Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
Microgreens are one of the best ways to get back into the garden during these days when the real garden is a foot-plus under snow and ice. These arugula (Eruca vesicaria ssp sativa) sprouts are only two weeks old and almost ready to sample. If you want to extend your harvest, wait until real leaves […]
Ice is beautiful but potentially frightening at the same time. The outdoors are bejeweled with freezing rain. We are lucky as the amount of precipitation is slight so it adds a only slight, shiny glaze to plants rather than a potentially heavy and dangerous coating. The Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) branches are enveloped in ice […]
In writing A Therapist’s Garden, I have received so much help from so many people. But in certain ways it is a family affair with my sister-in-law Rosana @artbyrosana drawing a wonderful cover and plate illustrations and Juana my wife tasked with providing two dozen spot illustrations that appear within the book’s pages. Botanical illustrations […]
Even better than finding the blueprint of the greenhouse adjacent to my house (formerly a barn)has been the discovery of the formal garden plans and plant list of the estate. Consisting of over 100 different plant types and 2000 individual plants, it is a wonderful view of what the back of the estate appeared to […]
Amazingly, a potted rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) that as a lark I left in the greenhouse for the Winter continues to live on. I did not expect this as we have had many nights where the temperature gets down to the single digits Fahrenheit. In the past, we have attempted to bring rosemary plants into the […]
Snow is perfect until it stops falling. It is a flawless sheet that envelopes everything. But once it stops, it becomes a record for all actions and in particular all the creatures that have walked on it. Some areas are busier than others. For instance, under the winterberry (Ilex verticillata) and beautyberry (Callicarpa) bushes, the […]
Juana and Charlotte shout out, “There’s a wolf out back!” Getting to the window quickly I don’t think it a wolf but rather a coyote. It’s hard to tell from the distance but wolfs have not been spotted in Connecticut for more than two centuries so I think that ID is unlikely. Regardless, Daisy who […]
Juana gave me this card for my birthday last year and it pretty much sums up my feelings. We are a family of readers and gardeners so our library per se is scattered in the many bookcases throughout our house. I have concentrated most of the gardening books in my office, who’s bookcases used to […]
I am surprised to see the llamas and sheep at McKeon Farm, when I arrive to install a sign for the Ridgefield Conservation Commission. They pay little heed to me as they chomp away at their fodder knowing that there is nothing but snow I can offer them at this point. The llamas are there […]
I’m not sure when I got the idea about writing a book about my horticultural therapy experiences, but it was probably around the time Charlotte was born. I was pretty much retired and Juana and I were taking care of Charlotte during the day and my horticultural therapy program was starting at Ann’s Place. Prior […]