Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
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 […]
There are some plants that are easily fooled by brief changes in the weather. In my yard, the butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii) is that plant. When the first hint of warm weather arrives, as it did this past week, the leaves explode with abandon. Every warm day above 50 degrees, these appendages appear to double […]
In New England, you never feel that Winter has arrived until it snows. Cold is always expected but until the brown and gray ground is covered with the first blanket of clean, white snow, Winter is just a date on the calendar. A layer of snow on the ground is proof that the temperature is […]
One of the last yearly harvests is that of the Christmas tree. We have a dozen or so planted on the property at different stages of growth. The spruces are outside the fence (where the deer can ignore them) and the firs on the inside (where the deer can’t eat them). Most years, like this […]
Every day I look out toward the garden, I see little change. All of the plants and the grounds seem suspended in time. The growing season is over and the napping season has begun. The dominant color is brown, with the occasional sound of a dried-up leaf scraping against the patio slates, pushed by the […]