Leave the stems for bees, a special gift, 2019 speaking schedule

prairie inspired landscapes

Lincoln & Omaha

online classes
urban prairie blog
200 articles
appearances

I’m a growing fan of George Monbiot. In a recent essay for The Guardian he got me thinking about all the nature programs I’ve watched on TV and how they aren’t so different from garden books and articles:

"It is not proselytising or alarmist to tell us the raw truth about what is happening to the world, however much it might discomfit us. Nor do I believe that revealing the marvels of nature automatically translates into environmental action […]. I’ve come to believe it can have the opposite effect.

For many years, wildlife film-making has presented a pristine living world. It has created an impression of security and abundance, even in places afflicted by cascading ecological collapse. The cameras reassure us that there are vast tracts of wilderness in which wildlife continues to thrive. They cultivate complacency, not action."

Do gardens cultivate complacency or compassion and activism? Are flowers, and nature in general, primarily here to provide a sanitizing illusion that makes us feel better about our role on this planet? Or are gardens a radical call to action to revive justice for all of us? Even more complicated -- can they or should they be both illusion / art as well as passionate voice for social justice?

Maybe that’s too much for a newsletter, but I get a lot of my best thinking done in winter when I have time to reflect and read -- I’m guessing you’re the same. So may your holidays and new year be filled with good people, good talk, and good books; and thank you for letting me be a voice in your head.

Prairie up!

Give the gift of radical and liberating gardening to a friend, member of congress, or yourself. Purchase a signed copy of A New Garden Ethic and receive your choice of one online class absolutely free (normally $29.99).

Choose from either of these two classes:

Learn more about each information-packed and inspiring video class. The classes never expire, are available 24/7, and can be viewed multiple times.

---------------------------------------------

To purchase this special offer, which expires on
December 15, 2018, order A New Garden Ethic.

Don’t forget to:

1) Include a comment in the “note to seller” field
upon checkout which class you’d like to gift -- I’ll
then provide a coupon code with instructions
for the recipient.

2) If you’d like a special inscription in the book
please also include this in the “note to seller” field
upon checkout.

I look forward to meeting you in one of these cities as we get our garden ethic on.

2/16 -- Wild Ones West Cook -- River Grove, IL (Chicago)

2/28 -- Land & Water Summit -- Albuquerque, NM

3/23 -- Allen Centennial Garden -- Madison, WI

4/18 -- Master Gardeners of Kansas City -- Kansas City, MO

5/4 -- Arkansas Audubon Society -- Morrilton, AR

If your group is looking for a deep-thinking, inspiring, pun-using, buck-the-status-quo garden speaker then please contact me. I’m especially looking for summer and fall dates to round out the year.

My friend Heather Holm was in town recently hosted by the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum. I'm glad she hit on the cultivar issue in her talk (straight species are a sure bet for pollinators fyi), as well as leaving plant stems up in spring. I'm still surprised to hear folks confused about this practice of leaving detritus and when, so I'm going to rinse and repeat:

1) In mid to late spring, once the garden is really starting to green up, cut back perennial stems to about 15-20 inches or more. Leaving that length provides nesting homes for many bee species during the growing season. Obviously you've left everything standing all winter long -- right?

2) Leave these 15 inch stems alone. Bees have a 1 year cycle, meaning a spring bee foraging and nesting won't have young emerge to repeat the process until one year later. In a few weeks the stubble you left won't be noticeable as your (thickly planted) garden soon covers it up. So if it seems unsightly just give it a little time -- rethink pretty.

3) Any stems you do cut down in spring just toss on the ground. That's free mulch and more insect / beetle / spider habitat. Be a lazy gardener. Give yourself time to observe, record, appreciate the buzzing lives in your garden. Follow nature's lead. Etc etc etc.

We're up to around 7 inches of snow this year. It never lasts, though, so I run outside with my camera once the flakes fizzle.

The last flower encased in morning frost. Aromatic aster.

Brown is a lovely color!