SNOW DAYS—MUFFLED, TUCKED-IN, NO-CAN-DO DAYS—drove me stir-crazy when I shifted to fulltime residence in Nowheresville three years ago. I wasn’t ready for the country; I resisted the surrender that forces bigger than myself imposed on me. Now days like we had here again this week are among the sweetest, because I get stranded, delightedly so. And I have a new old song to help me revel in my peaceful powerlessness. Come listen?
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.)
