Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
Though I have retired from Ann’s Place, I still have my hands in the horticultural therapy loam. I will be teaching an on-line course on Tuesday, May 7, 10-12 am, eastern time, on the topic of horticultural therapy as well as therapeutic horticulture. It is being sponsored by UConn’s Master Gardener Classes. In it I […]
In many ways, Spring is appropriately named. Its pent-up anticipation prior to the arrival of the equinox is akin to that of a child, Christmas morning, held back, unable to run to the tree to open his or her gifts. There are a few signs: snowdrop and muscari bulbs emerging, the slight greening of willows, […]
For the last few days, our feeders have been bombarded by countless goldfinches. They perch on a small dogwood in the back like so many Christmas ornaments waiting their turn at one of the feeders we have scattered around the property. This morning their numbers seemed to increase with a dusting of snow that added […]
It’s another year where we will start serving up Spring salads from the garden. I had pre-seeded both cold frames last Fall. Both had been doing well though December delivering delicious salad greens. But by mid-January a combination of extended temperatures in the teens and a rodent invasion basically stopped the harvests. Leaving for Florida, […]
Returning home after five weeks in warmer climes, we didn’t know what to expect. It appeared that we missed only one major snow storm. So we were pleasantly surprised on what we discovered. The hellebores, aptly named Lenten Roses, have started to bloom reminding me to remove their desiccated leaves from last year. Not too […]
The winds have changed this past week from north to south. And with this change comes new visitors to the beach. The most obvious are the lines of sea detritus washing up with each successive tide. A mash up of grasses and seaweed lines the beach as would an intricate necklace around the neck of […]
Late in the day, we see osprey and pelicans dive in the ocean looking for their last catch of the day. They are rarely close or still enough to get a good shot. On my bike ride yesterday afternoon, I noticed this osprey perched on a high branch next to the ocean. I backed up […]
The days in the Keys are blissfully the same. We awake at first light as the sun streams through our bedroom window. Initially it is a bit nippy with a touch of wind but the outside soon warms and we head out to the beach for our morning walk. Flocks of birds beat us to […]
Coming to the Florida Keys, I always feel as if we are entering a foreign place with strange and wonderful sights. My years of being a bit of a plant nut and Master Gardener are thrown to the winds as I spot plant after exotic plant that I cannot even begin to identify. This diversity […]
Lands of different climates make me appreciate the diversity of plants. My niece Annie recently purchased a 10-acre farm in Northern Florida that is anchored by a magnificent live oak (Quercus virginiana). Its spreading, pendulous branches are quite different from the oaks that I am familiar with in New England. Its shiny and oval leaves […]