THOSE OF YOU TRAVELING at some point during the holidays may have left someone in charge of the houseplants. Doodler Andre Jordan wants to be sure you know this one teeny detail on that score: If the beloved charges are dead when you get back, it is NOT, repeat NOT, an excuse for violence. Please be advised. (On second thought, isn’t that what the plea “justifiable homicide” was invented to describe? I mean, if someone kills your plants…)
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.)
Happy holidays Andre. To all that are traveling hope your plants stay healthy.
I once lived in a two-flat apartment and had a little garden behind the building. The downstairs tenant (who was also a friend) mowed down my garden more than once (!) while cutting the grass. Some ambivalent hostility there or what?
Andre is a gardener after all!
I imagine only a gardener can appreciate the angst of leaving the wellbeing of plants you may have owned for decades to the care of a “non-gardener” for any extended amount of time.
“postscript – I’m not talking about watering just on the day before I get back either!”
Oh my, I had to laugh at this. I can relate, only in my case I had some major knee surgery one week before Christmas. At least I’m still here to remind him to water my poor plants, otherwise they would be sunk!
LOL! Love this. Can I also add weeding, mowing, edging… Oh heck, I think DH would risk it anyway. He hates gardening passionately!
~Angela :-)
Welcome, Angela. The lengths some people will go to and the risks they will take to avoid horticulture, huh? Hope to see you soon again.
Andre: I did’nt know you knew my wife. You have quoted her to the letter. Must be a gardeners saying, I have also said it to my wife.
Enjoy your doodle’s, looking forward for some more.
John
I would like to point out that this post is not in any way based on my own wife (whom I love with all my heart). She would never threaten me with death were I to kill her plants or forget to make her coffee in the morning. No.
Happy Holidays everyone.
I too left my beloved plants alone in my office, when I had to have unplanned surgery for a broken knee cap. Lucky for me Robin watered them and my favorite Christmas cactus blessed her with multiple blooms. She is my watering angel
Welcome, Carolyn. Good news about the plants (not such good news about your knee, sorry). Glad that you were blessed with a watering angel. Hope to see you here again soon, and happy 2009.
Martha,
Recently I was asked to care for the neighbors plants. I only killed two plants; I tend to over water I think. She has lots of plants around her pool and yard. After reading your advice I feel more confident that I will do much better next time. I also really enjoy your show.
Thanks for all your advice Ashley
Hi, Ashley, and welcome. Though I am the former editorial director for Martha for many years, I’m just Margaret (not Martha!). I do get a lot of emails for her, with garden questions, more than ever since my recent appearances on her TV show again. Anyhow, whoever I am, your assumption is right: Overwatering is the worst thing for most any plant. The key is to really poke your finger into the top inch or two of the soil, and see if it’s dry; not just the surface, which can get dry quickly when the rest of the pot is still moist enough. Do stop back again soon, and I will forward your comment to Martha herself as well.
LOL! Worse, I have to ask my kids to water my plants when I’m away.
They are older, but I never know what I will return home to.
Welcome, Liz. Tricky to leave the “kids” in the care of the kids, huh? :) See you soon again, I hope.