Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
Garlic mustard (π΄πππππππ πππ‘πππππ‘π) arrives in the early Spring faster than the dandelions (πππππ₯πππ’π ππππππππππ). And like dandelions it can be savored in many different ways. Emerging from the ground, the tiniest of this biannualβs leaves are pungent and delicious as an adornment to any salad. As it grows, which can be very fast in […]
The cold frames did their job this Winter by letting me get a jump on planting this Springs. While all of the exposed beds are frozen more than 3 inches below the level of the soil, the two beds covered with the cold frame are thawed and toasty warm. I lost all the Swiss chard […]
Last week I received a request from my publisher from a fellow named Scott requesting an autographed copy of my book, A Therapistβs Garden, as a gift. I agreed to contact Scott and discovered from him and a @gofundme account (whose page is reproduced here) that he is diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. He […]
A smattering of frost-hardy minerβs lettuce (πΆπππ¦π‘ππππ πππππππππ‘π) self-seeded in my cold frame this Winter.β Rich in vitamin C, its succulent and tasty heart-shaped leafs make a perfect topping to any salad. It is a green best enjoyed in the late Fall or early Spring as it bolts and becomes bitter when warm weather emerges. Itβs […]
Starting to bud out, the crabapple tree (Malus) in the back still has quite a few fruits hanging from its branches. This collection of shriveled orbs, has withstood the test of Winter as well as the local bird population. It is often the last of the fruit to be cleared off my plants by the […]
Pulling the straw off my carnivorous plant bog, I see that the ground is still as hard as a rock. At least an inch of straw is embedded in the peat moss/perlite mixture. Though it may look like a couple of the pitcher plants (Sarracenia) are ready for a meal, their traps are filled with […]
I canβt say that I am going to miss the kitting up for my zoom classes. This one, where we are making seed bombs and plant signs is full with 20 clients and has a lot of parts. Seed bombs are part of gorilla gardening where you put wildflower seeds into compost/soil and air dry […]
The initial response to my book, A Therapistβs Garden, has been generous and encouraging. Two of the unsung heroes for its success are my wife Juana and sister-in-law Rosana. Their tireless efforts toward illustrating the many plants and places within A Therapistβs Garden adds an essential element to the mood and message of the book. […]
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 […]
Warming days and drier soil leads me to multiple days of Spring cleanup. The remnants of Winter are raked away to make room for the emerging growth. I always know it is time once the larger daffodil (Narcissus) and tulip (Tulipa) leaves start to penetrate the leaf litter. If I donβt get the Fall leaves […]