FIFTEEN AND A HALF INCHES OF RAIN LATER (in under two weeks, I mean)…that pretty much says to me that I won’t be watering anything until next spring. Apparently Andre Jordan got the message (do my plants text him behind my back or something?). His latest doodle perfectly portrays what they are telling me: enough! (I can’t get enough of Andre’s latest foray, though: his new online junk shop. Have you visited it?)
I WATCHED A ZOOM lecture the other day that really put into words a lot of the ways my own deepening understanding of ecology is shaking up the way I practice horticulture—from spring cleanup, right on to the last chore of the active year. The lecturer was Rebecca McMackin, director of horticulture for Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York City, where she leads the team that manages 85 acres of diverse parkland with a central focus on habitat creation of woodlands, wetlands, and meadows to build soils and support birds, butterflies, and other organisms.
We talked about the dynamic tactics they use and when and why–a whole different approach to spring cleanup, where the life cycles of animals (from insects on up) dictate what happens when, garden maintenance-wise. Like why some things don’t get cut back, and others that are still seed-laden when they do have their seeds collected and set aside, then returned to the spot after whatever cleanup is needed there.
(Stream it below, read the illustrated transcript or subscribe free.)
LOL! We too here in NJ are DROWNING in water. I LOOOOOOVED Andre’s doodle.
Send it to us!!! Texas desperately needs rain! (http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/)