THE FROGBOYS REPORT THAT THEIR MOTHER, who does not say “Urp,” or “Glug,” or “Rivet” or anything else very interesting or endearing like they do, was nevertheless the subject of a 3-part interview with Alan Chartock on Northeast Public Radio network last week. All three segments are archived here.
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.)
Dang it… it’s not like we don’t spend enough time chasing after the archives of our local public radio station now we’re all hooked on yours too! LOL
I just love you. Can I be a frog boy, too? Just listened to your radio interview and honestly, I really admire you. I found your book soon after I bought my house three years ago and I have used it since as a bible for plants that will thrive in our area (Columbia County) but also for your down to earth, oh so human approach. Please, don’t ever go back to the corporate world, we need you here! I still have my job (I hope) and if you ever need a cup of sugar, you got it Martha, I’m mean Margaret!
Delightful interview. Especially love the point you make about considering views of the garden – so often overlooked. My question: how on earth did you manage to care for that gorgeous garden during all the years of the high-powered NYC job? Copake Falls can’t be within easy commuting distance.
@Brian: I think we can arrange something, yes. Do you do windows? (Tee hee hee. Neither do the OTHER frogboys.)
@Pru: The garden wasn’t so big as it is now, and in my early Martha years I had more time here than I did in the recent ones as my job evolved. But most important: I got help when my job grew and the place grew, too. Susan, who I have mentioned before, comes a couple of days a week and so we have managed. And then I have a mowing pal who divvies up that hideous task with me. So I get by with a little help from my friends, you know?
It was nice to hear your voice as well as reading it. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Margaret,
I am so enjoying your interview and though I have not had the extreme pleasure of finishing as yet, let me say that YOU ARE AMAZING! Charming, funny, smart, honest, creative — in a word — fantastique! I love telling those I speak to in the gardening world around here (Short Hills, NJ) about your blog. What excitement it causes! And my gardens are evolving because I have found a way to garden. Was that last part too cute? Cute but true.
Could you put a direct link to the radio show? I listened to parts 1 & 2 yesterday but I just went back to finish it and the links on the page you have linked to seem to be gone now. I’d really like to hear the rest!
Thanks to all of you for the kind words (and no, Andrea, that isn’t too cute).
@Charlotte: WAMC changed the page, I guess, so I have inserted a new one that I reached by searching for my name on their site. Hopefully that’s going to hold up as a good way to access the segments. Thanks for alerting me, as I have been without internet since Saturday (!!!) and have to go out in search of occasional wifi and so on my outing this morning I could fix it.
Such a great interview, Margaret! Your philosophies are so refreshing. It was wonderful insight.
-Andrew
margaret,
will you be having another open garden tour this year?
denden8148
Hi, Dennis. Apparently I am open for a community day for my town on Aug. 23, a Saturday…not part of Garden Conservancy and not my usual open times at all, but my town is having its first-ever event so I was drafted (volunteered?).
I will post about it in the week before when I have details. I suspect it will be the afternoon.
The interviews were a real treat! Your speaking voice is so lovely and your spoken thoughts are as eloquent and heartfelt as your writing. I especially enjoyed that you explained so well and emphatically (in response to the interviewer drawing a not so apt analogy between decorating a room and designing a garden) that creating and keeping a garden is about an on-going engagement with nature.
I am in love with your frog boys. I am trying to increase my frog population but without much success.
@Suzanne: The frogboys came to me in droves when I dug the two pools, both rather small, many years ago. One is maybe 10 feet by 8 feet by 3 feet deep, the other an 8-foot-wide circle of a foot and a half deep. But have small spillways (you wouldn’t call them waterfalls, but the water moves). I have done nothing else intentional to attract the boys (well, except love them once they arrived).