Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
Last week our leafcutter bees arrived from @kindbeefarms. Like any expectant parent, we opened the box with anticipation and excitement. We have lots of bees (and wasps and Yellowjackets) buzzing around our gardens and hope that these new arrivals will get along with all of our other pollinators. Their new home, which is well built […]
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 […]
Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart is a real eye opener as prior to reading it I never realized how dangerous and deadly are many of the plants that reside in our garden. I knew about the obvious ones like foxglove and daffodils, but had no idea that the vast majority of things that are planted […]
It’s midsummer and the virtual tummies of my carnivorous plants are sated with the insects of the day. Right now I have three different types of carnivorous plants: Pitcher plants (Sarracenia), Cape sundews (Drosera capensis), and Venus fly traps (Dionea muscipula). The pitcher plants sit in a bog that I build over a decade ago. […]
Garden chores often include things that have not been planted into the soil. Arbors, tools, benches, raised beds, etc. must be attended to and cared for like any cherished perennial in our yard. And now it is time for a trio of benches at the gardens at @annsplaceinc to be refurbished. To build these benches, […]
It is Flower Friday! And here are a few of the flowers that are populating my garden (trust me there are lots more)! Black cohosh: This highly fragrant native plant, spreads easily and has a long history of medicinal uses. The bees love it too. Musk mallow (Malus alcea): This pretty, though invasive plant from […]
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 […]
The gardens I manage at Ann’s Place are visited (and weeded) by me once a week. But rather than the incremental changes I see in my garden every day, the weekly differences are more extreme. This week, the biggest change is in the pollinator garden where I have planted lavender, anise hyssop, monarda, sunflowers, and […]
The saying, “stop to smell the roses,” should sometimes be taken literally in the garden. Many of our roses are in bloom now but I think my favorite is a beach rose (Rosa rugosa) that we have had for just a few years. It is the most simple of roses to care for as it […]
My neighbor, Donna, has a rainier cherry tree growing near our property and she generously shares its fruit with us. It always is a battle between the birds and us to see who gets the largest part of the harvest, but this year a large crow has taken up residence, protecting the berries from smaller […]