Tracks in the snow
Snow is perfect until it stops falling. It is a flawless sheet that envelopes everything. But once it stops, it becomes a record for all actions and in particular all the creatures that have walked on it. Some areas are busier than others. For instance, under the winterberry (Ilex verticillata) and beautyberry (Callicarpa) bushes, the […]
Wild visitor
Juana and Charlotte shout out, “There’s a wolf out back!” Getting to the window quickly I don’t think it a wolf but rather a coyote. It’s hard to tell from the distance but wolfs have not been spotted in Connecticut for more than two centuries so I think that ID is unlikely. Regardless, Daisy who […]
Lounging llamas
I am surprised to see the llamas and sheep at McKeon Farm, when I arrive to install a sign for the Ridgefield Conservation Commission. They pay little heed to me as they chomp away at their fodder knowing that there is nothing but snow I can offer them at this point. The llamas are there […]
A snowy walk
Many of my clients at Ann’s Place miss out on the tapestry of the facility’s Winter garden. From the parking lot, the back yard and adjoining wetlands is lovely and peaceful. Walking around the property clockwise from the front door, the winterthur viburnum (Viburnum nudum) is still full of fruit, one of the last bushes […]
Year in review
2021 in review. Better late than never. These are among the most favored by me and others of the Instagram posts I made last year in seasonal succession. Included is a brief recap of each picture. In a little over 10 months, I have gone from zip to over 3,200 followers. Thank you all. Bunnies […]
Eaten away
Harvesting a salad the other day, I notice that the two cutting celery (Apium graveolens) plants in one of the cold fames is nibbled to the ground. Looking at the other greens, there is little to no rodent damage, which is strange given how much was removed from the celery. Looking more closely, I am […]
Christmas tree construction
Decorating the Christmas tree, our latest and largest harvest, is more a marathon in our house than a sprint. Spruces (Picea) tend to have a lot more open spaces than do firs (Abies) within their branches making room for a great number of decorations to hang from the tree. The first order of business is […]
Voracious voles
Before After As we find ourselves accepting the arrival of Winter with its chilly winds and cold precipitations, garden pests are not top of mind. But for those of us who have cold frames or store prior harvests, this is a mistake. I have been nursing a wide variety of greens in a cold frame […]
December fruits and ferns
With most deciduous trees and bushes devoid of leaves (save some species of oak (Quercus)) the green background of the forest has morphed into muddled shades of brown and gray. But if you look hard enough the lack of foliage reveals a rich crop of fruits that wintering birds, mammals (and the occasional human) can […]
Making babies
A well-tended garden is a welcoming place. Just walking around, taking in the different smells of the flowers and textures of the plants can be a very calming experience. And in the 10 years that I have been working at Ann’s Place creating healing gardens, we have had many visitors. A common one has been […]