Landscape Therapy
Sometimes, on busy days in busy weeks, when there’s too much to do and too much bad news, it’s soothing to just pull off the road and take a moment to look at the sky. Focus first on the large, cottony clouds as they...
Read MoreTag: flowers
Still blooming
Autumn has been kind to the flowers this year. The two light frosts thus far have barely nipped the tender plants in more exposed areas. Most of the farm is protected by sheltering belts of trees that ease the sharp bite of the wind. Rock outcrops gather heat from the day’s sunshine and the tender plants nearby benefit from these warmer pockets as the heat radiates back into the air at night.
Taking time . . .
Life’s been busy lately. Too much to do, not enough hours in the day, or enough energy to speed through the to-do list at the pace I moved in my 20s. Or my 30s. Sometimes I get so caught up in keeping up that I lose track of the flow of nature as the seasons progress.
Signs of spring . . . and snow?
The roses began to leaf out on the north side of the house, and the wild ones in the woods did the same. Daylilies and irises sent forth new shoots. The chickens rejoiced . . . and ate the shoots. The air felt warm. It felt...
Read MoreOf seeds and dreams
It’s the time of year when all things seem possible. I dream of verdant growth, record harvests, perfect blossoms, and fruit unmarked by insect damage and snacking birds. My wish list of seeds and plants is long and...
Read MoreViolets in the sand
The common violet is one of my favorite spring flowers. It’s fragrant, pretty, tough and prolific. What’s not to love? This particularly sturdy violet pushed its way through a layer of sand deposited a couple weeks...
Read MoreLate frost
Last night we had a hard frost, and it nipped a few tender plants and blossoms. As the sun eased over the horizon, I trudged out to the orchard, camera in hand to document the damage. The warmth of the morning sunlight already...
Read MoreGreenhouse flowers
This winter’s tatsoi (mustard greens) crop is in full bloom in the greenhouse. The leaves are no longer yummy, but I’ve left the plants to flower because the blossoms make me smile whenever I step inside. The seed...
Read MoreCollards in bloom
Champion collards, planted in the greenhouse September, 2007. Collards, like most brassicas, are biennial – that is, they go to seed their second year. Collards don’t keep calendars. They had their warm season and...
Read MoreDaffodil time
Years ago, I had two little snowdrop plants by my front steps. Those were my early harbingers of spring. The first appearance of the snowdrop blooms meant spring truly would come, and the world would be right. Now, two homes...
Read MoreNot quite daffodil time
They grew a couple inches taller this weekend when the afternoon temperatures swelled to the upper 70s (Fahrenheit). They’ll get nipped with cold tonight if the forecast is right — 18 degrees....
Read MorePurple wave
I always grow purple petunias, not because I like them, but because my younger daughter liked them so much when she was small. I think she still favors them, but not with the single-minded exhuberance she exhibited a decade ago....
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