Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
Though most of our harvests are past, we are still working the soil. It is now time to plant garlic. I enlist Juana and Olivia to help me today. It is a bright crisp day with only a few clouds painting the sky and a slight breeze rustling the trees. The trees are still holding […]
Juana and I take the opportunity to harvest saffron from the crocuses. It has been a miserable few days with rain and a chill keeping both of us close to the warm, yellow and red fire blazing in the stove. Still, we both are happy waking to clear skies this morning progressing to a sunny, […]
Olivia strains with our final tomato harvest. There have been plenty of fruits, though in the last week they have stubbornly held on to their green color. She is a good helper, harvesting fruit regardless of its shade and eating half of what she pulls. Juana separates the tomatoes into different paper bags according to […]
This is the year of beach plums. Rather than having to fight off deer and other foragers for a slight handful of these tasty fruits, they are in obscene abundance. Every bush has clumps of these deep purple pitted fruits waiting for the taking. And take I do. Grabbing a bunch, like so many grapes […]
It is harvest time in the garden with vegetables, fruits and flowers ready to be picked. This is the Summer of tomatoes as 5 pounds of these fruits are ready for consumption each day. Beyond stuffing our faces with cherry tomatoes, the sauce tomatoes are bubbling on the stove and the large slicing tomatoes are […]
Charlotte continues to be a great helper in the garden. She quickly helps me pick and identify the ripest of tomatoes as well as an underlying layer of green beans that we will have for dinner. Her reward is unlimited access to the blueberry bushes and their fruits.
Juana is holding up just a day’s harvest of tomatoes. Perhaps I shouldn’t have planted 18 seedlings, but you never know how good or bad the harvest will be. We are in the middle of good eating in the vegetable garden with peas, beans, peppers, greens, radishes, scallions, celery, carrots and tons of herbs ready […]
It is wildflower season and one of my favorites, chicory, can be found next to nearly any road around here. This bright blue plant is somewhat reminiscent of bachelor buttons and is a herbaceous plant. Unappreciated and untended, chicory reached the height of popularity during WW II when its ground and roasted roots became a […]
It’s blueberry picking time and Charlotte and Olivia can’t wait. Even though the harvest is slim, both have the eye of a hungry bird in being able to focus on and grab any ripe berry in their reach. Given their desires, their baskets are often more empty than their tummies making extras for Juana and […]
Shadblow serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) is one of my favorite native small trees. It is interesting to look at in all seasons. Lovely blooms in the Spring, vibrant Fall foliage and early Summer fruit that is loved by birds. But this year is unusual: the birds have not come to eat the fruit. Typically, I carefully […]