WHEN I CAME UPON THIS IMAGE BY CHANCE the other day in the Library of Congress online photo archives, it stopped me still. Who is that boy, and what is he planting? (And will you forgive a total digression from our usual topics of discussion, since I am about to stray?) Say yes by clicking 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.)
This reminds me of a creative writing exercise used in elementary school. We didn’t use photographs, but magazine clippings.
I’ve mused over family photographs of relatives I knew and those gone before me or my memory of them – wondering if they had known how life would play out for them, would they have lived the same life? It ‘shocks’ me into enjoying the moment.
Welcome, Elaine. Good exercise — thanks for telling me about it. I, too, find photos wildly provocative. Hope to see you again, soon.