Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
Setting up in the garage for my horticultural therapy classes is getting easier with practice. This one is about growing greens in the Fall and Winter, which excites and puzzles some of my clients. “It’s not that hard to grow greens year round if you know just a little bit about what to plant and […]
The asparagus ferns hold onto an unfamiliar friend: water. Drops, lit by the morning sun, cling to their lacy structures not wanting to leave. At seven feet high, the ferns are in their final phases of feeding their crowns buried deep in the soil. I have been stingy this year in watering them, only giving […]
It is time to get the winter greens going in the garden. In the middle of August I start two 1020 trays of arugula, hearty greens and winter lettuces that I will transplant by mid-September. Around Labor Day, I start plugs of individual greens, Swiss Chard, kale, Claytonia (miner’s lettuce) and Verte de Cambral (corn […]
The rose hips are bright red and huge. But we need to wait for a frost before they will be ready to pick for jam. I hope the birds and other animals leave a few for us to sample.
“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. […]
Olivia joins me in the garden to seed and transplant seedlings into the cold frames. I give her a package of radish seeds and she shakes them like a rattle. I place a few seeds into the palm of her tiny hand. She looks at them and then removes them by rubbing her hand on […]
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 […]
It doesn’t seem possible but the golden rod has been in bloom for weeks. This typical flower of Fall is not showing off in a typical way with its early arrival. Unlike other wildflowers the drought seems to have little effect on its blooms or bright colors. We let this native plant spread on our […]
An early morning walk on the beach brings us to foraging seabirds including terns, seagulls and piping plovers. They are spending most of their time in the rack, full of seaweed, bait fish, bivalves and tiny trapped crabs. The plovers dart in and out of the waves trying with their beaks to grab a buried […]
We are spending a lovely holiday weekend at the beach on Long Island. The weather is perfect with bright sun and light, warm breezes. We decide to take an early morning walk with a foraging prey in mind: beach plums. Early September is beach plum season here and we hope to beat the birds and […]