A Way To Garden

A Way To Garden

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margaret roach, head gardener

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sweet! my pickles, and my blog, both shouted out

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IT’S ALWAYS NICE TO MEET NEW READERS, which in this digital world often happens when you least expect it–as if someone you barely know plans a surprise party at your house. But the result–unlike that scenario’s–is a lot of fun. Yesterday two such “guest lists” were created for me, leading new faces to join us here, thanks to two big sites. Because both of the articles A Way to Garden was mentioned in also have other great links, I’m now shouting them out to you. Want more great pickle recipes (besides mine), or to discover some (other) New York-based garden blogs? Coming right up…

  • Tip Nut designated homemade pickles as their Recipe Hit List of the week. My hand-me-down Refrigerator Pickles, a gift decades ago from railroad conductor Dan Koshansky, made their list of 14 favorites, from sweet to spicy.
  • Apartment Therapy rounded up 10 Best New York Gardening Blogs, many of which dig deeper into the urban setting than mine–a big help to those of you in any such spot. Even if your view is less skyline than just plain sky, I think you’ll enjoy some clicking around these great links.

Thanks to both “referrers,” as such incoming links are called out on my blog’s WordPress dashboard. Any friends of yours are friends of mine.

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no comments
June 4, 2010

comments

  1. Georgia says

    June 4, 2010 at 6:21 pm

    My brother has discovered landscaping/gardening and I’d like to buy him a few design books for Father’s Day. He lives in NJ. Can you make some recommendations? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Margaret says

      June 5, 2010 at 12:51 pm

      Welcome, Georgia. Such a hard question (I know, that seems odd probably, but I find the whole design thing really challenging to “get” in a book). I have always enjoyed books like Ken Druse’s that have a lot of photos of different people’s gardens but it so depends what style/types of plants/etc. the person has. Decades ago I read English ones — Rosemary Verey, Penelope Hobhouse, and especially Christopher Lloyd, all of whom did quite a lot of books and various ones that are inspiring visually/design-wise, but very sophisticated and advanced, really, so I don’t think I’d go that route today as a starting point. Years ago you had to use English books because we didn’t have a lot here.

      But now there’s Oregon-based Timber Press, for instance — have you looked at their catalog online and the design category in particular? I love Lauren Springer (though she is in Colorado) and some of their other authors. Anyhow, maybe have a browse? Sorry not to be sure what to say but with aesthetics it’s hard to tell what someone will like personally.

      Reply
  2. Candylei says

    June 4, 2010 at 7:49 pm

    Recipes! We all love other people’s favorite recipes. Now I’m off to look at them even though you never should on an empty stomach!

    Reply
  3. Kathy says

    June 4, 2010 at 9:05 pm

    My mom used to make the best bread and butter pickles. She passed away twenty years ago, and I have not thought about her recipe in years. Great post…a wonderful jog to my memory…and now I am off to hunt for her recipe.

    Reply
  4. Dennis R says

    June 5, 2010 at 10:04 am

    i made these koshansky pickles for the 1st time last year
    & got rave reviews. started my cukes from seeds 5/31
    (100% germination) & already starting to see
    the 1st pair of real leaves coming up. i’m gonna
    experiment & put 1 plant in the same trellis bed as my
    newly planted honeysuckle vine. wish me luck!

    Reply
  5. Georgia says

    June 5, 2010 at 2:53 pm

    Margaret: a thoughtful response, thank you! I went to Ken Druse’s website and think “The Collector’s Garden” is perfect for my brother. Will browse the Timber Press catalogue.

    Reply
  6. Georgia says

    June 5, 2010 at 2:59 pm

    The options at Timber Press are amazing. Must revise book list. Thanks again, Margaret.

    Reply
  7. Sandra B says

    June 6, 2010 at 5:12 pm

    Everyone should read The Jewel Box Garden by Thomas Hobbs – the best garden book ever – apart from Christopher Lloyd’s books of course!!!

    Sandra – England

    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
Instagram post 2161992098629435854_444552553 Beans are life. I mean, not only do I live on them daily (as I have as a vegetarian for 40+ years) but each one is a seed, a living embryo, a distinct and gorgeous little DNA miracle. I have been inspired by the hashtag #31daysofbeans by @lukasvolger lately, loving watching someone unknown to me (um, who shares my oatmeal thing too apparently...also see his #28daysofoatmeal) dish up the #phaseolus. We both admire bean ambassador Steve Sando @rancho_gordo and this photo might be my fave bean of all that I “met” via Steve years back, big and flat and chestnutty ‘Christmas Lima.’ My advice: don’t wait till Dec. 25 to dig in.
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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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