Gardening and creativity

I've been re-reading a lovely book that I've had for awhile -- Fran Sorin's Digging Deep: Unearthing Your Creative Roots Through Gardening.  She's a tremendously wise gardener, and her book, published in 2004, has obvious 'legs' as it's still in print.I'm planning on leading a workshop this spring...

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A anthocyanin-rich fall

It's been a great year for red leaf color here in the Eastern U.S.  Very minimal cool nights followed by a LOT of warm sunny days seem to have resulted in much more intense late reds than usual.It's been remarkable warm now for weeks, so anthocyanin production must be unusually high. (The red and purple pigments, in fall, are produced using sugars from photosynthesis - in real time - and sequestered...

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Recipe for Failure: Long-day Onions in Florida.

I love winter gardening in north Florida. We can grow cool-weather vegetables including, lettuce, onions, garlic, cabbage and the other cole crops right through the winter despite the fact that we get 10 or more killing frosts. The soil never gets particularly cold, though because between those frosts...

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An almost full moon

It would have been a great time for a full moon hike this month. The moon has been glorious - luminous and glowing over the last few evenings.Tomorrow night, it's full. Temperatures are moderate now, but they could have just as easily been overly cool and chilly. And the nocturnal symphony is largely...

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Final evening sounds

Coming home from the grocery store this evening, I heard some of the final evening songs of fall -- whether they're crickets or tree frogs, I'm not sure. We had a good freeze on Saturday night, so I was surprised to hear them, although the warm temperatures before (and after) have buffered the dip in temperature.The moon is already luminous in the evening, even though not full until Thursday. ...

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late November vegetables

November greens have been a high point of an otherwise quiet gardening period, distracted by dog-sitting and coursework.The Hakurei turnips continue to amaze me. Even unthinned, they've been remarkably productive (and tasty!)Without a hard frost, the arugula has continued to flourish -- it's remarkably...

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Thanksgiving harvest

 "Nantes half " and "cosmic purple" carrots Happy Thanksgiving!We're headed down to south Florida to celebrate the holiday with my daughter and her husband. My contributions to dinner come from the garden. I planted most of these veggies on Labor Day and wrote about in this post: Fall Edibles....

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