healing with horticulture

It has been a long while since I last posted, though I think about this blog often.

Check out this gigantic sunflower I grew last year. It’s maybe 5 times larger than my head (which is already quite large)! I was able to save so many seeds and give to all the neighbors who loved our sunflowers last year and aspire to grow big sunflowers too. :) 

So, long Gary Lincoff...

Such a pretty Google Doodle today - honoring horticulturalist, Gertrude Jekyll - who once said: "A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust."

Last week I got to learn more about strategies for mitigating stormwater runoff in our city. Super fascinating. Can’t wait to attend more conferences like this one. 

Take a deep breath and reflect on what you can do to serve yourself and the world in a positive way today.

FDR was a big proponent of trees and nature, and found all of it to be extremely important for our survival and for healing purposes as well. I loved learning more about his biophilia yesterday at the FDR Presidential Library & Museum / National Historic Site in Hyde Park, NY. The property is maintained by the National Park Service.

One of my favorite New Deal era posters - going to try to find one on Ebay.

We took a walk through one of his gardens and found this beautiful winged friend - along with many others happily pollinating.

I am so excited to be taking the Citizen Pruner Course through Trees NY. Once completed, I will receive a license from the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation to legally prune and help care for street trees! 

The trees need us more than ever, especially because there are so many newly planted trees (thanks to the MillionTreesNYC Initiative) that need extra attention in their formative years. 

Why are street trees essential and beneficial for a big city, you ask? Trees enhance the quality of urban life. How?

- Trees add beauty and character - Trees soften the harsh and angular look of city streets - Trees, like all green plants, use carbon dioxide and release life-giving oxygen - Trees help clean air by trapping dirt, grit and dust, and by absorbing other pollutants  - Trees act as sound barriers - Trees reduce stormwater runoff from city streets, reducing the pollution of our local waterways - Trees screen unpleasant views - Carefully located, trees deciduous trees can save energy by cooling buildings in the summer and allowing solar heating in the winter - Trees increase community pride - Tees are important representatives of nature to city dwellers - Trees are home to wildlife  - Trees can increase the attractiveness of a home and studies have shown that trees can increase property values by up to 20%

(from Citizen Pruner Manual)

Coolest boat ever! We got to see live music on Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise this past weekend, which was docked in NYC for the first time in a long while - they are currently touring the East Coast promoting a campaign for a world free from single-use plastics. We need more organizations like this one. Contribute if you can. Thank you.

We got to take in a lot of nature this Summer and I’m so grateful. 

::: AT HOME ::: 

Doc officially became the King of the Basil Harvest

Asha got to bask in the garden sun

dewey geranium

::: WEST COAST TRIP :::

We took some beautiful coast walks to the water in Gearhart, Oregon

We hiked to the top of Mt. Pilchuk in Washington

Andy took a well-deserved rest on a rock perch

mind over matter!!! this t-shirt really helped me mentally persevere :)

I enjoyed the many roses of Portland, Oregon...the city of roses!

::: IN CT :::

Andy perchin’ on another rock

Checking out the exoskeleton of a Cicada

My mom and I trying to force Doc to pose with this awesome hibiscus

::: HORSEHEADS, NY :::

Elliot hangin’ out in a tree

::: In FLORIDA :::

I found this beautiful Cactus! 

::: BACK IN BROOKLYN :::

I took a walk around the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative’s Naval Cemetery Landscape. 

I was so delighted to discover a bench and notebook placed by Nature Sacred and the TKF Foundation. I had learned about this awesome organization at a conference I attended years back, and was so excited to add an entry into the journal. They place these to invites visitors to articulate their experience of a natural, sacred space. "More than a simple diary, record, or log of daily events, a Journal is a collection of inspiring thoughts and reflections that attest to our need for opportunities to connect with each other and be in nature” (TKF Website). 

We learned so much about building through an expert local carpenter, Tom! We love our tool shed/workshop. We went with a clear corrugated plastic roof so we’d have natural light. So much work, but worth every back breaking second!

::: haiku ::: 

lupine, lavender

the sun’s rays shine upon you