Working on all of this with native plants and rain gardens and removing invasive species on our quarter acre. Funny thing was a realtor told us our unique yard would be a deficit to selling. Sigh. I told her, well, when we sell, buyer will need to be someone who wants to help the environment by keeping up our conservation methods. There.
My old neighbor took down a wonderful tree snag before putting her house on the market. Turns out, our new neighbor has the same gardening philosophy that I do and would have kept it. That realtor may be behind the times!
Love this, Maria. We let our front "lawn" (which was always a mix of crabgrass and wild things) go unmowed the last two years, returning it to a field. I also finally convinced my husband that he doesn't need to pay someone to come blow our leaves and take them away...ugh, that drove me crazy. Now they stay right wherever they land for the winter. (And many go in to our own compost pile.) I know there are all kinds of things living in them. Anyway, you make excellent points here. I've decided instead of growing mostly flowers in my new big garden that I will devote a lot of it to veg, and try to plant perennials - asparagus, etc - where I can. Please keep the garden posts coming. Your garden looks heavenly in that photo, too.
This is a great post --- Thank you. I hadn't heard the news out of Georgia, but am not surprised. My biggest fear here in New England (where we and our immediate neighbors are 100% organic) is that keepers of small organic veg gardens are going to be taxed to dissuade us from growing. I'm waiting for it to happen any minute, thanks to these f**kwits.
I do have violets, which I love, and which get eaten sometimes—I thought it was rabbits, but maybe it’s the groundhog. They seem to grow back fine the next year.
Thank you so, so much for this wise sharing. I have long been an advocate for the wildness of plants and their freedom to move about this garden planet just as they have always done and as we wish to do. I agree that the same mentality that sorts plants into "native" and "invasive aliens" categories does so with humans, both of which have destructive implications. 🌿💚
I love your point about diplomacy in the yard. Sometimes you just have to explain what you're trying to achieve and give nature a chance to get on board.
I find it odd that people engage in forest bathing, hiking, or camping in order to feel rejuvenated through the sheer presence of nature, but find natural systems in our neighborhoods abhorrent. We’ve started letting our yard go to weeds and the number of birds have increased.
I’m splitting with my partner over political differences, and am a little overwhelmed by the prospect of maintaining the property solo, should the bank even back me up on keeping it. Nevertheless, there should be much I can do differently, starting with a lot less mowing. The argument has been avoiding ticks, because there are plenty of deer in this subdivision, but this backyard is well-fenced. What are your top three tips on starting from proverbial scratch? I’ve been thinking about laying cardboard down strategically, for “no-till” plots. My dad, an old-school gardener with a greenhouse, thinks this is crazy, but I say, all hands on deck!
This is a giant question! My first thought is start with a drawing of what you want to create! But for grass, I just let my front yard grow without mowing and it’s beautiful. And laying cardboard down works too! I highly recommend raised beds rather than digging up grass. Ticks are a problem. I’ve gotten Lyme twice. But this year I am going to be more diligent about covering up and using tick repellent. As long as you catch Lyme early by finding the rash, two weeks of doxycycline makes it go away. Good luck!
If you do raised beds, layer cardboard underneath. You can even add sticks and logs to take up space so that you need less soil. Eventually they will decompose.
I belong to the garden club on our little island here off the West Coast of British Columbia. We had a speaker, last month and I loved the phrase “you get the weeds you need“. In other words those weeds are there to put things back into the soil that you need. It’s changed how I look at our property. We built on bare land and have plans to make it functional rather than high maintenance. I love this post and hope you will continue to share gardening things.
Thank you thank you for this, friend. And happy spring, happy new year, may we care and resist in relationship with Mother Earth & each other. Sending you so much love and gratitude
Peace Tree is in Kintnersville. Perfect Earth is on Long Island. The Kimberton Whole Foods in Ottsville will carry a huge supply of Peace Tree plants, including flowers. It's the best!
certain things you can plant now -- things that like the cold. Peas, pansies, lettuces. But for most things, it's better to wait until the frost-free date, which is usually in early to mid-May.
Working on all of this with native plants and rain gardens and removing invasive species on our quarter acre. Funny thing was a realtor told us our unique yard would be a deficit to selling. Sigh. I told her, well, when we sell, buyer will need to be someone who wants to help the environment by keeping up our conservation methods. There.
My old neighbor took down a wonderful tree snag before putting her house on the market. Turns out, our new neighbor has the same gardening philosophy that I do and would have kept it. That realtor may be behind the times!
What is a tree snag?
It's the standing remains of a dead tree, which harbours just as much life as a live tree does!
That’s it! Although in this particular case, the tree was not actually dead, just decaying through about half the width of its trunk.
I’ve got lots of them!
Keep them if you can! They're sometimes even busier than live trees as habitats.
Love this, Maria. We let our front "lawn" (which was always a mix of crabgrass and wild things) go unmowed the last two years, returning it to a field. I also finally convinced my husband that he doesn't need to pay someone to come blow our leaves and take them away...ugh, that drove me crazy. Now they stay right wherever they land for the winter. (And many go in to our own compost pile.) I know there are all kinds of things living in them. Anyway, you make excellent points here. I've decided instead of growing mostly flowers in my new big garden that I will devote a lot of it to veg, and try to plant perennials - asparagus, etc - where I can. Please keep the garden posts coming. Your garden looks heavenly in that photo, too.
🥰🌷🌳
This is a great post --- Thank you. I hadn't heard the news out of Georgia, but am not surprised. My biggest fear here in New England (where we and our immediate neighbors are 100% organic) is that keepers of small organic veg gardens are going to be taxed to dissuade us from growing. I'm waiting for it to happen any minute, thanks to these f**kwits.
Thanks!
What weeds do your groundhogs eat? Mine focus on my bean plants, alas. I’d love to encourage more of the weeds they prefer!
They love prickly lettuce. I’ve also seen them eat the Mauntok daisy flowers, which is fine with me.
My groundhog loves violets!
I do have violets, which I love, and which get eaten sometimes—I thought it was rabbits, but maybe it’s the groundhog. They seem to grow back fine the next year.
😂🥰 amazing!!
Thank you so, so much for this wise sharing. I have long been an advocate for the wildness of plants and their freedom to move about this garden planet just as they have always done and as we wish to do. I agree that the same mentality that sorts plants into "native" and "invasive aliens" categories does so with humans, both of which have destructive implications. 🌿💚
Yes!
I love your point about diplomacy in the yard. Sometimes you just have to explain what you're trying to achieve and give nature a chance to get on board.
I find it odd that people engage in forest bathing, hiking, or camping in order to feel rejuvenated through the sheer presence of nature, but find natural systems in our neighborhoods abhorrent. We’ve started letting our yard go to weeds and the number of birds have increased.
As a fellow plant geek, thank you! 🙏
I’m splitting with my partner over political differences, and am a little overwhelmed by the prospect of maintaining the property solo, should the bank even back me up on keeping it. Nevertheless, there should be much I can do differently, starting with a lot less mowing. The argument has been avoiding ticks, because there are plenty of deer in this subdivision, but this backyard is well-fenced. What are your top three tips on starting from proverbial scratch? I’ve been thinking about laying cardboard down strategically, for “no-till” plots. My dad, an old-school gardener with a greenhouse, thinks this is crazy, but I say, all hands on deck!
This is a giant question! My first thought is start with a drawing of what you want to create! But for grass, I just let my front yard grow without mowing and it’s beautiful. And laying cardboard down works too! I highly recommend raised beds rather than digging up grass. Ticks are a problem. I’ve gotten Lyme twice. But this year I am going to be more diligent about covering up and using tick repellent. As long as you catch Lyme early by finding the rash, two weeks of doxycycline makes it go away. Good luck!
Yes, I’m no stranger to doxy! Raised beds on a budget, here we come!
If you do raised beds, layer cardboard underneath. You can even add sticks and logs to take up space so that you need less soil. Eventually they will decompose.
I belong to the garden club on our little island here off the West Coast of British Columbia. We had a speaker, last month and I loved the phrase “you get the weeds you need“. In other words those weeds are there to put things back into the soil that you need. It’s changed how I look at our property. We built on bare land and have plans to make it functional rather than high maintenance. I love this post and hope you will continue to share gardening things.
Awesome! I call weeds First Responders. I will write more for sure!
Thank you thank you for this, friend. And happy spring, happy new year, may we care and resist in relationship with Mother Earth & each other. Sending you so much love and gratitude
🥰🌷💫
My little herb farm grows organically and I would love to have your business. ❤️
Where are you?
I’m in Western Kentucky but we have a website and we ship. It would be an honor!
Post a link!
You bet!
https://www.rootedwomanherbs.com/
And you can find me on Facebook at Rooted Woman Herbs.
We are tiny but our mission is to grow more medicinals and educate!
Here! Here! Maria! Thank you! ❤️
I see Perfect Earth is in Kintersville -
When is a good time to plant, is it too soon or wait until it gets a little warmer?
Peace Tree is in Kintnersville. Perfect Earth is on Long Island. The Kimberton Whole Foods in Ottsville will carry a huge supply of Peace Tree plants, including flowers. It's the best!
certain things you can plant now -- things that like the cold. Peas, pansies, lettuces. But for most things, it's better to wait until the frost-free date, which is usually in early to mid-May.
Thank you