Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
Today should be the last day of the heat wave we have been having in the Northeast and I am grateful. Juana and I have stayed inside (and away from the gardens) more than typical for July. We have been fortunate, however, in that we open up the house and shut off the air conditioning […]
The heat and lack of water this July is showing up in all kinds of ways though we have minimized its effects in the garden. Our lawn of native grasses and “weeds” is cut high (only when needed) and is lush and green. This is in contrast to a neighboring lawn that is cut low […]
From the July chapter of my book, A Therapist’s Garden. July is the month of heat, homemade ice cream, and the desire to remain cool. It is an ironic time, as the weather and gardens have flipped into high gear after a long stasis. The warm evenings find fireflies illuminating the background for all the […]
Because we have a shallow well, all of the perennials in our gardens rarely get watered. They are left on their own without a supplemental drink regardless of the heat and lack of rain. It may sound cruel, but I don’t think we have lost a perennial yet to lack of water. Potted plants, annuals […]
Today is the Summer Solstice and everything in the garden is perfect. In pre-historic times, Summer was a joyous time of the year for those indigenous people who lived in the northern latitudes. The snow had disappeared; the ground had thawed out; warm temperatures had returned; flowers were blooming; leaves had returned to the deciduous […]
When is it time to put shade cloth on the greenhouse? When the temps are going to shoot up 30 degrees F to over 90 for the weekend. Our fluctuating weather is keeping me on my toes as I still have seedlings in the greenhouse. Will be watering a lot and keeping cool this weekend.
A lovely moonrise at the beach capped a perfect day with my daughter Sarah and her family.
Spring is when microclimates show off big differences. This split screen of two forsythia illustrates this phenomenon perfectly. The image to the left is of a bush belonging to a neighbor less than 200 yards away; the other is of my scraggly bushes tucked into a north facing hill. My neighbor’s bushes get sun all […]
An unexpected hail storm left as quickly as it arrived yesterday. Out of nowhere it came pelting our cars and gardens with rock-salt sized frozen chunks. Handfuls could be gathered up moments after it started to fall. And in less than 10 minutes it stopped and the skies cleared. The tulips (Tulpia) came out just […]
Winter appears to be giving up. A final pre-Spring blast of warm weather has made all the snow a memory and early flowering plants have taken advantage of the opportunity. But the cold still remains as the ground is thawed only 3 inches deep. This makes walking across the property a bit treacherous as water […]