The musings and adventures of an enthusiastic grower
There is something about flowers. For centuries, people have been fascinated with them, gifting them to express our joy, love, sympathy, congratulations, and well-wishes for just about any occasion. They elicit emotion, bring smiles to faces, and beauty to the world. Flowers are one of nature's many miracles. People Have Been Fascinated with Flowers for …
One of my favorite activities in the garden is picking flowers, arranging them, and bringing them indoors to enjoy. Immersed in flowers, gathering the components for my bouquet, I transport into the world of the pollinator. As a result, I can get up close and personal with these amazing creatures as they flit from bloom …
We all go through phases in our life, whether major ones like childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, or minor ones such as not eating vegetables, music preferences, and wearing hot pink nylon shorts (I was a kid, don’t judge me). As a gardener, I also find that I go through phases. For example, I have transitioned …
It’s National Pollinator Week! A time to celebrate earth’s pollinators and address the urgent issue of pollinator population decline. Initiated and managed by Pollinator Partnership, National Pollinator Week became designated by the U.S. Senate in 2007 and has become an international observance. The week-long celebration creates awareness and promotes the services provided by birds, bees, …
Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a peony workshop at Bear Creek Farm in Upstate New York. As many of my readers know, I am an avid peony fan. I have written about my peony obsession on several occasions, such as in my posts Confessions of a Hoarderculturist, A Peony for Your Thoughts, and …
The garlic scapes are finally here! So shout it from the rooftops and do your happy dance! It has been eight long months of waiting since I planted my garlic back in late October. I eagerly await this event each growing season, checking the garlic patch frequently, looking for the first signs that the scapes …
When I was a kid, I don’t remember liking vegetables very much. I fit the typical clichĂ© of a kid that had to be coaxed into eating anything good for them by smothering it in cheese. There were a few vegetables I would eat on occasion, but lettuce was not one of them. If we …
I feel that I have made several progressions as a gardener over the years. When I first started gardening, I grew only a few ornamental perennials for their ease and reliability. Gaining confidence, I then progressed to edibles, and finally, I started dabbling in growing annuals. I’ve found that along the way I have grown …
I’ve been noticing the signs for a while now, but I couldn’t bring myself to admit the truth. It started innocently enough, an extra seed packet added to the shopping cart every once in a while, but it has escalated over the years. Now it might be getting out of control. My garden beds are …
Eager for another field trip, I recently visited the SUNY New Paltz campus in New Paltz, NY. The college campus, situated on over 209 acres, has a range of habitat types and is close to forests, farms, and wetlands in the Hudson Valley. The campus itself sits within the Saw Mill Brook Watershed. In 2018, …
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THISTLE BE THE DAY 