Dreaming of spring
margaret nestler
It is hard to believe this Friday, March 20, is the Vernal Equinox with so much snow on the ground and the ponds covered in ice. As the snow recedes and shrubs emerge from snowbanks, it is clear this winter has been tough on many plantings and there will soon be lots of pruning to do. My own 15 year old boxwood are looking pretty grim as broken and mis-shapen branches are revealed with the melting snow. So, I've turned to one of the best garden books of 2014 as I plan for the growing season.
The Living Landscape, by Doug Tallamy and Rick Darke, provides inspiration and hope grounded in science for an informed approach to creating multi-dimensional gardens that provide beauty, sensory experience and support native wildlife. The authors cogently address ecosystem complexity and make the case for residential landscapes as important offsets to the habitat destruction and fragmentation threatening the survival of so many beloved birds, butterflies and many other creatures. With gorgeous photographs and a cross reference of the landscape and ecological functions of plants by region, this book is a truly valuable reference! Doug Tallamy's earlier book, Bringing Nature Home, is also excellent. Ever wanted to know why to plant a native maple tree? Maples provide food for 285 different butterfly species in addition to seeds and nest sites for many birds and rodents, and fall color. Bringing Nature Home describes the ecosystem contribution of native plants and how many ways these plantings enhance expereince.
Read garden books and seed catalogs, roam your landscape imaginatively while looking forward to spring and listen. The birds are back, soon it will be planting time and New Englanders will be blessed with the sound of peepers and the scent of bare earth.