Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
Ferns (𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑡𝑎) and mosses (𝐵𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑡𝑎) make good companions on this rock outcropping in our back yard. It always amazes me how nature takes advantage of the tiniest spaces and life germinates from them. The small but constant pressure of these plants and others help create the fissures that break apart the rocks on the hill […]
Before all the snow melts, these three doves perch on my fence puffed up against the chill in the morning air. They seem a bit exposed, but perhaps are waiting their turns on the bird feeder around the corner that is chock full of other feathered friends.
The March plate for my book, A Therapist’s Garden, captures the moment perfectly. The Spring equinox is just days away with flowers growing and birds returning. My sister-in-law Rosana @artbyrosana captures a lovely ideal of this time of year. Nearby trees are budding out while a lone robin watches for predators and prey. A homemade […]
Making mason bee B&Bs is a lot easier than it looks. As I told my most recent class at Ann’s Place, all it takes is a series of tubes that about between 1/4 and 3/8 inch in diameter. I was able to forage the tubes from a stand of invasive bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea) and cut […]
Birds aren’t the only visitors to the bird bath. The squirrels have been really active over the last few weeks though they must be confused over the fluctuating temperatures and snowfall. They scamper around the garden more confused and frenetic than is typical. No matter. I am ready for them.
The bark of some trees can only be appreciated when the forest is absent of green vegetation. For texture it is hard to beat river birch (Betula nigra) with its flaking sheets of gray, brown, salmon, peach orange or lavender bark. A close second is the American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) with its patchy white and […]
My favorite time to shovel snow is at night when it has just stopped falling. There is an eerie and pleasing quiet as sounds are muffled by the blanket of white and the absence of cars or other vehicles. I take my shovels outside the garage and start my initial paths down the drive. The […]
he old saying that March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb is an inaccurate Nature proverb. Sometimes March comes in like a lamb and out like a lion, as a mild Winter gives way to a cold, delayed Spring. It is a month of confusion and frustration as the daylight lengthens, […]
In writing A Therapist’s Garden, I wanted to give readers some horticultural therapy activities that they could practice. And in every chapter (or month) I have done that with both a craft and an outing. The ones for March concern food. Coming out of Winter in New England with enough food used to be critical […]
The last sugar maple (Acer saccharum) on my property is dying. It does not have the classic conical shape of a sugar maple as hard years of branch breaks and errant side growths gives it an irregular and awkward shape, prone to damage. Regardless, from its girth I suspect that it is over 100 years […]