Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
Sharing a greenhouse foundation with my neighbor means sharing all the unwanted weeds that creep over from her property to mine. So this year with her permission, I decided to cut back the highly invasive porcelain berry vines (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata) that have enveloped her portion of the greenhouse. Cutting them back early and covering the […]
Once the weather makes the slightest turn toward warmth, plants do their best to make up for lost time. That is particularly true for wetland plants that have been encased in cold water or ice for months on end. One of the earliest and most spectacular is the skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) due to its […]
It’s lamb and llama time at McKeon farm in Ridgefield. The llamas are used to guard the sheep and lambs from predators. They don’t let anyone get close! But the lambs are super cute right now! If you are around take a peek.
I have finally found a lavender cultivar (𝐿𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑎 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎 ‘𝑃ℎ𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑎𝑙’) that takes the abuse of our Winters and snow plows. It sits perky and bushy next to a line of daffodils (𝑁𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑠 ‘𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐴𝑙𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑑’ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ‘𝐼𝑐𝑒 𝐹𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠’) along the fence that protects one of our gardens from marauding deer, rabbits, woodchucks and other creatures that […]
We are at the time of year when we must be judicious with how many of our greens we harvest. Until May, when the first strong crop comes in, we need to nibble and supplement. That is why I now pull extra greens from wintered over and perennial plants to add some heft and oomph […]
We have an heirloom rose bush on the corner of our property that has been there ever since we purchased our house over 30 years ago. Our neighbors at the time told us that this bush has always been part of the original estate, which our structure is part of, and is likely to be […]
uana got some inspiration to jump the gun on a horticultural therapy exercise that she was helping me kit up recently. It’s the last zoom class for my clients at Ann’s Place where we will be making pea and rose wreaths. It should be great fun!
As expected, the daffodils are exploding at @annsplaceinc. The display adjacent to the back parking lot will be in full flower for the next few weeks and the other large expanse in the back should catch up next week. Come by for a visit, smell the flowers and watch our garden explode with life.
My horticultural therapy clients at⠀@annsplanceinc had a great time last week making plant labels and @seedbombs. These are simple exercises where clients young and old can be engaged. I was able to make the plant labels out of wooden stakes, mason jar lids and customized weatherproof labeling. The seed bombs also needed just three ingredients: […]
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 […]