NYTimes: A Story about Gardening into your Seventies

"Page Dickey spent 30 years building the perfect garden. Now that she and her husband are in their 70s, cutting back is more of a priority." -Anne Raver, New York Times

Harvard Yard is making the move to organic lawn care

Good news from Cambridge, Massachusetts: Ann Raver in The New York Times reports that Harvard is following in Heirloom Gardener's footsteps (just kidding) and moving to organic lawn care. One part of the article that I found particularly interesting was the positive impact on the trees. Read the full article here.

"THERE is an underground revolution spreading across Harvard University this fall. It’s occurring under the soil and involves fungi, bacteria, microbes and roots, which are now fed with compost and compost tea rather than pesticides and synthetic nitrogen. The results have so astounded university administrators that what started as a one-acre pilot project in Harvard Yard has spread organic practices through 25 acres on the campus...The organically grown grass on campus is now green from the microbes that feed the soil, eliminating the use of synthetic nitrogen, the base of most commercial fertilizers. No herbicides or pesticides are used, either. Roots reach eight inches into soil that was once so compacted the trees planted in it were dying."

NYT: How to Sip a Flower Garden

We all know about edible flowers, but I never thought about adding them to mixed drinks. Laura M. Holson writes in The New York Times:

"Red sunflower petals and cucumbers are bathed in gin. Syrup made from dried lavender blossoms is muddled with mint leaves to lend mojitos a Provençal air. And the fizz of Champagne is quieted by wild elderflower liqueur.
.
'People are realizing there are a lot of edible flowers or flavored liqueurs that taste beautiful in a cocktail glass,' said Junior Merino, a bartender and consultant who came up with a drink for the Modern in Manhattan called Coming Up Roses, a bouquet of rum, rose syrup and crushed rose petals. 'It’s a discovery for many: interesting flavors and tastes they never knew existed.'"

For the full article, click here.

Ten Tips for Starting an Employee Garden

As a follow-up to my post "WSJ: Adding a Vegetable Garden to a Small Business," Twisted Limb Paperbacks, one of the businesses featured in the article, has a blog post, Ten Tips for Starting an Employee Garden:

"Twisted Limb Paperworks is a recycled handmade paper and invitation business in the countryside of South Central Indiana. We started a company garden last year, as a benefit to employees who at the time, had to reduce their hours and forgo raises. Everyone enjoyed getting their share of produce so well, that this year we increased the plot to 30x50 feet. We grow ten different herbs and twenty-four different vegetables, many of those in several different varieties. I’ll admit that it’s a lot to manage for the five of us. We certainly haven’t taken our own advice about starting small and easy, but that’s OK. It’s my pet project and I absolutely love it..."

WSJ: Adding a Vegetable Garden to a Small Business

Here's an innovative employee benefit: the company vegetable garden. From Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal:

"Some small companies seeking an extra benefit for their employees are turning to their backyard for inspiration: a vegetable garden.
.
After laying off an employee, cutting hours and discontinuing raises, Sheryl Woodhouse-Keese, owner of Twisted Limb Paperworks LLC in Bloomington, Ind., invested $600 last fall to create a 1,500-square-foot garden outside the recycled paper-products company's office. Now, her four employees can take home their pick of 10 herbs and 22 vegetables.
.
"The garden really is a nice benefit, saving them on their food bills," said Ms. Woodhouse-Keese, who estimates the garden has meted out $2,400 in produce this season, from tomatoes to potatoes."

For the full article, click here.

Career Decision: Landscape Architect or Major League Baseball Pitcher

From today's baseball blog at The New York Times:

"You’ve got to love what Matt Palmer is doing out in Anaheim. He tossed a complete game to beat the Red Sox on Wednesday, improving his record to 4-0. The guy nearly quit baseball to put his horticulture degree to use as a landscaper. Now he’s the Angels’ version of Aaron Small, circa 2005."

The short story is that Matt Palmer struggled for years in the minor leagues and almost gave up the dream of pitching in the Major League. The post-baseball career plan was to become a landscape architect. Through perseverence, the encouragement of his wife, and some lucky breaks, he got his chance this season. I guess the landscape architect plans will have to wait.

This Article Really Made Me Laugh: "The Art of Fencing: En Garde!"

From Gerri Hirshey, published in The New York Times:

"EVERY family has its comic tales, and one of our favorites is “Daddy and the Woodchuck.” That Looney Tunes scenario, seared into memory about a decade ago, began with the shrieking of our two children: “Mom, there’s a woodchuck stuck in the fence!”

My husband and I ran out to find the fat fiend about two feet up the vegetable garden fence, with his head and forelegs through the 3-by-5-inch wire mesh and his middle stuck tight. His hind end wiggled desperately. Mommy may have said a few bad words. Daddy grabbed a shovel."

In addition to the entertaining story, there is some good advice on pest control that you can tell came from a real gardener. For the full article, click here.

How to Grow Flowers on a Military Base in Iraq

Imagine that you are a committed gardener and find yourself stationed in Iraq in the middle of a desert. What would you do?

The post: http://www.instructables.com/id/How_to_grow_flowers_on_a_military_base_in_Iraq/

The author's blog: http://www.spf400.blogspot.com/

Pray for our troops and their families around the world.

Garden Vigilantes: Peter Rabbit Must Die

As a follow-up to my prior posts on deer, groundhog and rabbit control, the New York Times has a humorous article today on garden vigilantes entitled "Peter Rabbit Must Die" about peace-loving, tree-hugging gardeners becoming enraged, bloodthirsty critter killers, complete with a serious recipe for Woodchuck au Vin.