AFTER WINTER SPENT UNCEREMONIOUSLY IN HEFTY BAGS IN THE BASEMENT, the non-hardy bulbs at my place are striking up a chorus of Elvis’s “Love Me Tender,” trying to get through to me that they want a kinder, gentler life than the one I offer here at A Way to Garden. How did Andre Jordan, our official doodler, know my cannas and dahlias and such had filed complaints with the Department of Bulb Welfare? I’m not that mean when I tuck them in for the winter, or when I wake them up, am I?
FROM THE WEEKLY PODCAST
rethinking the lawn, with dan wilder
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.)
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I met you at the Master Gardener Symposium in Princeton, NJ back in March. Your gardens were an inspiration…. I was so touched with your connection to Mother Nature :-))) Love the latest color of your home too. Love your book. You’re fabulous!
Welcome, Kelly. What a wonderful event that was. Glad you are enjoying the book! Holler if you need anything; am here.
I just wanted to tell you, Margaret that I really, really love your website. It makes me happy and I smile at every post. I live alone in the woods with my gardens too. You speak to me, lovely lady, with your knowledge and splendid quirkiness ; ) You are such a wonderful teacher. (dreams of dear and crows eating my garden are freaking me out!)
Thank you.
Also-enjoying your book every day.
Welcome, Cheri. How sweet of you to write in with such kind words, thank you. Yes, quirky — that is what Martha Stewart always called me. Hope to see you again soon.
Hi Margaret.
How fortuitous — I was just wondering (‘aloud’ on my blog) about how to tell what side is the top side of the dahlia bulb? My first time venturing into dahlias and really couldn’t figure it out — and now, only half of them are emerging so I think I might have got it wrong. Thanks for any insight you can give me. (although it might be too late — they’ve been buried for two weeks now.)
Tricia
Hi, Tricia. I tried to find you something illustrated so it would be clear, and I found this dahlia-planting video that shows putting the tubers in the hole sideways (lying down, NOT standing up, like a potato 2 or up to 4 inches below the soil surface). Ideally you’d face the “eye” or bud on the stem end (the opposite end from where the roots will emerge) upward, but the thing will figure itself out if you don’t.