A Way To Garden

A Way To Garden

'horticultural how-to and woo-woo'
the source of organic gardening inspiration
margaret roach, head gardener

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our first 100-comment post (thank you!)

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you-sexy-beastA WAY TO GARDEN turns 5 months old this week, and as if to celebrate it reached a milestone: our first 100-comment post (about equal to the number of frogs who share the place with me). No-no surprise for me that it was the post about Garden No-No’s (aka The Complaint Dept.) that took the prize. Thanks to your generosity, we’re about to record our 3,000th comment over all…who will be the one?

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21 comments
August 27, 2008

comments

  1. Krys says

    August 27, 2008 at 8:52 pm

    Congratulations on a successful blog!

    It’s always a pleasure to read it.

    /krys

    Reply
  2. Louise says

    August 27, 2008 at 9:19 pm

    Congratulations!

    Reply
  3. Shirley Bovshow "Eden-Maker" says

    August 28, 2008 at 1:28 am

    Congratulations! It doesn’t take long for a quality blog to reach this kind of success! Gardener’s thirst for the kind of information you share.
    Keep them coming!
    Shirley Bovshow

    Reply
  4. margaret says

    August 28, 2008 at 6:23 am

    Welcome, Shirley, and thank you for the good words (and ditto, Krys and Louise). Glad to have you here and hope you’ll visit (and comment) again soon.

    Reply
  5. Ken says

    August 28, 2008 at 8:53 am

    3000 comments?!? When do you have time to do the pruning?

    Reply
  6. Nancy O says

    August 28, 2008 at 10:40 am

    Congratulations! Always an interesting read.

    Reply
  7. Deanna says

    August 28, 2008 at 11:18 am

    Cool, way to go! I love your blog!

    Reply
  8. margaret says

    August 28, 2008 at 12:35 pm

    @All of you: Doesn’t ANYBODY have ANYTHING to say about my latest (green) guy? Really, though, thanks for the good words.

    Reply
  9. Andrew Ritchie says

    August 28, 2008 at 1:48 pm

    He’s gorgeous. He’s a dreamboat. He’s a thief of hearts. I love your camera and its ‘eye’ – as well as all of its technical prowess. (What kind of camera is it again??)

    Reply
  10. margaret says

    August 28, 2008 at 2:02 pm

    Finally, somebody notices Mr. Bigstuff! Thanks, Andrew. Saves me getting Frogboy the psychotherapy he’d otherwise need if nobody said anything nice (he reads all my comments, you know; he’s a real geek).
    (P.S.–It’s a Nikon D40X, a digital SLR, probably shot w/the 70-300 in tow.)

    Reply
  11. Kathy says

    August 28, 2008 at 2:59 pm

    Hi Margaret,

    Some girls get all the good ones! Good looking and close by. What more could a girl want? Does he weed?

    Congratulations on your blog. I look forward to it every day. The food fest has been great fun even for a non-cook like myself.

    Reply
  12. Angela says

    August 28, 2008 at 3:07 pm

    Don’t you love that frogs always have a smile on their face?

    Reply
  13. margaret says

    August 28, 2008 at 3:15 pm

    No, Kathy, he doesn’t weed, but he is on slug duty and also catches (and eats) mice and even the occasional chimpunk. I kid you not.

    Welcome, Angela. Yes, I always think they are about to start laughing. Glad to have you here with us.

    Reply
  14. Tammy says

    August 28, 2008 at 5:56 pm

    Congratulations! I love your blog. Always interesting and informative. Why are your frogs always so colorful, mine must be toads.

    Reply
  15. Daniel Sheehan says

    August 28, 2008 at 10:48 pm

    Congratulations Margret. I love reading your blog. Reminds me of the good old days.

    Reply
  16. margaret says

    August 28, 2008 at 11:18 pm

    Welcome, Dan…nice to “see” you after all these years. I enjoyed a visit to your site not long ago; the work is great as ever. Of course, I now shoot portraits myself. I specialize as you may have noticed in amphibians…is there much call for that work, and what should I be charging the frogboys, who I think are getting me way too cheap? Tee hee.

    Reply
  17. andrea says

    August 29, 2008 at 9:37 am

    I am a sucker for hazel green eyes. And a guy with a healthy appetite. Great close-up.

    Congrats on this well earned and exciting milestone! Look forward to many, many more!

    Reply
  18. Nancy says

    August 29, 2008 at 8:41 pm

    Your frogboys eat mice and chipmunks? Really? Wow, I have some big ol’ bullfrogs around my pond but I never considered that they might eat rodents. Or maybe it’s just your frogboys, trying to impress you. Congrats on the success of your blog!

    Reply
  19. margaret says

    August 29, 2008 at 8:44 pm

    Thanks, Andrea, and yes indeed, Nancy, they do. I even took photos of said rodent sushi-eating. Grotesque, and fascinating. Nature. I couldn’t believe it and looked it up in reptile/amphibian guides and indeed, it’s true.

    Reply
  20. Vicki says

    September 17, 2008 at 5:24 pm

    Saw you on Martha today. Thanks for the intro to your site. No-no’s to share….. No man trash in the garden. No scalloped cement edge pieces.My frogs are so tiny I think they can only eat mosquitos, or ants.. Where do you get the ones that eat rodents? Have you pickled any green tomatoes? I have alot right now, and I was concidering pickling some of my mini pear tomatoes. Are they worth the effort? Vicki

    Reply
  21. margaret says

    September 17, 2008 at 6:13 pm

    Welcome, Vicki. The bullfrogs (not green frogs or leopards or any other kinds) eat rodents when they can grab them with their muscular tongues. Perhaps you do not have large bulls? As for green tomatoes, I have pickled them (you can use this easy recipe) and also made “mincemeat” for pie filling, chutney or to top vanilla ice cream.

    Reply

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Podcast: Soups, Soups & More Soups

I’VE FOLLOWED a vegetarian diet for decades, but it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I mastered a really good vegetable soup. Now I’m learning variations on vegetable-based soups, plus ones with beans and even ideas for mushroom soups, too–all thanks to Alexandra Stafford and these recipes. (Stream it below, read the transcript or subscribe free.)

https://robinhoodradioondemand.com/podcast-player/6211/vegetable-soup-ideas-with-ali-stafford-november-5-a-way-to-garden-with-margaret-roach.mp3

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awaytogarden

mad gardener, nature addict, award-winning writer & podcaster, rural resident, corporate dropout, creator of awaytogarden dot com and matching book.

Instagram post 2190297402408409324_444552553 Snow day. To be followed by a snow night. #awaytogarden #wavehillchairs
Instagram post 2177779417009402040_444552553 No matter that it was 11F and 17F on mornings this week; my lifelong companions and I are all tucked in, each in our respective offseason spots. Three giant pots of #cliviaminiata that are actually pieces of my long-gone grandmother’s original plant from many, many decades ago, love the offseason bright cold of the mudroom, and get no water till around the new year or so. They need a chill (under 50 but above 35) for about 40 days to trigger timely bloom in late winter/early spring (without it they will bloom whenever, later, like June or even summer). The #alocasia reacts to the cold of the mudroom by shutting down and going dormant and leafless, and then I’ll let it sleep till late winter, when I give it a drink to see if it awakens. That one sleeps and wakes on its own timetable because I do not have a proper spot for it (ideally warm, like 60 or 65 at least, and humid and bright...no can do the humid part here). We have been together probably 10 years anyhow, despite my shortcomings as a #plantparent . #alocasiaamazonica #clivias #houseplantsofinstagram #houseplants #awaytogarden
Instagram post 2172580656557749859_444552553 Gardener: “I raked all the leaves!” Nature: “Oh, really?” (Cue sound of demonic laughter from on high.)
Instagram post 2170506606641504178_444552553 I wanna tell you how it’s gonna be You’re gonna give your love to me I wanna love you night and day You know my love will not fade away Not fade away Nope. Not this #cotinus leaf’s fiery hot love at least. Like the 1957 #buddyholly song I first heard by #therollingstones in 1964, it keeps going. #awaytogarden #fallfoliage2019 #cotinusgrace #notfadeaway
Instagram post 2168987273989949378_444552553 “Jack Frost nipping at your, er, geraniums...” And here it comes.
Instagram post 2166837817953503284_444552553 Constant companions: If you want to keep good company all winter, grow some good keepers. My house is stuffed with piles of #cucurbita awaiting their time in the oven or soup kettle. Each one is a character, distinctive. On one chair in the mudroom two close cousins in #cucurbitamoschata — the horse collar-shaped one called ‘Tromboncino’ or ‘Tromboncino Rampicante’ snuggles with some ‘Butternut.’ The ‘Tromboncino’ are better eaten green and small as #zucchini but I can’t resist their eventual mad size and shape, big enough to wear around your neck. I use their meat for enriching vegetable stock; the ‘Butternut’ are far more rich and delicious. Seed respectively from sandhillpreservation.com #sandhillpreservationcenter and @turtle_tree_seed (whose ‘Butternut,’ selected for “lastingness” for decades, will keep and keep into next spring or more). #wintersquash #awaytogarden #goodkeeper #cucurbitaceae
Instagram post 2162565040882902064_444552553 Furry fall friend: I look forward to crossing paths with this woolly caterpillar of the #giantleopardmoth this time of year, when its fiery intersegmental bands and plush coat seem to be just the right autumn-into-winter look. Miraculously this tiny animal will overwinter in a woodpile or in the leaf litter, even here in the North, building up a concentration of antifreeze (glycerol I think?) in its cells before the worst weather begins to avoid disaster. (Reminds me of the super-hardy #woodfrog who does similarly. Such heroes.) Swipe to see a beat-up pic of the adult moth, tattered with scales missing at its wing margins, but still dramatic. Unlike various spine-covered caterpillars that can sting you, this one’s hairs (or setae) won’t, but he will roll up tight if touched, in self-defense. I am in awe of such complex strategies of survival, I am. #mothsofinstagram #caterpillars #awaytogarden #hypercompescribonia #hypercompe
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Welcome! I’m Margaret Roach, a leading garden writer for 25 years—at ‘Martha Stewart Living,’ ‘Newsday,’ and in three books. I host a public-radio podcast; I also lecture, plus hold tours at my 2.3-acre Hudson Valley (NY) Zone 5B garden, and always say no to chemicals and yes to great plants.

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