Due to a severely broken wrist suffered in a fall, blog activity will be severely limited until further notice. ...

[caption id="attachment_1740" align="alignnone" width="288" caption="Dr. June Irwin was a guest of honor along with director Brett Plymale and yours truly at the Hudson screening of A Chemical Reaction last week. (Hudson Gazette photo)"][/caption] At the ripe old age of near 50, I now realize I've had few enduring heroes in my lifetime. I've probably had thousands of infatuations along the way, including ab ...

In Florida, where fresh water shortages are chronic, one couple sets an example for others to follow. Now I'm not anti-lawn, mind you. With children around, I consider lawns a necessity for playing ball, croquet or any number of games. But the principles in this article are sound: http://www.beacononlinenews.com/news/daily/2751 ...

[caption id="attachment_1725" align="alignnone" width="800" caption="Salt tolerance makes this a good plant for medians."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1726" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="The edible red berries are a visual treat."][/caption] Week 3: Bearberry An exhibit at my presentation for the 40th anniversary of the Lake Environmental Association last Saturday reminded me just how much th ...

Business has been good during June at the Manchester, N.H., airport, at least on the flights leading to and from Washington, D.C. With that state's legislature considering bills this month affecting both bio-engineered crops AND lawn and garden pesticides, many of the chemical industry's finest suits have been frequenting the hallways of the statehouse in Concord on Tuesdays with a singular message: "Busine ...

LawnReform.org has been around now for about nine months, an appropriate enough time to give birth to its first newsletter: http://www.sustainable-gardening.com/archives/5888. The group, which includes some of the leading garden writers, broadcasters and photographers in the United States, has had plenty of success stories to shout about. Thanks to blogger extraordinaire Susan Harris for herding all of the ...

For our video tip for NBC news this week, we focused on some new shrubs that are cold hardy for the northern climates (Zones 3-4): http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=119163 ...

Gardeners have been applying compost and compost tea to their gardeners since gardening began. The dry compost and the liquid tea give the plants more vigor, a bigger root mass and generally better health than plants grown without those substances. When forced to apply compost tea to my grandmother's garden in Maine as a child, I would often protest, saying, "Why do I always have to do this, Grammy?" To whi ...

I knew I was in a good place in Bridgton, Maine, Saturday morning when I walked into my Landscaping to Save the Lakes presentation at the Lakes Environmental Association's 40th anniversary meeting and immediately spotted a dry wall bucket and rain barrel. Inside the bucket were a small air pump and nylon sock full of compost; the only missing ingredient for the makings of compost tea was the water. With tho ...

It's absolutely amazing to me that a year has passed since I rather randomly declared that I would post a daily blog on the SafeLawns.org web site. "Daily?" many asked, questioning my rationale and stamina. "Why not weekly?" True to the original goal, though, June 18 marks the one-year anniversary of the SafeLawns Daily Blog and, although we have missed about a dozen days — including weekends — we have aver ...