Gardeners in our area call September the “second spring.” Even as we are able to prepare for our fall-winter gardens, the “spring” feeling goes beyond these preparations for a new growing season. At the end of the summer monsoons, as temperatures become more moderate, and the warm-weather garden is abundant with flowers and produce, we see many signs reminiscent of spring.
Gardeners in our area call September the “second spring.” Even as we are able to prepare for our fall-winter gardens, the “spring” feeling goes beyond these preparations for a new growing season.
Usually I take a walk in my garden to get inspiration. My garden tells me what to write about. T
The early summer garden is a magnet in the morning before it gets too hot. It inspires a “to do” list of both garden delights, and work to be done. It is really about relishing each day the beautiful relationship that we have helped create.
The early summer garden is a magnet in the morning before it gets too hot. It inspires a “to do” list of both garden delights, and work to be done. It is really about relishing each day the beautiful relationship that we have helped create.
The month of May ushered in a new cycle in the garden. It began as a remnant of spring, and ended as an announcement of summer. Early May can be a precarious time for tender buds on fruit trees as cold fronts with chill winds still pay a visit.
When we give a bouquet of flowers to people who are in their sick bed, suffering emotionally, or in grief, we are practicing the most basic form of horticultural therapy.
Last month Gardens for Humanity said “Farewell” to one of its beloved elders and partners, Harvey Grady.
Gardening for me, is a process of asking and answering questions, and the answers often come from non-human beings. Taking a walk in the garden is always an inspiration. Broad patches of wild violets that I didn’t plant are growing in plac
Gardens for Humanity is part of the coalition of non-profits and educational institutions that have organized the 2023 Verde Valley Sci-Tech Festival.
After a beautiful and welcome winter storm, our garden is covered with a blanket of snow. Some call snow “a poor man’s mulch,” and in our arid landscape it is a blessing.
Bare soil starves for plants. That is why disturbed or bare soil invites weeds. Weeds! These unappreciated guests do the important work of restoring and nourishing the earth.
I rarely plant corn, but this year I wanted to plant some glass gem popping corn. I planted individual grains, each of a different color and then each cornstalk made cobs with a rainbow of colors! Each cob is different. There is something otherworldly about plant genetics - it can’t be explained, just admired; for me this is magic!
During World War II there were nearly 20,000,000 Victory Gardens across the U.S. producing about 40 percent of all the vegetables consumed during the war years. Of all the home front contributions to the war effort, these gardens were a staple of what average Americans could do at home to provide a dependable and fresh food supply. Many farm workers had enlisted, and farms had to get by without their normal workforce.
Recently I visited the garden at Verde Valley School, and was walking through it with a young man who is very concerned about the environment and the risks to our climate and planet. He asked if it would be better if people just left Nature alone since it had survived for so many years on its own.
Recently I visited the garden at Verde Valley School, and was walking through it with a young man who is very concerned about the environment and the risks to our climate and planet.
After nursing young plants through the hot dry months of May and June, the onset of the monsoon season is a great relief for gardener and garden alike. Monsoon rains bring a burst of growth to plants that were always on the edge of dehydration unless we watered, watered, watered.
May and June are the hottest and driest months before we welcome the first rumbles of thunder and fragrance of monsoon season at the beginning of July. It is so painful to watch plants struggling and dehydrating under relentless, rainless skies.
Last month I was invited to teach students from Sedona Charter School about sustainability at the Sedona Heritage Museum.
Last month I was invited to teach students from Sedona Charter School about sustainability at the Sedona Heritage Museum.
An image that has stuck with me since I was very young is that of a pebble tossed into a pond. I learned that day that even a small pebble could send out circles of waves that will eventually reach a far shore.
Our garden is another chapter in the story of our life at home. When I see birds building nests in our garden, pollinators feeding at our flowers, lizards raising their young, or a toad hibernating beneath damp soil, they become part of our family. They affirm that our garden is a welcoming habitat and a safe home.
Our garden is another chapter in the story of our life at home. When I see birds building nests in our garden, pollinators feeding at our flowers, lizards raising their young, or a toad hibernating beneath damp soil, they become part of our family. They affirm that our garden is a welcoming habitat and a safe home.
When I want to write about the garden, the first thing I do is go outside and walk in it. After so many years we have an intimate relationship.
When we think of a colorful garden we mostly think of sunny bursts of flowers, fresh buds and ripening fruit. The winter garden has a somber and textured mood like the low angle of light of shorter days, glowing silhouettes of plants, longer shadows, golden, rust, and brown litter of leaves.
When our grandchildren visit us they love to work and play in the garden. Actually, what we call “work” will likely turn into “play” in their world!
A gardener’s sense of time is governed by the seasons, and by the life cycles of plants and other garden residents. There is a rhythm to life that a gardener experiences that is a contrast to the strict lock step of days, weeks, and months.
In the month of October we are between the harvest moon of September, and the Thanksgiving celebrations of November. This is a transition time between seasons, when all of our senses are kindled by change.
