A Way To Garden

A Way To Garden

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margaret roach, head gardener

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doodle by andre: spatial priorities

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RATHER THAN TRY TO GILD THE LILY, why don’t I just leave Andre Jordan’s doodle to speak for itself? To my mind the shed might still be too small and the house too big…but I will shut up now and leave mad enough alone.

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19 comments
November 20, 2008

comments

  1. susan says

    November 20, 2008 at 6:34 am

    Perfection

    Reply
  2. bmommy says

    November 20, 2008 at 8:36 am

    looks like my house…

    Reply
  3. jgh says

    November 20, 2008 at 8:51 am

    First things first, I always say!

    Reply
  4. andre says

    November 20, 2008 at 8:53 am

    I am worried the garden shed might be too small.

    Reply
  5. Donna Oglesby says

    November 20, 2008 at 9:04 am

    What’s with all the grass? Just a canvas to plant in?

    Reply
  6. Cameron (Defining Your Home Garden) says

    November 20, 2008 at 9:30 am

    Yes…what about that grass? Is the man putting a John Deere mower in that shed instead of GARDENING tools? Hmmm…..my husband would! :-)

    Cameron

    Reply
  7. Eric says

    November 20, 2008 at 10:12 am

    Who would have time to mow with a wonderfully large shed like that to escape to… um, putter around in? I’d just include stepping stones to mark the way through the “meadow.”

    Reply
  8. andre says

    November 20, 2008 at 10:21 am

    Eric: that is a brilliant idea.

    Reply
  9. Cameron (Defining Your Home Garden) says

    November 20, 2008 at 10:36 am

    Ah…a meadow! In that case, it’s planted with wildflowers, right? You’ll need the sound of a water feature if you’re going to spend some time hanging out in the shed.

    Espaliered plants on the exterior walls?

    Cameron

    Reply
  10. Kaycie says

    November 20, 2008 at 11:36 am

    More house. More shed. And some garden beds. Less grass. Grass is overrated.

    I love Andre.

    Reply
  11. Willi says

    November 20, 2008 at 3:01 pm

    hey! This looks just like my yard. Tiny house. Big garden shed. Lots of grass. All that’s missing is me, the determined gardener, digging out all the dang grass every weekend! Love it.

    Reply
  12. debra says

    November 20, 2008 at 3:35 pm

    Andre and Margaret ~ This is a wonderful illustration. You are officially welcome to join my club of “Shedistas”! Seriously, you need to see my new book called STYLISH SHEDS AND ELEGANT HIDEAWAYS, because there really are people whose garden sheds are (nearly) as large as their homes. We’ve photographed and written their stories. And even if some of these sweet retreats are modest in size, they are designed with a big vision for enjoying the garden year ’round. Email me off-line and I’ll arrange to have review copies sent to you. Debra

    Reply
  13. andre says

    November 20, 2008 at 3:45 pm

    I have always wanted a giant garden shed – a place to paint and doodle in.

    As someone new to the US I have thus far found a haven on the porch (something we don’t have in England). I could sit for hours on my ‘golden armchair’ doodling.

    Reply
  14. chris says

    November 21, 2008 at 7:04 pm

    where’s the veggie garden?

    Reply
  15. margaret says

    November 21, 2008 at 8:07 pm

    I’m thinking Andre will need to re-tool on this one: We need a meadow, a vegetable garden, paving stones for a path, a bigger house AND a bigger shed, beds for other plantings…

    Reply
  16. Judy Pulley (Mum-In-Law) says

    November 23, 2008 at 10:21 am

    Way to go Andre, a blank canvas, that’s the way my hubby would want it. He grows a giant veggie garden every year and he does not want someone else’s design. IT HAS TO BE HIS WAY!
    Of course I think you are spot on!!!!!!!

    Reply
  17. Uncle Brendan says

    December 5, 2008 at 3:43 pm

    Andre, you must have visited Stuart’s house to get your inspiration!! Keep up the the great work.

    Reply
  18. margaret says

    December 5, 2008 at 5:05 pm

    Welcome, Uncle Brendan. (I hope it’s OK that I call you “uncle,” since by now I have met the entire family thanks to Andre becoming a columnist here, and feel almost related). It’s so nice of you to join in the well-wishes, thank you.

    Reply
  19. Chloe says

    January 6, 2009 at 2:04 pm

    Looks like my backyard… but instead of grass … think groundcover that needs no mowing…. keep it green…. then plant and piddle to your heart’s content! Wish all of my designs were this simple….

    Reply

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Podcast: Soups, Soups & More Soups

I’VE FOLLOWED a vegetarian diet for decades, but it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I mastered a really good vegetable soup. Now I’m learning variations on vegetable-based soups, plus ones with beans and even ideas for mushroom soups, too–all thanks to Alexandra Stafford and these recipes. (Stream it below, read the transcript or subscribe free.)

https://robinhoodradioondemand.com/podcast-player/6211/vegetable-soup-ideas-with-ali-stafford-november-5-a-way-to-garden-with-margaret-roach.mp3

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awaytogarden

mad gardener, nature addict, award-winning writer & podcaster, rural resident, corporate dropout, creator of awaytogarden dot com and matching book.

Instagram post 2190297402408409324_444552553 Snow day. To be followed by a snow night. #awaytogarden #wavehillchairs
Instagram post 2177779417009402040_444552553 No matter that it was 11F and 17F on mornings this week; my lifelong companions and I are all tucked in, each in our respective offseason spots. Three giant pots of #cliviaminiata that are actually pieces of my long-gone grandmother’s original plant from many, many decades ago, love the offseason bright cold of the mudroom, and get no water till around the new year or so. They need a chill (under 50 but above 35) for about 40 days to trigger timely bloom in late winter/early spring (without it they will bloom whenever, later, like June or even summer). The #alocasia reacts to the cold of the mudroom by shutting down and going dormant and leafless, and then I’ll let it sleep till late winter, when I give it a drink to see if it awakens. That one sleeps and wakes on its own timetable because I do not have a proper spot for it (ideally warm, like 60 or 65 at least, and humid and bright...no can do the humid part here). We have been together probably 10 years anyhow, despite my shortcomings as a #plantparent . #alocasiaamazonica #clivias #houseplantsofinstagram #houseplants #awaytogarden
Instagram post 2172580656557749859_444552553 Gardener: “I raked all the leaves!” Nature: “Oh, really?” (Cue sound of demonic laughter from on high.)
Instagram post 2170506606641504178_444552553 I wanna tell you how it’s gonna be You’re gonna give your love to me I wanna love you night and day You know my love will not fade away Not fade away Nope. Not this #cotinus leaf’s fiery hot love at least. Like the 1957 #buddyholly song I first heard by #therollingstones in 1964, it keeps going. #awaytogarden #fallfoliage2019 #cotinusgrace #notfadeaway
Instagram post 2168987273989949378_444552553 “Jack Frost nipping at your, er, geraniums...” And here it comes.
Instagram post 2166837817953503284_444552553 Constant companions: If you want to keep good company all winter, grow some good keepers. My house is stuffed with piles of #cucurbita awaiting their time in the oven or soup kettle. Each one is a character, distinctive. On one chair in the mudroom two close cousins in #cucurbitamoschata — the horse collar-shaped one called ‘Tromboncino’ or ‘Tromboncino Rampicante’ snuggles with some ‘Butternut.’ The ‘Tromboncino’ are better eaten green and small as #zucchini but I can’t resist their eventual mad size and shape, big enough to wear around your neck. I use their meat for enriching vegetable stock; the ‘Butternut’ are far more rich and delicious. Seed respectively from sandhillpreservation.com #sandhillpreservationcenter and @turtle_tree_seed (whose ‘Butternut,’ selected for “lastingness” for decades, will keep and keep into next spring or more). #wintersquash #awaytogarden #goodkeeper #cucurbitaceae
Instagram post 2162565040882902064_444552553 Furry fall friend: I look forward to crossing paths with this woolly caterpillar of the #giantleopardmoth this time of year, when its fiery intersegmental bands and plush coat seem to be just the right autumn-into-winter look. Miraculously this tiny animal will overwinter in a woodpile or in the leaf litter, even here in the North, building up a concentration of antifreeze (glycerol I think?) in its cells before the worst weather begins to avoid disaster. (Reminds me of the super-hardy #woodfrog who does similarly. Such heroes.) Swipe to see a beat-up pic of the adult moth, tattered with scales missing at its wing margins, but still dramatic. Unlike various spine-covered caterpillars that can sting you, this one’s hairs (or setae) won’t, but he will roll up tight if touched, in self-defense. I am in awe of such complex strategies of survival, I am. #mothsofinstagram #caterpillars #awaytogarden #hypercompescribonia #hypercompe
Instagram post 2161992098629435854_444552553 Beans are life. I mean, not only do I live on them daily (as I have as a vegetarian for 40+ years) but each one is a seed, a living embryo, a distinct and gorgeous little DNA miracle. I have been inspired by the hashtag #31daysofbeans by @lukasvolger lately, loving watching someone unknown to me (um, who shares my oatmeal thing too apparently...also see his #28daysofoatmeal) dish up the #phaseolus. We both admire bean ambassador Steve Sando @rancho_gordo and this photo might be my fave bean of all that I “met” via Steve years back, big and flat and chestnutty ‘Christmas Lima.’ My advice: don’t wait till Dec. 25 to dig in.
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Welcome! I’m Margaret Roach, a leading garden writer for 25 years—at ‘Martha Stewart Living,’ ‘Newsday,’ and in three books. I host a public-radio podcast; I also lecture, plus hold tours at my 2.3-acre Hudson Valley (NY) Zone 5B garden, and always say no to chemicals and yes to great plants.

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