Hello fellow readers, Once again, I write from Virginia and admit I’m weary. Witnessing a loved one suffer is heartbreaking; Mom’s most enormous suffering is from fear. When I arrived Saturday, her deep cough and spiked fever seemed inevitable. To soothe her, I began readi

Hello fellow readers, As I share this week’s dilemma, delight, or discovery in the garden of life, I can’t help but reflect on the significance of Memorial Day. A holiday set aside in memory of those that served. It’s heartwarming to see folks setting up the American

Hello, fellow readers, The Press takes a hiatus between Christmas and New Year’s, so I don’t have a weekly column to share. But I’d like to share the story of Bill’s stones with you, my faithful online readers. One of my most frequented meditative walks is clim

Hello Fellow Readers, Thanksgiving is a time to gather and reflect on gifts we are grateful for. Versions of the holiday are celebrated at different times of the year by other countries too. While most folks consider it a secular holiday (not based on religion), most religions offer p

Hello fellow readers, Can you believe we’ve been chatting for 165 weeks? I am so grateful for all we have learned from each other.  I hope you don’t mind that I revisited one of our early columns from 2012. Let’s just say, I’m concerned about produce abuse and thought we could help by

This photo entitled ‘Hope’ was as a holiday greeting to cherished colleagues and clients this year. But when I took the photo, only a few weeks after the passing of my beloved brother Bill, I didn’t think of the scene as Hope. True, the beauty of the long shadows ensued by the g

Hello, fellow lover of all things green, If I may share the origin of a memoir underway titled The Lesson of the Leaf. My beloved brother Bill passed away on December 21st. I was blessed to travel to Florida to be by his side in his last weeks. Several overnights in the hospital and h

Hello fellow readers, Since my recent admission several of you have fessed up that you have yet to cut back your perennials.  Glad I am not the only one!  And it is true that leaving seed heads on your dormant perennials over winter will encourage many of your plants to spread.  John

Hello fellow readers, I am thankful for the dormant perennials with seed heads awaiting their role to fall to the ground and germinate which makes me feel less guilty that I have yet to cut them back.  I appreciate the structure and bark of our beautiful trees more visible now and the