Ecological Gardening

Green Circle Fractal (Wikimedia Commons) Some acquaintances were discussing shirts. "It's so aggravating," one said, "the fold at the collar gets frayed, and then you can't wear the shirt to work, even though the rest of it is perfectly good." The other pointed out that at one time people wore coll

It's better in real life! Last Saturday, en route to a work session in Thatcher Woods, I heard that familiar, fluttering call echo over the woods and my heart leaped, as it always does at that moment. I stopped my bike by the side of the road and tilted my head back to watch a large group heading no

The Story of the Transformation of a Landscape OK, the snowdrops were up a month early; the butterfly bush did not die back to the ground (something that helps it avoid the "invasive" label and thus avoid banishment); the chickadees are akkk-akkk-akk-ing all around. On Saturday, one sat three fe

I wrote this post in November, just before I got my new sustainability coordinator position. Then I was swamped, doing two jobs for a bit. Now work is a little more under control, so I hope to start posting regularly again. I've missed writing and interacting with my online friends!                

Though we've had a slow, warm, La Nina fall, this weekend I finally pulled up the tomato vines. After a couple of nights of below freezing temperatures one must accept there really will be be no more tomatoes this year. Everything went into the compost heap: withered stalks, green tomatoes and all.

What a lot of names there are for this time between the autumn equinox and winter solstice. It is the time in the northern hemisphere when we gather in the harvest, say goodby to growth and prepare for winter's rest, the time when the barriers between the worlds of the living and dead become momenta

The past few months I've been involved in helping develop a sustainability center at Triton College. The process is not yet complete. More news to come regarding this exciting development.

Here is a piece I wrote for a Triton College email newsletter for faculty and staff: Triton College Prairie Garden in Bloom Triton College is known for its neat, manicured landscape featuring acres of carefully tended lawns, trim bushes, and bright annuals and perennials. However, something a littl

During the month of August I'll be on a blogging break; I plan to be back the first week of September. Until then, dear reader, happy gardening to you.

"Deadly nightshade:" a name that makes me glad for Latin nomenclature Purple flower Easy post, I thought. Just write about the deadly nightshade. I happened to be thinking about the perennial, semi-woody, weedy vine that lurks along my property boundaries, and climbs up through the links of the f