Therapeutic
Horticulture
Therapeutic Horticulture with Trish
Classes are Wednesdays at 1:10pm
Current Events
4/8 10am-12pm CA Native Plant Society plant sale UCSC Arboretum
4/15 Dahlia tuber and plant sale Aptos Deer Park Shopping Center, Aptos
4/22 Starting Right with Organic Rose Growing
4/29-30/2023 UCSC Center for Agroecology Spring Plant Sale
4/12
4/5 Outside today to work on the large garden bed. Sweet peas are strong, wildflowers, nasturtium and freesias are blooming. We planted more seeds in the empty spots after weeding and adding worm compost.
3/22 Eggshell wheatgrass baskets today with Trina.
3/15 Houseplant propagation from cuttings. Inside due to weather. We'll also bring in the rolling planters and fertilize the garlic. Tea may be in order due to the weather as well!
3/8 Violet propagation from leaf cuttings. Inside due to weather.
3/1 Wow - March is here and in like a lion! We'll continue our exploration on propagation by division with Squirrel's Foot Ferns: https://www.thespruce.com/grow-davallia-species-indoors-1902720.
2/22 Weather permitting we will be outside and our theme is Thyme. JT Verbeck is brining us some fresh cut thyme from her garden and we will also have some clumps to divide and pot up to bring home or gift or leave on our plant shelf. Please dress in some warm layers and bring a hat and water.
2/15 Weather permitting we will be outside and work on our planter beds, weeding, amending the soil and planning for spring! If it is too cold we may bring the beds inside or propagate some African violets.
2/8 Bromeliads and the bromeliad family, including pineapple, Tillandsia (air plant) and Spanish moss. We'll take home some Spanish moss on wire.
February 1 Today we will make introductions, check-in and talk about goals for ourselves this semester. We will be potting up some sweet pea and stock flowers, to later be placed in the garden. If there is time we can pot up some veggie starts to take home in cell packs.
12/14 We will wrestle with fresh grape vines and make wreaths for our last day of class this semester. We will also need to fertilize the garlic in the outdoor planters.
12/7 We will make fresh herbal tea bouquets with labels to take home or give as gifts.
11/30 We'll package our seeds into our lovely watercolor envelopes to sell at next week's craft sale. We'll also get to take some home.11/23 We had a plethora of flowers donated from Capitol Trader Joe's and made fresh holiday floral arrangements to take home.
11/16 This week we will plant garlic, rain or shine (we'll bring the planters inside if the weather is not to our liking) and we will fertilize our indoor houseplants and the succulent gardens. Please dress in layers in case we are outside!
11/9 Update - we will be making watercolor seed packets with Donna for the craft sale in December and enjoying "Commuter Protection Tea" made with elderberries, rose hips, echinaceae, cinnamon chips and fresh sage.
11/2 If we are inside we will begin work on drying flowers and making votive candle holders with already dried flowers.
10/26 After working in our garden beds a bit we explored herbs and made herbal tea.
10/19 Today we will make succulent planters for the Standing Tall plant and craft sale in December. Please bring containers, succulent cuttings, shells, glass, rocks and any other things to adorn our gardens.
10/12 Wednesday's class we will have an apple tasting and care for our planters. They will need watering as well as pulling out the beans and planting some new plants. The following week we will plant our succulent planters for the December plant sale.
10/5 Succulent pumpkins today in class! A favorite annual activity. We make mini arrangements on the top of mini pumpkins. Please bring pieces of succulent plants if you have some to share, and your are welcome to bring in your own pumpkins as well. Dress in layers and bring a hat and water if it is nice we will be outside on the patio.
9/28 Wednesday we will be outside on the patio - please dress in layers and bring a hat and water to drink. Now that the weather is a bit cooler we can prep the beds and plant some seeds. We will pull out the zucchini and maybe some of the beans, and take a look at the large planter. We may also plant some seeds in containers to plant out as transplants in a few weeks.
9/21 We will also be separating and collecting the seeds from calendula, larkspur, sweet pea and shelling peas. We will save these for sale and for planting in the spring.
9/14 Trish will report back from the AHTA conference and we will divide some houseplants to nurture for the craft sale in December. We will work outside today weather permitting, please bring a hat and dress in layers.
9/7 We worked in the outside big raised bed today, prepping it for some later planting. Trish is at the American Horticultural Therapy Association meeting in Kansas City.8/31 Welcome Back! Today we will Dive In to our gardens - the ones at home and the ones here at the SDLC. A big thank you to Garth for watering our planters over the break! We'll have a broad start to the year with seeds, seedlings and the garden beds. We will be outside so please bring hats and wear sunscreen.
Video Lessons
Click on the pictures to watch
Click "cc" at the bottom for subtitles
Bees
A short video to see bees in action on poppies and lavender
Flower Arranging
Colorful Containers
We replant an antique iron raised planter as well as several other containers.
Drying Herbs and Flowers
Taking the beauty and vibrancy of spring and summer and preserving them for the future is satisfying in knowing I can use these later, when the garden is slower. And because it shows a beacon to the future, which in turn means hope, something which is sustaining to us here in the present.
Tomato Time!
I think of how strong tomato plants are with their adventitious roots and sweet fruit, and think we are strong and resilient also. With some care for ourselves and others we also can thrive, even if not the way we used to. Life has a way of keeping us adapting, and changing previous ideas we thought were solid and immutable. In tomato plants, reaching for the sun, growing and growing is called ‘indeterminate’, which Webster’s defines as "not exactly known, established, or defined”. How perfect for this time and place, to not know our destination and to keep being present for right now.
Roses 2020
I show you some of the roses in my garden, we imagine the smell and can see the visual beauty of them. Imbibing our senses at any time can be grounding and calming for our body and mind.
Herbs in Spring!
Santa Cruz Wisteria Tour
"The wisteria plant is known to live for upwards of a hundred years or more. Because of its extensive lifespan and elegance, the wisteria is thought to be a symbol for wisdom. Throughout its life, the wisteria plant grows increasingly larger. It is said the long vines of the plants are forever extending to seek new knowledge.
For this reason, the plant serves as the perfect symbol of wisdom, patience, longevity, and endurance. From its example, we can learn to practice patience and persistence. It can teach us to make gentle but determined pursuits. Many great things take time and are worth the effort. Hard times must be endured in order to reach the beautiful ones."
Paraphrased from Sun Signs Website
