Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
Over a decade ago I started my GroHappy blog with the intention of writing about my adventures in gardening and horticultural therapy. And with the exception of a few bicycling chronologies, I have pretty much been keeping to that focus. But like all old plants, there is a time to repot, refresh and renew. So […]
When Covid hit nearly a year ago and Juana and I hunkered down, part of that exercise was to cancel my horticultural therapy classes at Ann’s Place. By early summer, however, I opened sessions that were socially distanced outside to a small number of clients. After the typical hiccups of any new setup, the classes […]
The snow storm of a few days ago was an early reminder of (perhaps) the season to come as Winter can be highly variable in Connecticut. Some years we have but a few trace dustings of white while for others over 100 inches of packed snow that don’t disappear from the landscape last until mid-April. […]
For the past few years, I have planted rows of sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) in the front yard near the fence. Sitting in the far north portion of my property, they don’t shade the vegetables that sit below them. Starting from seed, they pop from the soil in an unassuming fashion before becoming solar sentinels with […]
(This was written yesterday, power was finally restored today.) Without electricity for the sixth day, I am starting to truly appreciate how much work it takes to live without modern conveniences. Upon waking, I become a Sherpa or well-fed Gunga Din as I gather water from the cisterns to flush toilets, fill wash bowls and […]
When you live in the suburbs, it’s easy to forget the purpose of grassy fields. It’s not to hold the soil of fallow ground, but to harvest for fodder or bedding. I was surprised a few days ago as one of my favorite fields had been mowed and the cut grass was in the process […]
I have been spending a lot of time at Ann’s Place over the last week as the weeds are starting their summer march toward domination. If I (and my trusty team of volunteers) don’t make a solid stand now, it is likely that we will lose the war of keeping these invaders in check. Ironically, […]
For the last decade, Ann’s Place has celebrated the summer solstice with a tour of the gardens, seasonal readings and a locally sourced supper or afternoon tea. Unfortunately, this has not been possible this year. This was a double disappointment for me as I had planned to open my gardens to the Ann’s Place clients […]
During the growing season, when I used to work as a high-tech analyst, I would look at and water my garden when I arrived home even before I saw my family. I found that 15 minutes of examining the tomato plants, pulling a few weeds and ensuring nothing was wilted made me a better person. […]
It is the first day this year that we can have an al fresco breakfast. Such lunches and dinners have been commonplace in the last few weeks. The mornings, however, have been too cold, too wet, too cloudy or have exhibited other characteristics that discouraged Juana and I from taking our morning coffee outside. But […]