Lavender, Usefulness and Tranquility Too Lavender plants flowering in four different parts of my yard are the inspiration for this week’s mindfulness focus – tranquility. If you are not familiar with the lavender plant, you are surely familiar with its fragrance. The scent of lavender reduces stress and promotes tranquility. And it … Read more
I am overrun with golden raspberries and can’t pick them fast enough. A great problem to have, I know! They are one of the most prolific plants in my garden – and so easy! I’ve grown the Fall Gold variety in Pennsylvania and now in Denver and they seem pretty happy in both … Read more
Blight in the Garden My apple and pear trees have been infected with blight, a fungal disease that can quickly kills leaves, stems, and fruit. But both of my trees are blight resistant varieties, which is a good thing, because so far, the outbreak has been manageable. Many years ago in Pennsylvania, I had an … Read more
My Sunday post is coming out very late in the day because I have been hanging out in the garden. Finally, I am done traveling. And the weather cooperated, making it a great gardening weekend. I also have a new planting area in my yard, created when we moved a fence out to … Read more
Look Up – This Week’s Mindfulness Focus I’ve been busy cleaning up the yard and garden beds after a long winter. Green shoots of garlic, yarrow, lemon balm, and hops are making an appearance. And my new Black Knight butterfly bush has sprouted tiny leaves. It is easy to keep eyes focused down on the … Read more
The mindfulness focus this week is circle of influence…contemplating the reach of our actions and what if anything we can do to change the world. Sadly this is not inspired by the garden, but instead by the ongoing gun violence in this country. It is easy to be overwhelmed by … Read more
Garlic (Allium sativum) is a beautiful plant, a healing food, and a symbol of personal power and protection. Growing up in an Italian American household, garlic was a go-to seasoning like salt or pepper. I was shocked to discover as I got older that there are kitchens that exist without garlic. This seems … Read more
Children’s books often perfectly capture the human experience. In the Frog and Toad story The Garden, Toad admires Frog’s garden and then plants some seeds of his own. Toad waters the garden and then begins to obsess about when the seeds will come up. He paces, worries, sings, and shouts at the seeds, which … Read more
We have arrived again at a place of darkness. I’m not speaking figuratively. It’s just dark outside! Because of time change and the approaching winter my drive home from work is enveloped in darkness. The Denver sun sets at 4:49 PM today. I feel much resistance to this annual cycle, preferring long days of sunshine … Read more
75 degrees is the high today in Denver, but it will change to cold and snow overnight. I’ve pulled in all the green tomatoes, green beans, and basil, and covered hardier plants with frost cloth. Gardeners constantly have their eyes on the weather and know that it can be unpredictable, with quick … Read more
