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margaret roach, head gardener

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weekend reading: fancy male birds, neonics and monarchs, antibiotic ‘aha’s’

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I KNOW: This week’s reading list is heavy on news of the natural world, because that’s where my mind is: outdoors. Snow is shrinking fast in these first few sunny, above-freezing days–so stories of birds, butterflies, toads and even the planets caught my attention. The links:

birdmen: oh, those fancy males

AFTER A DULL, COLD WINTER, I hope some fancy males show up soon (the avian kind, I mean, lest you think I seek my own species of dandy). “Fancy Males” is what Cornell Lab of Ornithology calls its latest section of “All About Bird Biology,” the educational, entertaining and interactive online view into birds’ lives. Explore a world of magnificent plumage and impressive voices and behavior—even from the Southwestern native sage-grouse, North America’s fanciest wild male bird. The video above is just one in a series that starts here. (If you thought human dating was hard work, wait till you see courtship on a grouse lek.)

an offbeat take on winter interest

I PROMISED last week not to say another thing about winter (which thankfully began to recede the last several days). But then I happened on this photo essay, shot at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, by a blogger for “The Paris Review.” Bringing new meaning to the phrase “winter interest.”

the wisdom of doug tallamy (and the chickadee)

ENTOMOLOGIST, wildlife ecologist and author Doug Tallamy of the University of Delaware set the tone for the awakening season with his “New York Times” op-ed called “The Chickadee’s Guide to Gardening.” A must-read. (Want more Tallamy wisdom? The transcript and podcast of our interview from last year.)

neonics and monarchs

NO GIANT SURPRISE, but nevertheless depressing: Research at the University of Minnesota begins to provide links between the insecticides called neonicotinoids—implicated in the death of bee species—and monarch butterfly deaths as well. From Minnesota Public Radio and BeyondPesticides.org.

monarch maptracking monarch migration

MONARCH BUTTERFLIES, their numbers depleted by more than 80 percent over the last 21 years (source: Xerces Society), are beginning the annual migratory journey north from their wintering grounds. Watch their progress on an interactive map from Journey North (or even report your sightings, if you register).

toads’ rebirth at mt. auburn cemetery

PEEPERS PEEP, toads trill. But the latter not so much the last 20 years at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where apparently American toads were no longer present. For three years, tadpoles have been released into the cemetery’s Dell Pond; repopulation seems to be taking hold. The historic landscape garden, founded in 1831, is a must-see for lovers of history, plants, birds—and now perhaps even American toads again.

citizen science is looking up

I’VE WRITTEN about citizen-science projects for counting birds, or monarch butterflies (above), or even dragonflies—where “real people” record observations to help scientists get the bigger picture. But who knew that there were citizen-science astronomer types, too, making valuable discoveries? From WBUR’s “Here and Now.”

lrg_img0008-2the complete audubon prints on display

IF YOU FLEW SOUTH for the winter, be sure to stop at the HistoryMiami museum before migrating back. All 435 prints of John James Audubon’s “The Birds of America” are on display there through May 31—the first time they’ve been shown together this way, and the manner in which Audubon intended them, apparently.

the antibiotic beat

THE HEADLINES seized on McDonald’s committment to serving antibiotic-free chicken within two years, but another story interested me more. Since I don’t eat meat or fast food, and have been told since childhood that I am allergic to penicillin, an op-ed in “The New York Times” on antibiotic allergies—and how they may not indeed be so widespread–was news, as was the existence of a skin test for confirming penicillin sensitivity.

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4 comments
March 13, 2015

comments

  1. Laura Griffen Dubek says

    March 16, 2015 at 1:28 pm

    We have attracted Monarch butterflies with a passion vine . They get here around April and stay until October. Hundreds at a time.

    Reply
    • margaret says

      March 16, 2015 at 4:35 pm

      Nice! In the last few years I have seen one or two maximum each season. Sad!

      Reply
  2. john connery says

    March 16, 2015 at 7:54 pm

    I saw a monarch last year…
    I’m thinking of growing a huge batch of Asclepias Incarnata to give as wedding favors. Hopefully next summer won’t be to late

    Reply
  3. Margaret Z says

    March 16, 2015 at 8:57 pm

    The mockingbirds are nesting in a climbing rose in my front yard! :)

    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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RECENT FAVORITES

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  • in a time of bird decline, counting and feeding them, with emma greig of feederwatch
  • spice it up! flavorful new cookbooks, with alexandra stafford
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  • pumpkin custard: holiday pie, minus the crust

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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