Garden Literature goes Up in Smoke

!-- --> Shutterstock image Dear friends,just as there is no hiding the fact that Professor Roush is a rose nut, there is also no suspense to the revelation that I aman entrenchedbibliophile. My love of printed and bound material stretches far back into mychildhood,tothat happy time when I was stillan only child and had to find ways to occupy myself. While burdenednow with middle-age, a sister, a wife, and children, I continue to feel comforted...

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Quick! Drink This Before All The Tomatoes Are Gone!

!-- --> I dont know what its like in your neck of the woods, but around these parts we still have a few good tomatoes left at the farmers market. So thats what Im calling this drinkThe Farmers Market. Hurry up and make a batch while you still can. The Farmers Market 2 oz vodka per guest (thats a minimumyou know that, right? Im drinking Square One Organic Vodka, made from rye.) A whole bunch of really amazing tomatoes Sliced fresh peppers, mild...

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Lots of Gardening at the Green Festival

!-- --> Its Green Festival time in DC (and for LA and SF) and I stopped by to see whats going on in the gardening world and was pleased to find more garden-related vendors than usual. (Though among speakers, not so much.) First, I discovered some local gardening coaches at Love and Carrots. Its all edibles, and their services include design, installation, and maintenance, in addition to coaching. At their terrific website I found an inspiring...

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UK gardeners: No peat for you!

!-- --> Peat bog in Scotland (Shutterstock) If you love your garden, you really cant just abstain. Thats what the delightfully named Brit celeb gardener Bob Flowerdew says about a life without peat moss. As reported in the New York Times yesterday, the public, private, and industrial use of peat in Great Britain could completely disappear by 2030. The government is acting according to the advice of a task force of experts, whoalong with environmentalists...

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Vegetables Should Taste Good!

!-- --> The New York Times ran a piece this week about the results of federal legislation mandating healthier school lunches beginning this year. Because of Puritanical restrictions on fat and salt, the healthy food has no flavor and many kids are just rejecting it. Monica Eng of the Chicago Tribune has also done fantastic reporting about the insanity that is lunch in the Chicago Public Schools. (Eng is everything a food writer should beactually...

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The Great Potting Soil Debate

!-- --> For the last several years Ive written a series of articles for Garden Chic magazine (a business magazine for owners of independent garden centers) in which I call up owners of independent garden centers and ask them a whole bunch of questions about how they promote organic gardening. As the owner of a retail business myself, Ive always found these conversations to be fascinating. It doesnt matter whether youre selling used books or new...

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The Gardens of San Miguel

!-- --> Theres one garden in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico thats known to residents and visitors alike and its El Jardin right in the center of the Colonial city. Whats interesting and even iconic about this city park is the way the trees are pruned into always-perfect flat spheres. Here you see them behind Miss San Miguel in the recent Independence Day Parade. (On my visit I was disabused of the notion that Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence...

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Sunflower sutra

!-- --> There is a climactic scene in the charming if strange independent movie Elvis & Anabelle. The lead male character, Elvis, a budding mortician, is about to commit suicide when he notices out his window that a field of sunflowers has magically burst into bloom outside his window. The sight revives his spirits, he makes one last effort to win back his love, and all ends well, pretty much. Phytoremediation is one of the reasons sunflowers...

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Adoptive Mothers on the Job

!-- --> After much struggle, I have succeeded in getting some chicks into my coop. I picked up a box from the hatchery yesterday at the post office and was able to quietly, over the course of a few hours, stick 26 bantam chicks under the hot butts of two broody hens. While one chick arrived weak and didnt make it, the rest seem to be doing well. The broody hens are extremely maternal, ready to peck anybody who tries to bother their chicks. My...

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Landscape architects guide to your city coming soon

!-- --> The American Society of Landscape Architects recently announced the launch of The Landscape Architects Guide to Washington, D.C. just the first of many across the country. Its an online, mobile-friendly guide to more than 75 historic, modern and contemporary designed spaces in D.C., with 800+ photos and expert commentary by 20 local landscape architects. It covers not just the usual touristy places but interesting sites in all parts...

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Neighborscant live with em, cant kill em

!-- --> Shutterstock images If you want to appreciate the widest possible range of opinions about gardening, talk to gardeners about their neighbors. Because, you know, nobody really wants to admit that their neighbor might have the right idea (about anything), and most of us have had mild-to-medium plant-related disagreements with the property holders on either side. I was at a party yesterday, and one of the guests was regaling groups of us...

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Unraveling the Mystery of the Cucumber Tendril

!-- --> Weve long marveled at the amazing holding power of tendrils like those of cucumbers, but scientists have been unsure about what makes them twist. This very cool video employs time-lapse techniques and mechanical models to show us how. From NPRs Science Friday. Just click that little play button. The video format is Quicktime, so doesnt look like the Youtube videos were used to. Via: Unraveling the Mystery of the Cucumber Tendril ...

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Unraveling the Mystery of the Cucumber Tendril

!-- --> Weve long marveled at the amazing holding power of tendrils like those of cucumbers, but scientists have been unsure about what makes them twist. This very cool video employs time-lapse techniques and mechanical models to show us how. From NPRs Science Friday. Just click that little play button. The video format is Quicktime, so doesnt look like the Youtube videos were used to. Via: Unraveling the Mystery of the Cucumber Tendril ...

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Unraveling the Mystery of the Cucumber Tendril

!-- --> Weve long marveled at the amazing holding power of tendrils like those of cucumbers, but scientists have been unsure about what makes them twist. This very cool video employs time-lapse techniques and mechanical models to show us how. From NPRs Science Friday. Just click that little play button. The video format is Quicktime, so doesnt look like the Youtube videos were used to. Via: Unraveling the Mystery of the Cucumber Tendril ...

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