A Guest Blog Post

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A while back I was kindly asked to write for gardeningknowhow.com  as a guest blogger, a regular feature on the site each Wednesday.  Gardening Know How chooses a variety of garden bloggers with a wide array of interests and, lucky bloggers, they let us rip-n-write about anything near and dear to each of our gardener’s hearts.  If you’re a regular reader of mine, my article, The Living Garden, won’t come as a surprise.  I’m at it again and about the same ole, same ole, yada, yada, yada:  use native plants and water-wise principles, plant for wildlife–they need our help, get rid of water-wasting turf.  If you’re a new reader to My Gardener Says, this article gives you a bit of history about why I plant what I plant.

In any case, if you’d like to take a peek at my guest post for today, check it out here.

Thanks to Shelley Pierce at Gardening Know How for the fun opportunity to spread the wildlife and native plants gardening love to a wider audience.

12 thoughts on “A Guest Blog Post”

  4. Amen, sister. As I was sitting under the shade of live oaks trees watching two types of bee, several butterflies, three different types of birds including a hummingbird all enjoying the native plants in bloom out front yesterday afternoon, I noticed all my neighbors with great swaths of lawn were apparently holed up inside, hiding from the heat. My only regret with “growing wild” is that it took me so long to see the light!

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    • Well, Deb, I know that you’re doing what I’m doing, so we’re of the same mind! I finally had some time this morning to sit in the back garden and take photos. Well, the photo-taking part wasn’t so successful (ahem, operator issues!). But the hummingbirds were in fine form, a darling, but unidentified warbler was visiting (yes, I brought the cat inside!), and the bees, native and honey, were out in full force. If I grew only turf? None of those valuable wild critters would have a place to feed or *be* in my plot of the Earth. I feel good that I’m doing my part, small though it is.

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  5. Very nicely done, Tina. I have a mix of native and non-native plants. I’m still trying to add more natives. Unfortunately, the ones that bloom in the fall have to be surrounded with lava rocks and chicken wire to escape the bunnies and the chipmunks. I had beautiful Jewelweed, False Asters, ZigZag Goldenrod, NE Asters, and Blue Mistflowers growing and thriving until several weeks ago. Just when they started to bloom, the rabbits and chipmunks destroyed most of them. I’m determined to try again next year, but it hasn’t worked for me to simply stick them in the ground and watch them grow. The ecosystem here is a little out of balance–we need a few more high-end predators. Oh well, I’ll keep up the good fight. 🙂

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    • Thanks, Beth. We’ll just have to place an order for some hawks and owls, okay?? Yours is not the only out-of-balance ecosystem and kudos to you for trying to fix a widespread set of problems. So sorry that your fall bloomers were munched. Perhaps next summer into fall, you’ll be more successful. I remember your gorgeous photos of the Blue Mistflower–a favorite plant of mine.

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  6. Great article. You not only give the ‘why’ but a bit of the ‘how’ too. One of the nice results of the drought in my neighbourhood is that the turf grass didn’t survive. So quite a few houses have weedy lots. Now that the economy is getting a bit better people are looking to tidy up and many are turning to gardens instead of lawns.

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    • Thanks, Debra-it was a fun exercise. I think a problem with writing for a wide audience is that gardening is such a regional undertaking. But, there are common principles and hopefully, I touched on a few of those. So nice that your fellow homeowners are planting gardens, rather than replacing turf. That doesn’t occur much in my ‘hood. Still love that sterile look, my neighbors….

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