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appearances: here, there & in the garden w/me

March 21, 2009

bluecorn2T IME FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF NEWSY BULLETIN-BOARD POSTINGS, to let you know about some fun recent interviews I’ve done and also when the garden will be open for visitors. I had better get to work, I guess, if you’re all coming. Oh, my. Meantime:

Recent Interviews

ruralintellRural Intelligence, the indispensable year-old blog that’s a guide to the tri-state area I live in, helped me celebrate my first blog-a-versary this week with a 20-questions meme-type interview. If you live nearby, or you’re planning a visit to this area (maybe to see my garden, details below), be sure to check in with RI first, and make a real day or weekend of it.

A crafty tripleheader: I keep saying I’m not crafty, but throughout my career I’m always surrounded by crafters. Hmmm….Lately, I am grateful to a few new ones I think you’ll want to meet, including:

diane-gilleland2Diane Gilleland, aka Sister Diane, a real missionary in the world of crafts, created a podcast with me this month on her Craftypod blog on the subject of creative cross-pollination. (I’m sorry, I just cannot stop speaking in botanical terms. It’s a compulsive disorder at this point.) I had such a nice time speaking with Diane (and she’s from Portland, Oregon, prime gardening territory); you can hear the podcast here.

kayandannatrhinebeck-2Ann Shayne of Mason-Dixon Knitting blog, while calling me a “zookeeper” (in the nicest possible way), also called AWTG “a rich rich rich gardening blog.” (I didn’t even pay her to say it.) Ann and her collaborator, Kay Gardiner (who in the spirit of her last name recently finished this amazing peony memory quilt) are my new favorite duet. Not to mention hilarious.

aliciaAnd then there’s Posie Gets Cozy, aka Rosy Little Things. While waiting for some bananas to ripen last month, the proprietor Alicia Paulson of the twice-botanically-named blog, mused thus: “I want to be a gardener. Like Margaret.” Thanks to her, and don’t miss her recent post that included the dreamy notion of flower windows, inspired by the paintings of Swedish artist Carl Larsson, one of Alicia’s muses. (Sigh. Gotta get me a flower window.)

Open Garden Tours

open-days-directorySunday, May 31. Garden Conservancy Open Days. $5 per person, to benefit the Garden Conservancy. Details and directions on their website as the date approaches (or order the directory now from them).

Saturday, August 22. Copake Falls Day. My little town’s second annual such event includes (you guessed it) another open day at my place. Non-townies also welcome. Details as we get closer to the date on their website and mine.

Related posts:

  1. ‘urgent garden question’ forums are open!
  2. in the garden and etc. with margaret
  3. 2010 events: in and around margaret’s garden
  4. margaret’s upcoming talks and events

{ 5 Comments }

Comments

  1. Johanna says:
    March 21, 2009 at 5:00 pm

    Boy, Margaret, you really wake up after the equinox! Wish I were closer and could come wander through, maybe some year when I retire (that will be 20 plus from now!). I’ll enjoy listening to the podcasts, though. I know you must be planning your very own series of podcasts and will launch them any day now!!!

  2. Amy Clements says:
    March 23, 2009 at 10:18 am

    Margaret – I love your website. I have been asked to share my garden this year on a local garden tour and am very nervous about saying “yes”. If I do it, I want to highlight the sustainable parts of gardening – using natives, my rain barrels, a birdhouse with a green roof (courtesy of the Philly Flower Show). Can anyone tell me if they’ve been on a tour and if the work involved is worth it? Husband Dan feels like it will be too time-consuming and expensive. Any thoughts?

  3. margaret says:
    March 23, 2009 at 11:13 am

    Welcome, Amy. I have been having tours two or sometimes three times a year for 11 years. I love it. Yes, it is work…but frankly I like the garden to be well-groomed anyhow, so much of it is just the usual work. You have to time your mowing and edging and those little details around tour time, but hey, it’s worth it. I learn so much from my visitors, and though I am exhausted at day’s end, I am also happy to have greeted them all.

  4. Dennis R says:
    March 23, 2009 at 10:05 pm

    to all:
    a tour of margaret’s yard is “deffo” worth the trip. just sitting in one of the wave hill chairs & looking at her big twisted apple tree is zen-like! i’m not sure whether i’m coming back on memorial day w/e or cupcake falls day…but i promise to bring another bag of kitty treats for jack.
    could you please post again the dates for your troy,ny & kingston, ny appearances?
    thanks,
    dennis r

  5. margaret says:
    March 24, 2009 at 8:34 am

    Thanks, Dennis, and the old story listing appearances locally is here: http://awaytogarden.com/margarets-upcoming-talks-and-events The Troy one is over; Kingston late April.

Comment:

The Sister Project

The Confessional

Some stuff really gets A Way to Garden-ers going. Weigh in, or just lurk while everyone else shares about these hot buttons:

Compost, Compost, Compost

I am as proud of my compost heap as I am of any part of my garden. It is the archaeological record of my garden past; it is the stuff from which future gardens will arise. I read a lot about, from sources like these: Garden Organic, a 50-year-old British charity; Journey to Forever (don’t worry, not some into-the-bunker survivalist cult); and the vast Cornell Composting archive. Dig in.

Juicy Bits

375 VISITORS, 1 BIG RHODIE: spring garden open day, in a virtual visit. How it looked, and also what they all asked about

keeping deer out DEER FENCE: I tried every potion and anti-deer trick till I finally got real and fenced. Strategies for every garden situation.

secrets to great tomatoes TOMATO TIPS, seed to harvest: Dozens of tricks for a better crop.

yes, even in dry shade MY 4 TOUGHEST GROUNDCOVERS perform even in the worst spots, like dry shade. Maybe these tough perennials will serve you as well?

5 great small trees GARDEN-SIZED TREES can’t just be the right scale; they need to have multi-season interest, too, to earn a spot here. Maybe you have room for one of my 5 favorites?

10 underplanting do’s and don’ts MAKING MOSAICS—that’s what I call good underplanting of trees and shrubs with a tapestry of plants for many months of enjoyment. Here’s how I do it.

a ribbeting bullfrog whodunit LET BULLFROGS BE BYGONES? No way. Where have all my biggest frogboys gone? The latest frog mystery explained.

stars of the spring shrubbery BEYOND LILACS (and forget forsythia!), a slideshow of some of the finest spring shrubs you may not grow (yet).

speeding up the compost DRIVE BY, HIT-AND-RUN composting is my latest craze, and speeds up the decomposition process while making good mulch quickly. Here’s how.

making a 365-day garden THINK FALL (YES, FALL): Don’t get sucked in by spring-bloomers only when nursery shopping. A great garden happens 365 days a year: Shop smart to make it so.

the facts about bulbs SOMETHING UP with a flower bulb? Paltry bloom, or wondering when to feed or cut off the foliage? It’s all here.

must-read garden poem MY FAVORITE GARDEN POEM celebrates loss, one of gardening (and life’s) realities. It does it with humor: "Why Did My Plant Die?” is a must-read.

12 steps to sanity? HELP FOR GARDENERS: Hi, my name is Margaret, and yes, we operate a 12-Step program here. Welcome.

orchid rebloom made easy I REBLOOMED MY FIRST ORCHID last year (finally!) and it turns out to be pretty easy going. Here’s how.

my seed-starting 101 WHAT ABOUT SEED-STARTING in general? The A Way to Garden method.

crispy refrigerator pickles WHAT IS IT ABOUT refrigerator pickles that makes everybody so happy? Get those cukes growing now. And then some.

hail the stewartia I LIKE PLANTS THAT EARN THEIR KEEP. By that I mean they do more than a week or two of showing off; they look good in more than a single moment, or season. The small-ish to medium trees in the genus Stewartia are a good bet if that’s the kind of multi-season interest you are looking for. Sound good?

can-do pruning REPEAT AFTER ME: I can prune. I can prune. If you follow this simple method for starters, your woody plants will thank you.

the ‘other’ peonies JUNE IS PEONY TIME, the big raucous kind of peony time, but just before that another kind of peony you might want to consider adopting does its subtler, wonderful thing.

which lilac to plant? SO MANY LILACS, so little space. Browse a glossary of some of my favorites before you shop—maybe you’ll like them, too.