“Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are.” Alfred Austin This post is in memory of my father, Richard “Dick” Connelly Lyon who passed away on Saturday, June 27, 2020 at the age of 85 years. These are the words I wrote and delivered as his eulogy to honor himContinue reading “My Garden of Life”
Author Archives: Sarah Croscutt
Roots
“A tree’s beauty lies in its branches, but its strength lies in its roots.” – Matshona Dhilwayo Simple in structure and covert in function, roots anchor a plant in its substrate, absorb water and minerals necessary for plant growth, and store excess food and water. There are two types of true root systems. Fibrous, orContinue reading “Roots”
Innate Resources
“Trees do not force their sap, nor does the flower push its bloom.” -Ranier Maria Rilke Our planet is blanketed with the beauty and biodiversity of five major biomes, large, naturally occurring communities of plants and animals that occupy a broad geographic area. The five major biomes include the tundra, desert, forests, grassland, and aquatic. WithinContinue reading “Innate Resources”
Aspect
“Like wildflowers, you must allow yourself to grow in all the places people thought you never would.” – Unknown Living in northern Alaska, I was acutely aware of my place on the planet. The brilliant, stark, icy, white tundra juxtaposed to the warm, saturated, vivid, technicolor sky was an awe-inspiring landscape of infinite beauty. Continue reading “Aspect”
Abscission
“When leaves have to let go of the tree, they wear their best colors and they dance all the way to the ground.” – Karen Kingsbury In the botanical context, abscission is the shedding of various plant parts, the dropping of leaves, fruit, flowers, or seeds. Senescence means “to grow old” and is theContinue reading “Abscission”
Starting from Seed: Designing Your Own Seed Packet Activity
Seeds are “nature’s suitcase.” They protect and nourish the plant embryo. They are adapted to dispersal by wind, water, animals and many germinate under unique conditions, like exposure to fire. People, like seeds, are unique in their appearance and growing instructions. This activity is one of my favorites I developed for my program. Any personContinue reading “Starting from Seed: Designing Your Own Seed Packet Activity”
Starting from Seed: Growing Intention from the Heart
“Be mindful of intention. Intention is the seed the creates our future.” Continue reading “Starting from Seed: Growing Intention from the Heart”
Starting from Seed: Soil Planting
“The soil is the great connector our lives, the source and destination of all.” – Wendell Berry In my last post, I discussed the benefits of growing plants from seed hydroponically and suggested some activities for those of you who may be home and educating children through this global pandemic, or just looking for anContinue reading “Starting from Seed: Soil Planting”
Starting from Seed: Hydroponics
“No water, no life. No blue, no green.” – Sylvia Earle As we move into the outdoor growing season, many of us are waiting impatiently to plant our annual flowers and vegetables. Although the days are warming up, it is important to be mindful of the time frame for the last frost in your location,Continue reading “Starting from Seed: Hydroponics”
Solitude
“Solitude is the soil in which genius is planted, creativity grows, and legends bloom; faith in oneself is the rain that cultivates a hero to endure the storm, and bare the genesis of a new world, a new forest.” – Mike Norton As we stand in the midst of a global pandemic, seclusionContinue reading “Solitude”