Valerie Ferrier – The Trials and Tribulations of an Urban Farmer

Winter Hydrangeas

19 Dec 202120 Dec 2021

Once blue, hydrangeas crumple in the snow.Fading from the limelight,As winter sets in.Dried petals remain.Dim ashes will return. Green life decorated until last summer.A hole will be left behindHow to…

Archives

Leaded glass replaced by granite,Solid barrier from heat and light.Protecting documents from fading.Historic records of time past.Digitization only a dream. Still stone reflects sun and colour.Light still strives to penetrate.Illuminating…

Blooming out of Season

31 Oct 202130 Oct 2021

In spring, bright flowers attract hummingbirds,As they brighten the path to warm summer nights.Red Buckeye trees should not be blooming in October. Dark pink clusters contrast with gray fall skies.In…

Garden Crops…

When Life Gives You Tomatoes, Make Sauces

Considering the space in front of my townhouse is a former flower garden, this year’s harvest is bountiful! Produce includes tomatoes, herbs and lettuce. While I freeze many washed cherry…

native plants…

Wild Asters Fill the Gap

One wild white aster appeared at the foot of the stairs.Child of seed carried on breeze.But I flew to his side,and the cold set in before my return,White smiles withered…

Late Bloomer

19 Sep 202118 Sep 2021

She is smaller in stature thanThose whose long necks and yellow petalsBrazenly lure hungry wasps with colour and scent. The late bloomer wears fragile pink,A symbol of kindness, service, beauty,…

Dahlias Bloom

12 Sep 202113 Sep 2021

When the snapdragons were in full bloom early in the summer, I wasn’t expecting to have dahlias in my garden. I had expected to grow a few tubers in pots…

Poetry

Summer Ends

5 Sep 20215 Sep 2021

Shrill sounds of sirens mix with cicadas. Sirens signal danger of collisionAs pandemic lingers.Warning all to keep apart. Cicadas loudly call for connection.Once dormant underground,Urgent now, life cycles ending. Many…

The Meaning of Pure White Flowers

29 Aug 202129 Aug 2021

In spring, I added leftover wildflower seeds to the planters along with alyssum and dahlia seeds. When I was forced to remove the snapdragons from the front garden bed due…

Inspirations…

Resilience and Resolution

Avocado pit swaddled and tucked away.Weeks later sending forth roots.Too small to sustain your stem, I wait.I am too long in remembering,And tender shoots turn brown. I reproach myself for…