Blue Planet Garden Blog

Lawn Reform Coalition Update (Part 2)

A picture of Shirley Bovshow's front yard garden from a recent Lawn Reform Coalition blog post.She doesn't miss her lawn!

Has it really been six months since I announced the addition of new coalition member Saxon Holt and let you all know about our Facebook fan page?  I’m happy to report the fan page has been a big success, with over 1000 likes and a place to find the latest links on lawn reform throughout the country.  Not to mention the occasional sassy debate in the comments section.

We’ve also added a new category of advisory (nonvoting) members, which is a fancy way of saying companies that share our goals.  Learn more about Neil Diboll of Prarie Nursery and David and Ava Salman of High Country Gardens here.  These additions were particularly thrilling for me as I already use David and Ava’s fabulous site as a resource when I’m working on a garden design.

And now for this 2011’s big news:  To usher in the new year, we’ve morphed our website into a blog!  Our baby’s only a week old, and the plan is to feature educational articles, how-tos and success stories.  Consider this my official invitation to participate as a guest blogger. Posts don’t have to be long and they don’t have to be first run.  If you’ve covered a topic related to lawn reform on your own blog in the past and have something relevant to share, just let me know.  As I like to think my blog attracts the educated crowd, I’m confident at least a few of you will answer the call.

I’m also in the process of creating a Zazzle store with pins, mugs and t-shirts featuring the logo.  Sounds simple, but it’s turned out to be a bit more complicated than I expected so stay tuned.  The LRC isn’t an official non-profit and isn’t interested in making money, so the original plan was to sell the merchandise with no mark-up, but it turns out the minimum mark-up allowed is 10%.  I’ve been pondering the logic of this.  Maybe because they don’t want everyone else’s prices to be too high?  Fortuntately, the pins sell for the bargain price of $1.45.  If you’re one of those people who didn’t snag a freebee when they were handed out in 2009, now is your chance to own this very affordable piece of lawn reform history. 

In its first week, blog posts have ranged from a photo-driven piece from Shirley Bovshow on the beauty of no-lawn landscapes (see photo at the top of this post) to a thorough explanation of why 4-times a year lawn fertilizing is a myth, to a shocking article from Paul Tukey about bees and pesticides - this one you really need to read for yourself. 

Please stop by and join the conversation!

Garden Trends for 2011

 

It’s the first week of January and you know what that means – either a post that wraps up the old year or one that welcomes in the new.  As I’m always happy to let others do the heavy lifting, instead of coming up with my own forecast of what will be hot in gardening for 2011, I shamelessly plundered a garden trend predictions thread from a writers forum I belong to.  While some of these may seem obvious, a few might surprise you –unless Set it and Forget It Gardening is on your list, too.

 

 

Comfort Food Reinvented

When I began a career in food marketing 20 years ago, comfort food was just coming into its own.  Back then we defined it as old-fashioned classics like meatloaf and mac ‘n cheese.  Now the trend is much healthier, as home gardeners are discovering that canning and preserving are not only great ways to extend the harvest, but make a surprisingly hip hobby as well. Theresa Loe, a Master Preserver (yes there is such a thing) and Associate Producer for Growing a Greener World on PBS, observes that this seemingly old-fashioned pastime began a serious comeback in 2010 and is set to explode this year.  According to Theresa, “Many people are not only looking for ways to eat locally, they also care more about what is in their food. By preserving the harvest, they can have fresh-from-the-vine flavors all year long and they are assured that the food is preservative and pesticide free. And what could be more local than your own backyard?!"

Beyond Tomatoes

Edible gardening will continue to make up the fastest growing category for new gardening books and the cream of the crop will advocate new approaches.  Although the traditional 4x6 raised bed will always have a place in our gardens and in our hearts, according to garden writer Daniel Gasteiger, more small space gardeners will turn to vertical strategies like trellises and hanging pocket gardens, whether they buy them already made or make them themselves. Ivette Soler passed on her prediction in the form of her new book, The Edible Front Yard, where she leads the charge on ripping out our lawns (now where have I heard that before?) to make room for a front yard filled with edible goodies instead.

Another vote for liberating produce from the distant corners of the garden comes from Steve Asbell, who predicts mixing edibles with ornamentals will become even more popular. Noted balcony-gardening expert Fern Richardson, takes it a step further by advocating using edibles as ornamentals. As to what we’re growing, forget basic broccoli or Gala apples – 2011 will feature more nurseries offering exotic versions of fruits, vegetables and herbs and the public will snap them up.  And according to Steve, one of the top crops will be marijuana, at least based on "how to" book sales where he works. Steve’s passion is rainforest gardens and he also had some predictions about epiphytic cacti (whatever they are) but I liked this one better.

Frugality Meets Ingenuity

Fern predicts frugality will take a chic turn with an increase in DIY projects and crafting.  With everyone who ever owned a glue gun hanging out on Etsy, I think she’s onto something.  In the gardening world, Jayme Jenkins of AhaModernLiving is ahead of the curve – details on how she built a stylish and practical gutter garden (featured in Garden Up!) are right here.  Fern also believes upcycling - converting worn out materials into new items of equal or greater value – will be adopted by more gardeners and I have to agree.  While researching our book, Rebecca Sweet and I saw several examples of this trend, including an ingenious repurposing of a file drawer into a hanging planter.  And you  already know how I feel about Peace Lady.

But Darling, That’s the Butler’s Job

Of course, not everyone has “be more frugal” or “master a new skill” on their New Year’s resolution list.  Theresa notes a trend towards  lazy locavore companies – gardening services that will plant and maintain vegetable gardens for those who want to eat locally but lack the time or expertise.  Daniel also believes the gardening entrepreneurs of 2011 will find a way to tap into a growing desire to “grow your own food without gardening. The popular term will be ‘kit gardening’ and will provide a ‘set it and forget it’ approach, such as a deck salad garden in a box:  open it, set out the containers and just add water.”  You heard it here first, folks.

Vertical Gardening

 

Come on, you knew I’d have to include this, right?  But vertical gardening doesn’t really need its own category.  As you can see from the above predictions, vertical garden crosses just about every trend, and is one of the reasons writing Garden Up! with Rebecca  was so much fun – there was no shortage of material.  It’s the perfect solution for growing more in less space (Chapter 4 – Urban Gardens), ideal for lazy vegetable gardeners who want something prefabricated and simple only a few steps from the kitchen door (Chapter 5- Edible Gardens), includes practical advice on mixing edibles and ornamentals (Chapter 2 - Skinny Spaces) and provides numerous options for DIY projects and upcycling (Chapter 6 – Living Walls). 

Care to share your own 2011 predictions?