought of in the same breath.

Oh by the way, it wasn’t until May 9, 1914, that President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation declaring the first national Mother’s Day.

Now, my idea of a Mother’s Day celebration starts several days before, shopping for the many delicacies mom will certainly love. On the shopping list should be balsamic vinegar, dried apricots and cherries (or cranberries), unsalted walnuts, green and black seedless grapes, strawberries dipped in chocolate and wines … rosé and Champagne. We also need a bouquet of multicolored flowers or perhaps several different colored rose bushes for later planting to keep Mother’s Day all summer long.

There is an old saying, “You eat and drink with your eyes” and that’s precisely where we are headed.

Regarding cheese, purchase a wedge of an orange-colored New York State cheddar, a wedge of your favorite blue cheese, a wedge of brie (bree) from France and a hunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano from Italy.

Regarding rosé and sparkling wines, here are my recommendations:

2014 Jaboulet Parallèle “45,” Rhône Valley, France. Blend of Grenache, Cinsaut and Syrah grapes; perfumed aroma of a fruit salad, wild berries and candy apples. Light-bodied with a zesty aftertaste.

2014 Hecht & Bannier; Côtes de Provence, France. Blend of Grenache, Cinsaut and Syrah grapes. Fruity bouquet of cherries, pomegranate and herbs. Clean, crisp tasting and well balanced, with hints of watermelon. Lovely finish and aftertaste.

Pol Roger Brut Rosé 2006, Champagne, France. Blend of pinot noir and chardonnay. Salmon colored with a bouquet bursting of raspberries, pomegranate and oranges. Full in the mouth with citrus, wild cherry and spices. The wine is dry, yet a fruity flavor persists to the end.

N.V. Chandon “Brut”; Napa, California. An abundance of tiny bubbles as well as an aroma and flavor of ripe wheat, toasted bread and a lemon-fresh aftertaste makes this a very enjoyable wine.

Now, let’s assemble the delicacies: On a large, flat satin-white platter, carefully plate the cheese so the various colors and shapes stand out but do not touch. Around the cheeses, arrange some green and black grapes, walnuts and dried apricots or cherries. Carefully, place two chocolate-dipped strawberries in front of each piece of cheese. Ever so lightly, drizzle about 1/4 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar over the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Before we invite mom to partake, be sure there are napkins, perhaps some espresso and a camera. That’s it … and say hello to mom for me!

Bob Lipinski, a local author, has written nine books, including “Italian Wine Notes” and “Italian Wine & Cheese Made Simple” (available on Amazon.com). He conducts training seminars on wine & cheese, sales, time management and leadership. He can be reached at boblipinski.com or at [email protected].

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Spring flowering, creeping phlox can be seen cascading over rocks on a garden wall. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

Most people know that roses need a lot of sun to really thrive and put out lots of gorgeous flowers. Grasses, too, need enough sun to do their best. Hydrangeas need a lot of water — after all the name, hydrangea, literally means “water vessel.” On the other hand, cacti need very little water. One of the easiest ways of killing a cactus is by overwatering. Some plants, like blueberries, rhododendron and azaleas need a very acidic soil. But, are there plants that seem to do well everywhere? Actually, yes.

Phlox is an interesting genus of plants. Some are very small and are matlike. Others are tall. Some bloom in spring, some in summer and some in fall. Different varieties will grow in almost any environment — a very ubiquitous plant.

Phlox have been popular with home gardeners for over 100 years. The vast majority of phlox are native to North America. Of the over 60 species there are more than 100 varieties. Wow! While some grow in an alpine region others thrive in a prairielike environment.

There are some commonalities. For example, virtually all have flowers with five petals, sort of star shaped, that is. Another is the color of the flowers: white, pink, blue and purple predominate. They are fragrant, do well in hardiness zones 4 to 8 (although there are some that do well in a colder climate) and prefer a well-drained soil.

Most phlox used in gardens are perennials. They can be divided in spring or fall if the bed becomes overcrowded. There are basically two types available for the home gardener: the spring blooming creeping phlox, which are stunning in rock gardens and cascading down walls, and the summer flowering tall phlox.

Generally, phlox prefer full sun, but creeping phlox does well in some shade.

In many of my columns, I’ve noted where plants prefer an acidic, neutral or alkaline soil, but, phlox seem to be one of those plants that do well in almost any soil pH, as the Old Farmer’s Almanac says (6.0 to 8.0). And yes, they will do well even in soil with a lower pH, particularly the creeping phlox, which can tolerate levels as low as 5.7. This is particularly useful for the home gardener, who can plant phlox in with or near other plants that have very specific requirements.

But there are things to consider when planting them. Phlox can be prone to powdery mildew. Look for varieties that are noted as disease-resistant and plant where there is good air circulation.

I’ve seen contradictory information on whether phlox are deer-resistant. Some sources say yes, some say no.

So, you’ll have to see for yourself and consider a deer repellent of some sort if the deer in your area decide yours are very tasty.

Because there are so many different varieties of phlox that are adapted to so many different environments, it is particularly important with phlox to read and follow the information provided either in the gardening catalog or on the tag that comes with the plants you select. This way, you’ll be able to get the effect you desire.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its master gardener program, call 727-7850.

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