Low-Maintenance

Other than vegetables, I subscribe to the “if it needs extra water, it doesn’t deserve to live” theory, which means that a lot of the ornamental that were in my front yard when I bought my house didn’t make it through their first year with me. It’s like the Marines, I like to tell myself: “the few, the proud - the ones who can do without water for four months.” A co-worker of mine says “I don’t kill plants – I just watch them die,” and I find that distinction very comforting when I think about the fate of those dearly departed perennials. (I don’t even know their names. I’m a monster.)



In the empty spots that somehow keep popping up in my front yard, I plan to plant things that are tough ‘n hardy, purty, impervious to neglect, and will give the crab grass a run for its money. Native plants are excellent for this sort of application – many of them are adapted to where I live anyway, so won’t require much care once established. Plus, they have the added bonus of providing food for local wildlife. One of our books, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants is also an excellent source of plants that require minimal care – every single plant in there is of the “plant it and forget it” variety. (Or, rather, “plant it and forget it, except when you are noticing how attractive it is.”) Thirdly, there is a book that we’ll publish at the end of the year that sounds right up my alley – The New Low-Maintenance Garden, by Valerie Easton. The parts of the book that I have seen are gorgeous and chock full of all kinds of beautiful, low-maintenance gardens, any one of which I would be happy to find serendipitously plopped down in front of my house. This book will go on my Christmas list.

I love a beautiful garden, but I have trouble keeping up with 4 raised beds of vegetables, and that’s only about 120 square feet. So I am always pleased to find books that recommend plants and techniques for fuss-free garden beauty. Maybe someday I'll have a full-fledged, 40-hour-a-week garden - but I'm not aiming to have one of those anytime soon.

Chani West-Foyle, Marketing Associate

Create Your Own Wildlife Refuge

Last night I finished watching the series Planet Earth.

Most of the series contained gorgeous footage of animals from all over the globe and in every ecosystem--jungles, seas, deserts, mountains, etc. There were serious contenders for The Absolute Cutest Baby Animal Ever (I nominate baby musk oxen), and footage of animals interacting with each other in their environments (i.e., eating and being eaten.) The whole thing was very well done; a fascinating and beautiful series.



The last disc explores the effects of global warming and the interactions between humans and animals/plants, who are all competing for the same land. These parts of a nature show are always overwhelming--the obstacles are so great, and the questions aren't easy, and the answers even less so. Often at the end of these sorts of shows, I want to burn all my worldly possessions and go live in a mud hut where I can have zero impact on the earth, but then I realize that burning everything would emit too much carbon dioxide, and maybe my mud hut would accidentally cover over the last surviving member of a particular variety of ant, and I would be back to square one. It’s so hard to realize that you can’t make it better, all at once, all by yourself. What to do?



This time, I thought about Doug Tallamy’s message in Bringing Nature Home. Plant native plants, he says, which will give native species a place to eat and reproduce. It’s such a small thing--it feels almost too small--but it is something that I can do. My plan to remodel the front yard suddenly includes a lot more native plants. I opened up my native plants encyclopedia and started looking this morning.

Doug was recently on NPR's Science Friday. To listen, click here.

Chani West-Foyle, marketing associate