Garden Rant

Grab Bag

The Latest in Sustainable Gardening News

The February issue is out, and here are  some items that are new to GardentRant.

ON THE BLOGS

• Jane Berger’s review of Native Ferns, Moss and Grasses by
  William Cullina makes me lust for both the book and the plants.
  Included are some frightening projections of changing cold-hardiness zones.
• Kathy Purdy reviews a great-looking book called Fallscaping by Nan Ondra and Stephanie Cohen.
• Pat, the Commonweeder, reviews Weeds of the Northeast.
• Our Commonweeder friend also reports having great success with the unintimidating rosa Rugosa.
• Pam Penick shows us what a green roof looks like in Texas.
• Here’s my rant against Arbor Day and Earth Day being in the spring.  People, fall is for planting.
• My "Standard Disclaimer about Lawn Removal" defends the honor of turfgrass – when it’s grown organically.

IN THE NEWS

• This weekend – Feb 15-18 – is the Great Backyard Bird Count, brought to us by the   National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.            
• These 10 Rules of Eco-Gardening
  are great, including the very English "Thou shalt leave a messy bit."  Both
  the language AND the content are distinctly different from similar
  advice in the U.S.
• Pesticides are STILL on our apples, according to this in the Seattle PI.
• There’s a report on California’s Sustainable Agriculture Conferfence on Grist. From the same source, check out "Buzz Kill," a beekeeper’s take on Colony Collapse Disorder.
• Leafblowers – not a climate problem? is certainly a provocative question, also on Grist.            
• The European Union may ban all outdoor patio heaters,  because of complaints about their inefficiency.  And remember open fires are big polluters, so IS there a good alternative?

Here’s the whole newsletter.  As always, the sidebar is blatantly off-topic.

Posted by Susan Harris on February 16, 2008 at 2:06 pm, in the category Grab Bag.