AN UNPRUNED CLEMATIS looks like a disemboweled mattress—a painful sight.’—the late Christopher Lloyd of Great Dixter, garden writer, nurseryman, gardening genius.
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.”
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I love this quote! It’s bad enough when folks only think of clematis as “mailbox vine”. Then they go and leave them at the entrance to their homes looking like the son they sent off to college 6 years ago and came back without ever getting a haircut and rarely seeing a comb!
Welcome, Dan. Well, aren’t WE quick to respond to a cold call? Thanks. Yes, Christo was the best, and especially on the topic of Clematis. Such a character, such a gardener. Love your catalog as I said and want to connect to do something together, and have a Clematis post planned this week. Plus there’s this clematis I cannot ID for the life of me…might need a consult!