IF GARDEN CENTERS WERE OPEN in February or March in cold-climate zones like mine, I predict that early blooming Asian witch-hazels (Hamamelis species, including H. mollis ‘Arnold Promise,’ shown), would knock the far-more-vulgar Forsythia out of the ring. I call the latter “vomit of spring.” Witch-hazel I call simply beautiful. (For more suggestions of shrubs to plant instead of the oh-so-overused forsythia, read on.)
WHEN I TALKED to Doug Tallamy in February around the publication date of his latest book, “Nature’s Best Hope,” I didn’t want to go on and on about the advice in it regarding smart fall cleanup, which is one of the ways I know I’ve dramatically shifted the way I manage my own garden compared to 10 or even five years ago. But we were looking ahead to spring then, not fall.
I’m grateful that Doug returned to the podcast in autumn to do just that. Want to plan your most ecologically minded garden cleanup ever, and understand the consequences of each potential action you can take—including next spring?
The subtitle of University of Delaware professor Doug Tallamy’s recent book, “Nature’s Best Hope,” is “A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard.” Meaning: The choices we make all year-round, including the very important one of how we clean up, can help counteract an overdeveloped, fragmented landscape that puts the food web to the test. You and I are nature’s best hope, and I’m glad Doug joined me again to help us learn to support it.
(Stream it below, read the illustrated transcript or subscribe free.)
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