Sustainable Gardening Blog

Now in my second season as a volunteer usher at a local theater, I have only good things to report.  Naturally, it’s led to my seeing a bunch of plays for free. Yes, for no expense except a little gas, I’m seeing live theater - always a wow event for me. The highlight so far was last season’s "columbinus," about the Columbine High School shootings, a play I’d never have sought out willingly because I’m such a wus.  My anxiety was only heightened by the preshow briefing, when we were told not to say "Enjoy the show" to the patrons but instead, "Thank you for coming".  Jeez, where do I hide?  But it was riveting, I tell you, totally riveting, and the lead actors have been nominated for D.C.’s local acting award.

Other rewards of ushering were unexpected.  Like feeling a part of
the theater, if only in a tiny way.  And like getting to know and having a
bit of fun with the other regular ushers.  Definitely a fun night out.

Last weekend I ushered for "Midwives," based on the best-selling and thought-provoking book about a home birth in Vermont that went wrong.  Again, really talented people performed live in front of a couple of hundred people, probably for very little money.  I sure hope our taste for entertainment doesn’t become so changed by TV and movies that we stop appreciating the immediacy and intimacy of live theater.

John Peter Thompson grew up in the nursery business and is now president and chairman of Behnke’s, a large Maryland nursery, so when he talks about the history of gardening, I’m listening. But he’s also an ex-hippie and the title of his recent talk at the nursery was "The Culture of Invasive Plants," so gardeners, beware!

During Thompson’s fascinating one-hour talk I learned that the history of gardening in Western culture is all about dominating nature and creating an enclosed space that’s safe from the evils of the wild.  From the tightly wound knot gardens of Medieval monks to Suliman the Turk’s walled gardens to Versailles, the slides on the screen were a parade of horrors and any viewer would have to admit that gardeners through the ages have been a pretty tight-assed bunch.  And it only gets worse.  Another feature of gardening history has been its purpose of flaunting wealth and power, as evidenced by English estate gardens.  Who else but the superrich could maintain those parterres, fountains and great lawns?  Even on a smaller scale, English cottage gardens are a helluva lot of work to keep up. (And though not mentioned, Japanese gardens are also extremely high maintenance, so shouldn’t these criticisms be leveled equally against all gardening cultures and not restricted to those in the West? Just a thought.)

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My gardening gloves, be they ever so humble.  Most days I use the $4 fabric gloves on the left.  They last about a year of hard use, but at that price I buy myself two or three pair a year and always have enough.  Best of all, they fit both hands equally well, so I never have to hunt down a left and a right.  Imagine the freedom, the convenience, the sheer niftiness of that idea.  See how easy I am to please?

There’s one more pair I use once every other year or so and they’re the stiff, hard-to-put-on and hard-to-use leather gloves we’re supposed to use for practically everything because they offer so much protection.  So okay, if I’m wielding a very dangerous power tool, I’ll put ‘em on, but I’ll never like ‘em.

I ask you, at $1.25 each, who could resist?  In mid-January, no less.  I don’t know how long they’ll last but at that price I don’t care. 

The purpose of my trip was to hear a talk on the culture of gardening and its relationship with the environment - big topic - and you’ll be hearing lots more cuz it was chock full of amazing history and provocative notions.

Carol Allen has risen high enough in her field to become director of horticulture for the USBG, a very big deal in my book, so I was pretty impressed before even meeting her.  Expecting some sort of scientist, I was floored by this farmgirl, storyteller, outrageous ham in front of an audience.  Yeah, she wowed me and when she mentioned that she’s hiring gardeners for the new National Garden on the Mall, I almost applied on the spot.  Wouldn’t I practically pay for the privilege of helping with that?  Nice fantasy.

That’s how my mind was working last weekend when I taggled along with a garden club I don’t even belong to as they toured the Botanic Gardens production facilities with Carol Allen as their guide. We saw some of the USBG’s 34 greenhouses, which hold the collections of tropicals, medicinals, rare and endangered plants, orchids - well, everything, because this is the plant version of the Library of Congress. 

And Carol surprised us again with some good news - never expected here in D.C., especially at a federal facility - that this facility and the horticultural practices used therein are all sustainable, right down to their use of recyclable plastic pots.  And speaking of pots, despite the huge quantities of potted plants in these greenhouses, they’re all hand-watered.  In Carol’s words, "It takes a gardener."  Well, you bet it does, which is why I hand-water my own garden and would never consider installing an automatic system.  How I’d ever program my plants’ water needs is beyond me.  Then every time I move something I have to change the system, right? 

Before you go, treat yourself to a VIRTUAL TOUR of the Conservatory.  If you click "Conservatory Capitol Side" you’ll see one of my favorite spots in town for a brown-bag lunch.  To make the picture move 360 degrees, hold down your mouse and move it. 

In response to urging from my terrific Australian readers, I post for your amusement the wall-buddies of the gecko in my last post.  Say hello to the Eel, Miss Mermaid, our lovely Flamingo, the Fish, and their little Haitian shack.

My recent post about Rebecca’s garden with its eye-catching blue wall reminded me I have a pretty noticeable blue wall myself.  This back wall of my house, dark under the oversized deck, was the most depressing gray in its natural state and I found the whole scene to be, well, depressing.  So one day I decided it was nothing a little paint wouldn’t fix and I set out to select a lovely Colonial blue.

All it took was a little ivy growing up the wall in seaweed-like strands.  Trips to Mexico and some islands yielded this gecko, a crab, a few fish, and a little Haitian shack. And the result, a long way from Colonial Williamsburg (thank god), has gotta be the coolest underdeck in all of Takoma.  Or so the kids in the neighborhood tell me.

You have only to click here to visit one of the most beautiful gardens in the world - Wave Hill, overlooking the Hudson.  You’ll see springtime, a large cactus, and my favorite - the iconic riverside pergola garden and the river below, all covered in snow.  That one’s a total wow.  So kudos for a stunning website.  Now just give us more, cuz three just whets the appetite.

My friend Kathy and I were chatting today about Wave Hill, which I once visited while driving around by myself touring gardens.  Oh what a splendid trip it was.  And what an adventure it was finding my way to Wave Hill via the NYC freeway system, which I followed through a variety of multilingual encounters before finally arriving in this little Eden.  Residents of its mansion have included FDR, Mark Twain and Toscanini, so even its history is attention-getting.  And the best part is that now it’s a multi-faceted cultural center owned by the people of New York City.

My list of complaints is long, starting with its short life.  Plus, it just doesn’t work in a border.  To make room for other plants you end up removing so many lower branches the damn thing looks ridiculous.

But moving on.  After hating this thing for about a decade, I’ve excitedly decided to remove it and replace it with my new passion in plants - no surprise to readers here - conifers.  So imagine this: a small grove of something like pine, cedar, cyprus or arbovitae.  I’m thinking three of one kind in a dark green mixed with two of another species in a lighter green.
O gardeners of the world, what conifers make your heart quicken?

From the bleakness of a January day in here in Maryland, I sure enjoy visiting Rebecca’s garden in Tucson, Arizona, which looks like this right now.  The combination of the muted tones of the Catalina Mountains in the distance and the bold primary colors of the plants in bloom really packs a wallop.  And because Rebecca’s a very artistic person, she knew to pull her townhouse backyard together by installing a long curving raised garden across the back and painting it this fabulous color.

Here’s Rebecca looking unconscionably fit and dishy.  She’s another really cool person who also just happens to love gardening, which to me seems so natural, I’m frequently surprised when people don’t.

I’ll be emailing her to tell her I’ve posted here about her garden, and maybe she’ll send us a comment telling us what’s happening there now or what new developments she has in store for her garden.  Hinting.