Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Schuylerville is coming to life with the advent of spring. Gardens are blooming with daffodils and crocuses, and forsythias are popping out their yellow heads. So it’s the perfect time to start planning for the Chamber’s Spring event, the Gardener’s Weekend, to be held on May 9th and 10th. Last year’s premiere Lilac Festival was a resounding success, so it only makes sense to expand the concept and include hydrangeas in the programs. Lilac expert Jeff Young will again be our featured speaker, and this year he will take on the rejuvenation of the ancient Schuyler Estate Lilac. There will be a children's potting shed, a garden tea, and a sale of lilacs and hydrangeas - come early!

Local garden centers will be having activities all weekend: Schuyler Farms will offer tours of its greenhouses and children's activities as well as discounts on lilacs and hydrangeas. Olde Saratoga Home & Garden will hold an herb workshop and tours of their solar greenhouse on Sunday. Fish Creek Garden Shoppe will demonstrate making unique plant markers at their workshop on Saturday. Phillips Garden Views will open their greenhouses and have discounts on gifts.

The Chamber has begun to plant specimen lilacs around the village, in the hope that in a few years a map can be prepared and visitors can view many different colors and varieties at a festival of lilacs. With this in mind, area organizations are being asked to sponsor one or more lilacs to be planted by the Future Farmers from the high school. The cost of sponsorship is $50 per lilac, and checks can be sent to Mary Roberts at 168 West River Rd. This is a great project that will literally grow and bloom, so get on board!

Other signs of spring are the baseball and softball games, the track teams running through town, and bicycles everywhere. One of the biggest cycling races in the country is taking place this weekend just across the river, winding through the roads of Cambridge, Shushan, Salem, and Greenwich. On a smaller scale, the Monday night rides from Olde Saratoga Bike & Boards will begin again on Monday at 6:00, and every Monday thereafter. Both beginning and advanced riders are welcome to join the group.

If all this activity sounds a bit much, just take a stroll along the river - guaranteed to lift your spirits. And if you happen to see a bald eagle perched on a tall tree on the far bank, so much the better.