Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
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 […]
I can’t say that I am going to miss the kitting up for my zoom classes. This one, where we are making seed bombs and plant signs is full with 20 clients and has a lot of parts. Seed bombs are part of gorilla gardening where you put wildflower seeds into compost/soil and air dry […]
The initial response to my book, A Therapist’s Garden, has been generous and encouraging. Two of the unsung heroes for its success are my wife Juana and sister-in-law Rosana. Their tireless efforts toward illustrating the many plants and places within A Therapist’s Garden adds an essential element to the mood and message of the book. […]
An unexpected hail storm left as quickly as it arrived yesterday. Out of nowhere it came pelting our cars and gardens with rock-salt sized frozen chunks. Handfuls could be gathered up moments after it started to fall. And in less than 10 minutes it stopped and the skies cleared. The tulips (Tulpia) came out just […]
Warming days and drier soil leads me to multiple days of Spring cleanup. The remnants of Winter are raked away to make room for the emerging growth. I always know it is time once the larger daffodil (Narcissus) and tulip (Tulipa) leaves start to penetrate the leaf litter. If I don’t get the Fall leaves […]
Early Spring bouquets! Even though the flowers are mostly tiny, that does not take away from their inherent beauty. Crocus’s and snowdrops (Galanthus) in the first tiny vase and a much larger selection in the second brighten up our kitchen table. Credit Juana for the lovely selection. If you look carefully, in the second vase […]
After a long journey, A Therapist’s Garden is finally available. It has been an exciting trip that so many people have made possible. My family, particularly my wife Juana, have been wonderfully supportive in this multi-year sojourn. Friends and early readers gave me the conviction to carry on and finish the manuscript. And then I […]
It’s time to start seeding! Because I am not sure about being able to get all the plants for my Ann’s Place clients wholesale, I am starting up what they will need for one of our classes in late May. In this class we make herbal hanging baskets. For it I am growing four herbs […]
I should have been in the garden last Friday, but Ted and I conspired to take advantage of a day that is bright and 20 F above normal to hop on our bikes for a 46 mile ride in New York. We started as the fog parted in the morning opening up the path for […]
Winter appears to be giving up. A final pre-Spring blast of warm weather has made all the snow a memory and early flowering plants have taken advantage of the opportunity. But the cold still remains as the ground is thawed only 3 inches deep. This makes walking across the property a bit treacherous as water […]