Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
It is easy to believe that few succulent morsels can be harvested in the early Spring. In the Northeast, most wait for the appearance of asparagus and rhubarb in May and strawberries in June to begin their weekly sojourns to farm stands. But as I showed my clients at Ann’s Place this month there are […]
One of the unexpected aspects about our stay in the Florida Keys is the wind: It has been fierce. With the exception of a few days, the wind has whipped around our little sand spit of a peninsula constantly. It has averaged around 20 mph with some days the wind clocking in the low 30s. […]
Vacationing in the Florida Keys conjures up visions of warm breezes, swaying palm trees and fancy mixed drinks. And where we are staying in Islamorada, this idea has mostly been realized for the last few weeks. One part of this vision (at least for my wife) is a supply of coconut water from the surrounding […]
When visiting the Florida Keys one feels as if one has entered a foreign realm. Neither the plants nor animals have any direct northeasterly comparisons. There are no palm or mangrove trees on the beaches of Connecticut. Prehistoric looking pelicans do not swoop down catching fish with their pterodactyl-like beaks in Stamford harbor. And a […]
As our home in Connecticut is threatened with a potentially nasty winter storm later this week, Juana and I are relaxing in the relative warmth of Gainesville, Florida. Late in life snowbirds, we have taken to spending much of the winter months in the tropical Florida Keys. We visit the homes of family members on […]
As Christmas approaches so does the colder weather that heralds the arrival of the winter solstice. While the light from the sun is at its nadir for the year, it is only beginning to become cold. Moving forward the temperatures continue to retreat to the teens and even lower. It is the beginning of the […]
By early December all the deciduous trees have dropped their leaves. The surrounding lawns have been blown clear of detritus and the only sign of the former foliage is in the woods. The leaves have long since lost their color and are an uneven gray separated by small mounds of green moss that cling to […]
Flowers that emerge from the snow usually arrive in the Spring. The aptly named snowdrop is often the first followed by crocuses. The Fall is different as this rarely happens. Fall crocuses, such as saffron, have come and gone by the time the first snow has arrived. So too have the flowers of late blooming […]
One of the tasks of Fall is to collect and ready the wood pile. This pile is a combination of wood from trees that have been fallen and split on my property and those from other places. In recent years there have been more foreign than local wood. The pile needs to be close to […]
November is often when the first snow of the season falls. If we are lucky, all the leaves have fallen from the trees leaving a barren landscape that is ready for a coating of white. Some years, it comes early covering leaves that still need gathering. Regardless, it is temporary as it often (though not […]