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Join Me in Celebrating the Joy of Succulents!
via Blogger http://wendyimmiller.blogspot.com/2018/12/join-me-in-celebrating-joy-of-succulents.html December 10, 2018 at 10:21AM
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Holiday Decorating for the Irreligious and Talentless
I recently searched on YouTube for “Christmas decorations with natural materials” and found a bunch of crafty people in the U.S. and England. This confirmed my assessment that I’m not one of them.
This is as “Christmasy” as my front door will get this season. My goal is really decorating for the winter, so I use colors that don’t look like they need to go away on New Year’s Day, like red always does. I like blue, with a bit of silver. In mid-winter I’ll replace the Juniper bits, and leave it all there until March.
In these pots next to my front door, where my favorite Iresines once dazzled, I use Juniper clippings with bits of possibly tacky extras from a craft store.
On my front patio, where ginormous Coleuses wow visitors in season, I used more Juniper clippings, this time paired with fake holly berries. The trailing Sedum overwinters there just fine. (It’s S. sarmentosum, which grows around here like a weed.)
In my back yard, where the pots hold a different color of Iresine all summer, I’ve used blue ornaments and some natural stalks of something or other that have been sprayed silver. I’m not thrilled with this combo.
Indoors, I do even less decorating – hanging another possibly tacky doodad above this quilt in the dining room. Above the TV in the living room I hang a wreath, which could use a little more color, I think. I do like the way it looks with the birch tree stencil. By now you see why I welcome your easy decorating ideas – as long as they don’t require talent in floral design.
UPDATE: I just noticed the most Christmasy thing in my house are the Santa’s Elf headbands on the bookcase next to the front door. They are so much fun to wear! Holiday Decorating for the Irreligious and Talentless originally appeared on GardenRant on December 7, 2018. Via Gardening http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://wendyimmiller.blogspot.com/2018/12/holiday-decorating-for-irreligious-and.html December 08, 2018 at 02:52AM
Help a garden center get through the winter: buy a kokedama. Or an orchid. Or something.
How do these long-running garden centers do it? A lot of it just has to do with standards of service and degrees of alertness to important trends. A lot of it has to do with basic sound business practice. Much of it has to do with customer loyalty that has endured over generations. Still, around here, all nurseries and a couple garden centers take at least part of the winter months off. One 100-plus-year-old garden center thrives through the winter—much as landscapers do—thanks to a huge snow removal department. But not all of them are equipped to do this. And I was discouraged when, last year, one of the biggest year-round independents closed down for good. I try to do my part, especially at this time of year. A small city-based garden center is now my first stop for gift-shopping. They carry lots of items that don’t need to go into the frozen ground, starting with houseplants (of course), and moving on to bird-feeding supplies, terrariums, wall planters, and—a new item—clear window planters that are perfect for culinary herbs. Last year, we got everybody big kokedamas (plants growing out of compact moss/soil balls, no pot needed). I was thrilled to see that most of these have survived through the year. The year before we got attractive, squirrel-proof suet feeders for everyone, and this year—oops, some of them might be reading! I am a big offseason shopper, probably one of the few in my area who’s stocking up on small pots and potting soil in late fall (for bulb forcing). And if I was a seed-type, I’d probably be shopping in February and March as well. I want them all to be 100-year-plus businesses. Help a garden center get through the winter: buy a kokedama. Or an orchid. Or something. originally appeared on GardenRant on December 4, 2018. Via Gardening http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://wendyimmiller.blogspot.com/2018/12/help-garden-center-get-through-winter.html December 05, 2018 at 03:24AM
GardenRanters in Print
I was happy to discover a Plant in the Spotlight article in this month’s American Gardener Magazine by fellow Ranter Carol Reese. She’s described as a horticulture specialist with the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. No doubt “GardenRant blogger” was omitted for space.
Then in yesterday’s New York Times I spied a book review by GardenRant co-founder Amy Stewart. We’re following Amy’s success with her Kopp Sisters novels, which are being turned into a series on Amazon Prime! GardenRanters in Print originally appeared on GardenRant on December 3, 2018. Via Gardening http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://wendyimmiller.blogspot.com/2018/12/gardenranters-in-print.html December 04, 2018 at 01:24PM
Poder Hablar: The Power of Young Farmers’ Stories with Isabel Quiroz
“I felt legally supported to participate, emotionally safe, and that what I had to say was powerful – that it counts. Some of the power that I had lost through the [immigration] process, I was able to get back.” The Spanish “poder hablar” translates to both the ability to speak, and literally, the “power” of speaking. This week, we hear the powerful story... Via Gardening http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://wendyimmiller.blogspot.com/2018/12/poder-hablar-power-of-young-farmers.html December 04, 2018 at 03:24AM
Farm Bill Politics 6: So, so close (+ lab-grown meat, ready to hit the shelves?)
Teaganne Finn, agriculture reporter for Bloomberg’s BNA Washington Bureau, shares the latest on farm bill negotiations. The news? Things are actually moving forward. Teaganne’s also been following the regulation of cell-cultured meat. Is it the meat of the moment, or the long distant future? Follow Teaganne on Twitter @Teaganne_Finn and on BGOV at https://about.bgov.com/blog/author/ Via Gardening http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://wendyimmiller.blogspot.com/2018/12/farm-bill-politics-6-so-so-close-lab.html December 01, 2018 at 05:18PM
Campus Garden Teaches, Feeds, and Solves Runoff
via Blogger http://wendyimmiller.blogspot.com/2018/11/campus-garden-teaches-feeds-and-solves.html December 01, 2018 at 07:18AM
Farm Bill Politics 6: So, so close (+ lab-grown meat, ready to hit the shelves?)
Teaganne Finn, agriculture reporter for Bloomberg’s BNA Washington Bureau, shares the latest on farm bill negotiations. The news? Things are actually moving forward. Teaganne’s also been following the regulation of cell-cultured meat. Is it the meat of the moment, or the long distant future? Follow Teaganne on Twitter @Teaganne_Finn and on BGOV at https://about.bgov.com/blog/author/ Via Gardening http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://wendyimmiller.blogspot.com/2018/11/farm-bill-politics-6-so-so-close-lab.html November 30, 2018 at 03:18AM
The Green New Deal
 
Finally! Hope ! Something we can actually do about climate change. The Green New Deal is an actual plan. Read on.
Energy old and new – oil well pumpjack and windmill, Oklahoma (I hope our readers at Gardening Gone Wild and gardeners everywhere will recognize this is not a political issue and turn your heads and cringe. This is positive news, gardeners understand the Earth is not going anywhere – it is us who need to figure out sustainability. – Saxon Holt) When young activists stormed the Congressional office of Nancy Pelosi last week demanding an environmental plan in the wake of the Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives, I wondered why go after one of the most liberal members of Congress, in the most liberal city in America, in the heart of the environmental movement. Is there a plan ? Is this just an attention seeking stunt by naive, idealistic newbies to politics ? Actually no. There is an extraordinarily detailed bold plan: The Green New Deal. Modeled after the New Deal that pulled us out of the Depression, this new New Deal proposes a massive restructuring of resources and is a real template that reorganizes our jobs and economy around a resilient future. Old school politicians wake up ! Why delay ANY longer ? What is it about climate change you do not get ? Urgent action is an understatement. And let’s no make this a right vs left political issue, there is work to be done by everyone. We have cooked the planet already, there is no turning back; but that is not an excuse for giving up. Somehow or another humans will survive and there must be a new methodology to coexist in a sustainable future. Here, in the Green New Deal, is something we can ask friends and communities to support in their own way, gardeners, farmers, ecologists, urban dwellers, and suburbanites alike where we can all see our own role; and a plan and we can pressure elected official to make a stand. First publish by the policy wonks at Data for Progress here at the key points, each one a definable goal. TRANSFORM TO A LOW-CARBON ECONOMY — 100% Clean and Renewable Electricity by 2035 — Zero Net Emissions from Energy by 2050 — 100% Net-Zero Building Energy Standards by 2030 — 100% Zero Emission Passenger Vehicles by 2030 — 100% Fossil-Free Transportation by 2050 FULFILL THE RIGHT TO CLEAN AIR AND CLEAN WATER — National Clean Air Attainment — Cut Methane Leakage 50% by 2025 — National Lead Pipe Replacement & Infrastructure Upgrades — Guarantee Access to Affordable Drinking Water — Protect Two Million New Miles of Waterways RESTORE THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE — Reforest 40 Million Acres of Public and Private Land by 2035 — Restore 5 Million Acres of Wetlands by 2040 — Expand Sustainable Farming and Soil Practices to 70% of Agricultural Land by 2050 — Cleanup Brownfields and All Hazardous Sites STRENGTHEN URBAN SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE — Establish a National Fund for Urban and Rural Resilience — Expand Public Green Space and Recreational Land and Waters — Modernize Urban Mobility and Mass Transit — Zero Waste by 2040 — Capture 50% of Wasted Methane by 2040 Each of these goals is real and tangible – a plan. We need to start with a plan. The policy paper goes on to promote the benefits of jobs and details many specific policy issues that need to be addressed. It has been adopted by a number of advocacy groups, especially among young progressives. Yes, this is hugely ambitious but it is specific and provides a road map. Lets’ get started. Get informed and ask your congressional representative to get informed. Contact Congress. We can not wait. An article in The Nation details the recent history of this movement. The Sunshine Movement is activating young progressives on climate change with planned demonstrations and events. 350 Action is actively supporting political candidates for environment change in support go the Green New Deal. The climate has changed. Let’s stop wringing our hands. 
Delta Fire aftermath; Shasta-Trinity National Forest, California Stand up for working with the earth, not destroying it. 
Redwood Trees, Sequoia sempervirens, some of the oldest trees on Earth. via Blogger http://wendyimmiller.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-green-new-deal_26.html November 27, 2018 at 02:56AM
Gardening inspiration, one quote at a time by Bob Hill
As winter moves in, gardening inspiration lives indoors on the walls of our sunlit plant room from November to March, pithy little sayings that are written on wood, steel and ceramic and intended to keep the horticultural flame flickering until April reappears. And even the lame ones offer some winter charm until we get to go outside again: “Gardening is just another day at the plant” and “Of all the paths you take in life make sure a few of them are dirt.” These gentle reminders are nailed to our plant room wall just below some enormous photos of yellow rudbeckia, red hibiscus and white mums, more reasons to believe spring lurks in the shadows.
Just below all that is our hot tub, the most necessary item in the room to get us through until the Easter Bunny arrives. It’s all part of the process. The 1860s English poet-laureate Alfred Austin lives on a plaque in our plant room, too, just above the hot tub. The poor guy had to follow Tennyson, so his poet-laureate appointment came with a little controversy over his abilities, but he survived; no greater glory than sharing space with a Hoosier hot tub. One of Austin’s most famous gardening edicts goes “The glory of gardening; hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.” That reads a shovel-full over the top to me – especially after spending a soulless August afternoon pulling weeds – but it can ring true that first warm sunny day in April.
Garden showmanship raises its head here – if not a little 50-cent garden philosophy. Austin’s longer rendition opens the gate to more questions. The full phrase “provided it be your own” asks the question of who actually tilled, sowed and weeded the garden. We have all been to estates, or even private gardens, in which the owners are more than happy to take credit for inspiration and work done by others, who just happen to be off that Friday. The rest of that line – “show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are” – digs a little deeper into the dirt. It’s not “who” you are. It’s “what” you are. As the virtually unknown philosopher Ajeeth Pro Francis wrote on the subject – and I have no idea if Francis ever planted a single marigold – there is a big difference between the two. But be warned, Francis is not a guy who fears dangling a participle to make his point:
We get off the Sigmund Freud Horticulture Train here. What Austin is saying – right there above our hot tub – is that some people, even unknown to themselves, are more about copying other gardens or just following trends. Other gardeners just don’t care what Fine Gardening magazine, Horticulture magazine or Garden Rant have to say. If it feels good for their garden, they do it. It’s them. And me.
It’s a quote variously attributed to Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Hodding Carter – a pretty good range of word gardeners. It’s long been my favorite because of the “roots” part. Both of our children have them, even as one lives about 600 miles away on the edge of metro Washington and the other 800 miles on the shores of Lake Superior. My wife and I grew up in Illinois and now live in Indiana – pretty much the same states if someone could move Chicago. Along with our wall full of quotes, what makes our plant room even more special is its located between the kitchen and the small room where we hang out coats to go outside. We have to pass through it about 20 times a day. The quotes and plant photos just hang there, somewhere between noticeable and nonintrusive. They help when needed and are happily ignored if we get in too big a hurry.
The last time through I noticed our Thanksgiving cactus is getting ready to bloom. I didn’t know they could read. Gardening inspiration, one quote at a time originally appeared on GardenRant on November 22, 2018. Via Gardening http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://wendyimmiller.blogspot.com/2018/11/gardening-inspiration-one-quote-at.html November 27, 2018 at 12:56AM |
The next issue of the magazine I edit features heritage businesses in Western New York—the ones that have lasted more than 100 years. Amazingly, two we’re covering are garden centers (and there are more gardening-related companies we couldn’t fit in). I say amazingly because there are built-in problems with maintaining independent gardening businesses in cold climates. Not to mention the big box chains (we have several) that pretend to have everything the home gardener needs.
Austin’s words on the plaque on our plant room wall go “Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are.” It’s an abbreviated version of the original version of that line, which read “Show me your garden, provided it be your own, and I shall tell you what you are like.”
My original framed inspiration on our plant room wall covers even more bases: “There are only two lasting bequests we can give our children; one is roots, the other wings.”
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