Native Plant Fanatic
Kill an invasive, you feel like an ecological hero.
Kill an exotic in full-bloom, you feel like the neighborhood eccentric.
Author: Sarah
Moving House
The bird expert said try moving the birdhouses at least 25’ apart and see if we get nesting birds in both birdhouses for the first time.
DON’T BLOCK TRAFFIC SIGHT-LINES
Today I moved a Beach Plum and Northern Bayberry from the sidewalk garden hellstrip where they were beginning to block the view of oncoming traffic. My practical husband pointed out that blocking traffic sight-lines is not a good way to win folks over to native plants! …
DON’T THROW OUT THE GOOD WITH THE BAD
I began to garden with no hands-on knowledge. (I’d spent decades explaining the importance of biodiversity at AMNH; but I never got my hands in the dirt until Dave and I moved to New Jersey.) Knowing how toxic conventional gardening can be, I had overlooked the good along with the bad.
Mock Strawberry
Mock Strawberry WILD in the Garden State just had a string of festival screenings. The inspiring story of gardening for wildlife is building an audience! The Q&A’s following the screenings were lively conversations where Dave and I shared our knowledge about filmmaking, design and gardening. …
Late Spring Exhaustion
It’s all like sculpting with nature. But I have to work fast knowing there are only a few more weeks or days before the summer’s heat wilt the transplants and me.
By late spring I get a bit obsessive and gardening often takes up most of my days.
Spring Cleaning in Late Winter
Is spring already here? Dave put down the kitchen binoculars and turned to me: “should we clean out the birdhouses again?”…
What Sustains You?
Native plant gardening is good for the health of the planet, your community and your personal well-being. Yes to all that, but it’s more than that.
Witnessing the moment a chickadee lands on a shrub to pluck a fat-filled berry is a bit beyond words….
Cat in the Garden
Lucinda in the Garden, July, 2021 Our cat Lucinda was struck and killed by a car. She died on the busy road in front of our house. A road she had steered clear of for the 11 years she lived with us in New Jersey. …
Watch the Trailer!
https://vimeo.com/629495179 Wild in the Garden State is the story of connecting to the natural world in suburban New Jersey. Dave and Sarah are city transplants who want a beautiful, ecological garden, but don’t have any gardening experience. The documentary short (under 30 minutes) captures the …