Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
2022 in review. It’s been another wonderful year in the garden. Here are a few highlights. January: Charlotte continues to be my trusty helper. Here she is seeding microgreens for me that we will munch on in the weeks ahead. March: The publication of my book, A Therapist’s Garden, and the many kind words readers […]
The last virtual class on seasonal decorations that I did for my clients at @annsplaceinc I ran short of materials . . . . .for me. I had given nearly all my material on hand for this class to my clients and had forgotten to save some. I was able to scrounge up a pine […]
Now that we have reached December, the beds have been cleaned, the bulbs planted, the flowers have faded, and the garden is desolate. Even the long persistent yellow flowers of witch hazel are gone following the examples of all other deciduous shrubs and trees. Seed heads of our coneflowers stand alone, waiting to be eaten […]
I am often amazed at the inventiveness of my clients at @annsplaceinc The latest class we finished was packed with 21 people to create seasonal wreaths out of spruce cones, acorns and other things collected from the outdoors. The cones were easy to collect though I needed to purchase acorns for the first time ever. […]
Preparing for horticultural therapy classes sometimes calls for working well in advance. For some of my classes this Fall and Winter I need a variety of cones and nuts. To best collect them I start foraging in late September and early October before the leaves fall. This year I am fairly successful in collecting cones: […]
Ironically, the first zoom class at Ann’s Place a few weeks back is held on a lovely day and could have been outside. But everyone seems content and snug in their dwellings to make leaf lanterns. And as the craft requires the use of an iron it may not be a bad idea to do […]
We have had more Indian Summer days this season than for the last 10. A fleeting freeze followed up by days of balmy weather confuses not only people but the plants surrounding us. The first seasonal misfit I find is a lone buttercup emerging from the bed of wild strawberry leaves surrounding it. Its tiny […]
It’s been a month since my last horticultural therapy class. This will be my last one in person with my clients from Ann’s Place till the Spring. I am putting together a mash up of my Fall Festival and Dream Pillow classes to make up for lost sessions. It is a crisp, windless day for […]
Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) are one of the few trees still holding onto their leaves resisting the urge to abandon their perches. But beyond the maples, there are a still a few colorful trees out there with one of my favorite being witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana). Unlike most understory trees, witch hazel blooms in the […]
We took down all of the sunflowers as many were nearly denuded of seeds leaving empty, broken brown stalks. Juana and I are able to save a few for next year’s plantings and some she fashions with other dried vegetation into a wreath. She starts by taking invasive porcelain berry vines and wrapping them into […]