Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
As we create our dried flower art, my clients are very quiet as they concentrate on the task at hand. Questions emerge every so often to break the silence. “How will we mount it,” asks Ben. “Wait and see.” “Why do we need toothpicks,” asks June. “To manipulate the glue.” “Why is there writing on […]
After all the snow is shoveled, Juana and Charlotte decide to take a tumble to make snow angels. They try to coax me to fall in the cold and frigid snow. I decline their kind offer.
I have learned as a writer that images can be just as important as the words in a book. That is why I am so fortunate to have Rosana Chinchilla @artbyrosana as the artist who brought life to my stories on the cover and 12 large plate illustrations that start every monthly chapter. In her […]
My tiny greenhouse sits upon the foundation of the original greenhouse that used to supply food and flowers for the estate that my house, formerly a barn, used to be a part of. When we purchased our home over 30 years ago, I discovered that it used to be heated with a coal furnace. There […]
Though it has warmed a bit, I decide to start some microgreens early. Prior to the big freeze we had last week, I brought in the two trays of Corn salad (Valerianella locusta) I had dug up in the fall. They had been surviving well in my greenhouse, but I did not want to tempt […]
The unrelenting cold is hopefully breaking but it is putting everything to task. The birdbath has but a tiny zone of water that the birds queue up to drink. I need to refill the liquid-zone at least once a day. I decide to take a look at the cold frame and all the frozen moisture […]
Bone chilling cold. Taking the compost out, the temperature, or lack of one, takes my breadth away. At 10 F in the shade, each puff hurts. When I exhale through my nostrils, little stalactites of ice form on my mustache. To me that is the sign of cold. Most the plants stoically stand, unmoved much […]
In the dark and cold of Winter, bright colors are a welcome surprise. This pair of bluebirds resting and feeding on sunflower seeds are a lovely and uncommon distraction.
Every time I come back from the supermarket this time of year, I always return with a plant. Though spray roses from South America are always appreciated, I try to get plants that will live on in the years to come. Miniature daffodils (Narcissus Tete-a-Tete) are top of my list. Their bright yellow flowers brighten […]
At the entrance of a drab, red-bricked building hidden in the woods, I push the buzzer on the intercom, identifying myself and the persons I am there to see. A crackly, static-laden voice acknowledges my request, and after a minute the large, gray steel entry door swings open toward me. I am led down a […]