Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
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 […]
After recent rains, a few mushrooms have started to emerge on the property. Though my mushroom ID skills are fledging at best, I think this is a pear-shaped puffball (Apioperdon pyriforme). If so, it is a edible mushroom, which is somewhat confirmed by the many nibbles on this bunch. But taking no chances I will […]
If you are lucky enough to find a kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa) you have found my favorite fall forage. Looking a bit much like depictions of the Covid-19 coronavirus, this fruit is ready to eat off the tree in early fall. It is absolutely delicious tasting much like a persimmon or to some a mango. […]
October’s cooling temperatures and fading vegetation represent the last breath of Mother Nature’s colorful splendor before dormancy takes over. The sun is accelerating its drop in the sky, casting long and a lasting shadows. Animals ready themselves for the cold months ahead by collecting nuts and other foods frantically. Gardeners and farmers, too, pick up […]
It’s in between seasons and a pending surgery on my knee affords me the opportunity to observe and contemplate more than is typical in the garden. Walking around the property, crutch in arm, I take a close look at a rhododendron that is suffering no doubt to the lack of rain. I will need to […]
With the first day of autumn comes the changing of the seasonal pictures in our kitchen. A quartet of heads, each representing a different season, gets readjusted. These whimsical portraits were created by Italian master, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, who is well known for his use of fruits and vegetables to create distinctive images. Old man autumn […]
After I finish watering the gardens, I grab the compost bucket to feed the pile. Walking by Juana’s kitchen herb patch, I notice on my left the nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) leaves holding droplets of water that look like tiny, shimmering jewels. Only a few can manage this balancing act. Upon closer inspection, they appear more […]
“Turn around slowly,” I whisper to Juana. “There is a hawk under the swing set.” Sitting in the grass between the swing and a nearby bench is a magnificent red-shouldered hawk (we think). It sits quietly unmoving though it has its eye on me as I try to move closer to get a better shot. […]
The volunteer Joe Pye weeds (Eutochium purpureum) that are popping up in the herbaceous borders at Ann’s Place are one of my favorite squatters in these gardens. I’m not sure where they came from but a single volunteer a few years ago located next to a bench has now a large family surrounding it. It […]