DID I MENTION THAT I COUNT BIRDS? (…4 tree swallows, 2 pileated, 5 turkey vultures, 4 bluebirds…no partridge in a pear tree but close. I could go on and on.) Everybody’s returning as fast as the plants are blooming: warblers, catbirds, hummingbirds are all here, with voices (and nests) galore. Will you start counting birds, please, too?
THE LECTURE that he’s been giving for a number of years is not-so-subtly called “Kill Your Lawn.” Ecological horticulturist Dan Jaffe Wilder knows that starting over and creating an entire native habitat instead of a lawn isn’t for everyone. But Dan just wants to grab our attention and get us to start to make some changes at least in the way we care for the turfgrass we do want in our landscapes. And maybe give up a little square footage of it to some other kind of more diverse planting, too, like the wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana, inset). Alternative, more eco-focused styles of lawn care, along with some lawn alternatives is what he and I talked about on the podcast. Dan is Director of Applied Ecology at Norcross Wildlife Foundation in Wales, Massachusetts, and its 8,000-acre sanctuary. He’s also co-author with Mark Richardson of the book “Native Plants for New England Gardens.”
(Stream it below, read the illustrated transcript or subscribe free.)
Hi, Margaret! I’m still counting and I am loving all the activity at my feeders right now. Does an errant squirrel in the feeder count as well?! :-)
I think this will be the motivation I needed to get some feeders up…I too have been seeing so many lately: woodpeckers, blackbirds, turkeys (though I think they’re mostly nesting now–the big groups of a few weeks ago have dissipated), a huge variety of finches, and on and on. Margaret, would you ever consider adding a “beginners” forum? I need one, and I’m sure I’m not alone…ok, off to build my straw bale-enclosed (thank you Eliot Coleman) compost pile behind the barn. Wish me luck…
Paige,
Great idea–a beginner’s forum. Now if I can just remember how to start a new forum…off to have a look at that control panel!
M.