Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
It’s berry season and three different types of berries, blue, black, and wine, are ready to pick. Charlotte likes the blueberries the most while Olivia finds the blackberries her favorite. They both like wineberries, often confused with raspberries, but don’t like the prickles along the stems. Regardless, they both are good pickers helping me and […]
Today we need to pull garlic from the garden. I enlist the girls to help me with this chore after letting them pick (and consume) ripe blueberries from the bushes. Sated, they are happy to assist. Garlic is one of the easiest crops to grow as you just plant the cloves in the fall, drop […]
Day lilies are aptly named for their ephemeral flower. I became all too aware of this upon my return home. When I left 10 days ago, there were just buds. When I returned, there were hundreds of flowers in bloom and even more that were spent. Time to dead-head. It’s important to do this for […]
Mullein is one of my favorite garden volunteers. This biannual starts out as a large rosette of velvet-like green leaves erupting into a tall, colorful yellow spike in the following year. It’s been used as a medicinal herb for centuries for a wide variety of ailments. But I think the coolest use is as a […]
It’s easy to forget plants stored in the basement. Such was the case with nearly a dozen amaryllis bulbs that were sitting in a dark corner. I brought them out about a month ago, now discovering Christmas in July.
Back at home, I can see that the garden has been growing unabetted in my absence. The next few days will be spent weeding, trimming, and cutting filling large cans of the excess. I have missed the end of strawberry season, but the blueberries have started to come in. As the girls are away this […]
It is coming down in sheets so we need to delay the final leg of our travels. We finally get out of the motel a bit after 9 am and settle down for a great breakfast at Deb’s Place. We linger over our omelets as the rain picks up. Around 10:30 we are on the […]
It’s a beautiful clear day with not a cloud in the sky. I approach today with both excitement and trepidation as 61 miles will be our longest pedal so far with temps in the upper 80s. But I am leaving such thoughts in the background as the waitress at our hotel, Auberge Sutton Brouerie, brings […]