Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
Beans and more beans are in the garden. I am pulling both bush beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) as well as those of the pole variety (Phaseolus coccineus). This veg can be tricky as it hides well under its large and expressive leaves. Pushing aside a leaf, long pendulous legumes hang waiting to be harvested. This year, […]
This drawing of my granddaughter Charlotte by my sister-in-law Rosana perfectly captures the Summer we have together picking flowers, berries and watching the clouds float by. The dog days of Summer arrive this month when the potential for unrelenting heat, afternoon thunderstorms, and extreme weather define each day. It is the hot counterpart to February, […]
It’s never too soon to get children in the garden so when we needed to get some vegetables for lunch, Olivia comes along to lend a hand. Standing on the edge of the raised beds, she reaches down to grab a carrot. With a tiny tug, she pulls out a couple of smaller samples staring […]
End of July Summer flowers! Entering the dog days of Summer, a new variety of flowers take hold in my garden. Hydrangea: These multi-shaped, -colored blooms are perhaps the largest we have in the gardens. Hosta: Such big leaves! Such tiny flowers! Such a contrast! Zinnia: Early in our garden, this bright and erect flower […]
It is a strange summer. And I am not sure if some of my plants in the garden know what to make of it. Both the tomato and blueberry plants have been fruiting for nearly a month. Yet the fruits just sit, unripened. Blueberry harvests have been meager and we have yet to taste a […]
My publisher, @blackrosewriting, is running a special giveaway today on Kindle worldwide for my book, A Therapist’s Garden. So if you have been holding off on getting it, now is a great time to download it for free and sample my book. But be quick because it will last for today only! Enjoy!
With peach and blackberry season approaching, it is time to decant my artisanal vinegars and start afresh. I have making my own vinegars for nearly a decade after meeting Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette, a Benedictine monk, at his monastery in Lagrangeville, NY. After he gave us a ‘mother starter’, which has its origins in Paris, I […]
Though monarch butterflies are few and far between, swallowtails are out in force in the garden. They flitter about from plant to plant making Juana and I happy that we have much food and habitat to provide for them.
Today should be the last day of the heat wave we have been having in the Northeast and I am grateful. Juana and I have stayed inside (and away from the gardens) more than typical for July. We have been fortunate, however, in that we open up the house and shut off the air conditioning […]
I am delighted to be speaking next Saturday at the @norwalklibct about my book, A Therapist’s Garden. The 11 am talk, on July 29, will give an overview of how I came to my current passion of horticultural therapy, where I have practiced locally and some of the stories that are contained in the book. […]