THE GARDEN CONSERVANCY’S national Open Days garden-visiting program is officially under way for 2008, with more than 300 gardens including mine open to the public on specified days. (Those are my houseplants pictured at left; they spend the summer congregating by the back door with some troughs of water I stock with aquatics.) Don’t miss out: sign up for the Open Days email alerts to get reminders about when gardeners in your region are putting out the welcome sign.
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.)
Truly a wondrous organization. Order their Open Days guide, too! Private garden tours make road trips SO worth the price of gas.
Hello, Margaret! Thank you so much for the information. I will sign up to at least go to the ones in my area. I so wish that I could visit your garden – perhaps some day I’ll make it out that way!