The cold frames did their job this Winter by letting me get a jump on planting this Springs. While all of the exposed beds are frozen more than 3 inches below the level of the soil, the two beds covered with the cold frame are thawed and toasty warm. I lost all the Swiss chard […]
Simply grateful
Last week I received a request from my publisher from a fellow named Scott requesting an autographed copy of my book, A Therapist’s Garden, as a gift. I agreed to contact Scott and discovered from him and a @gofundme account (whose page is reproduced here) that he is diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. He […]
Early greens
A smattering of frost-hardy miner’s lettuce (𝐶𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑎 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎) self-seeded in my cold frame this Winter.⠀Rich in vitamin C, its succulent and tasty heart-shaped leafs make a perfect topping to any salad. It is a green best enjoyed in the late Fall or early Spring as it bolts and becomes bitter when warm weather emerges. It’s […]
Persistent fruits
Starting to bud out, the crabapple tree (Malus) in the back still has quite a few fruits hanging from its branches. This collection of shriveled orbs, has withstood the test of Winter as well as the local bird population. It is often the last of the fruit to be cleared off my plants by the […]
Waiting for bugs
Pulling the straw off my carnivorous plant bog, I see that the ground is still as hard as a rock. At least an inch of straw is embedded in the peat moss/perlite mixture. Though it may look like a couple of the pitcher plants (Sarracenia) are ready for a meal, their traps are filled with […]