NEED I SAY MORE? (Oh wait, I already did.) Thanks, dear doodling Andre Jordan, for taking my calls lately. A girl needs a Complaint Dep’t. 24/7/365 these up-and-down days, it seems.
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.)
cute! So true it was 70 yesterday and 30 today
Ditto! Even though I was diligent this week about covering my beds with row covers, my plants were looking extremely bad yesterday evening. So much so that I just didn’t even bother recovering the beds last night (another night of frost advisory and 39 degrees here in piedmont NC). Guess I’m going back to the Farmer’s Market for more seedlings! Might wait another week or so…
I hear you, Amy. I have covered/uncovered so many times now, I’m not sure who’s dizzier, me or the plants.