Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
As a gardener, there are many things that can be done to ensure that whatever we plant grows well. We can recondition the soil with compost, manure and other enhancements; we can plant items best suited to the environment; and we can tend to our gardens faithfully. But the one thing we can’t do is […]
The weather this fall has been frenetic. Snow, heat, drenching rain, drought. We have seen it all. Or so I thought. Last week in a middle of a stretch of Indian summer we were invaded by Mexican bean beetles. Thousands. I don’t know much about its life cycle but I think the snow and cold […]
A little over a month ago the construction crews and equipment pulled out and the last bit of seeding for my lawn was complete. It was now time to wait. As I have mentioned in prior posts, I am attempting to create a no-mow lawn from five different varieties of fescue seed that will require […]
The counterbalancing forces of the old and new hit hard when returning to school in September. On the old side, there is the garden, which is in the final throes of harvest and for many is ready to be put to bed for the remainder of the year. On the new side are the seedlings—students—that […]
GroHappy has been a bit quiet for the last week or so not for lack of ideas or activities but because of them. Casa Keller has been a whirlwind of activity as we have been reclaiming our yard and replanting bulbs, shrubs, grass and trees. The septic men have left and with their departure came […]
Every time I tempt my family into the garden, I am often accused of inflicting horticultural therapy upon them. They may be right. My wife needs little prompting, as she better appreciates the diversity of plants than I and finds great solace in nature’s grasp. My daughters are a different story as when I have […]
With Labor Day a recent memory, we are now entering the days between the end of corporate summer and those of the calendar. These are teaser days on the cusp of seasons as they serve up cool nights promising of fall and warm hot afternoons reminding us of what we will soon be missing. Such […]
A recent cartoon in the New Yorker reminded me that the beach is usually not for gardening. You are surrounded by nature, but your reactions are muted by a type of voyeurism that says look but don’t touch. You are surprised by the lush inhabitants that flourish, grow and display themselves unambiguously for all to […]
One of the fundamental joys of gardening is to build a new bed. Sometimes its creation is part of a long thought out process, often started in the depths of winter, other times an opportunity or inspiration that presents itself in a serendipitous manner. In either case the new bed becomes a joy to start […]
As I mentioned in a prior post, we had planned to replace the pine in front of our house with a fir tree that was planted over a decade ago in memory of my mother-in-law, Stella. Watching men-in-trees remove huge limbs and drop the better part of a 75-foot pine makes for good tree TV […]