I’M PRETTY SURE I CAN pack enough summer into jars to get me through the dark days, or at least I’m trying. What’s your tactic for pretending the days aren’t getting shorter fast? (Thanks to dear Andre Jordan for his wealth of garden doodles.)
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.)
A lovely doodle…can he do one of me pushing away the heat of summer? ;)
I prepare beds for spring planting now including doing a seed inventory. This way winter is perceived as a long weekend. :-)
Here in the deep south we look forward to the cooler weather. But with the shorter days – especially when daylight savings time comes around – we get cheated. By the time one gets home from work it’s too dark to play in the garden!
On weekends, I’ll start cleaning out the greenhouse and making room for cuttings and seedlings to be ready for spring planting.
I made some pear butter with the small crop of pears my tree produced this year; it tastes great on toast with peanut butter. I also put in some orange mums in planters by my door. I know the mums won’t last, but they help me accept the changing of the seasons. I have yet to try pickles, maybe next year!