OVER ON MY BOOK BLOG, I’M ASKING WHAT INSPIRES YOU, and brings you peace? For me it’s nature, solitude, the chance to write again; for the visitors who have commented already, the collection of answers is wide-ranging and a great read. There’s also an inspiring video I recently discovered, and the latest chance to win a copy of my upcoming book, “And I Shall Have Some Peace There.” Go forth, watch–and enter. Good luck!
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.)
When I found your website, it was a happy day. Someone who loved gardening and was REALLY enjoying it. Not too scientific, not too serious and doing it all with a no-nonsense approach and a sense of humor. Your enthusiasm is contagious. Only wish I had known before the first book was $125! Thanks for your blog, it’s wonderful. Pat Owens, Red Hook, NY
Margaret, I enjoy your podcast so much. You have such a calming and deliberate voice. Your reminder of the continual cycle of the garden and the gardener has been a welcoming testiment- winter is necessary; it is cold and snowy and will soon merge into spring, So it goes. In this unstable economy perhaps others will also find “peace” growing their first garden plant or just digging in the earth.
Thanks for all you do
Thank you, Mary Anne. Digging certainly helps me to keep it (somewhat) together, of that I am certain. You are very kind to stop in and leave those kind words.
Count me in