North Coast Gardening

Monday Miscellany: No-Mow Lawns, A Hardy Tropical, and a Wicked Bugs Excerpt

Folks like the Lawn Reform Coalition have been keeping up the good work suggesting lower-care versions of lawn that require less in the way of water, gas-powered mowing, and unsustainable fertilizers.

Recently they featured a post about a low-care fescue grass good for the Pacific Northwest. The fescue cultivars they mention are especially good because they have allelopathic qualities, which means their roots release chemicals that kill weeds. Low-care and built-in weed protection. I’m in!

lawn reform coalitionPaul Tukey over at the Safe Lawns Blog kept up the run of good information with a look at the different kinds of low-mow/ no-mow seed available for lawns. He talks about three different options – fescue blends from High Country Gardens, Eco-Lawn, and Pearl’s Premium. I hope a comparison test is coming soon!

Steve Asbell's image of Philodendron from The Rainforest Garden WebsiteNext up, Steve Asbell at The Rainforest Garden talks about a big favorite of mine, Split Leaf Philodendron, and how to use it as a semi-hardy tropical in landscaped gardens. I love the wild, lush look of this crazy Philodendron and after seeing Steve’s example, plan to find a place for it in my own garden. I love easy-care tropicals.

wicked bugsThen, we have a delicious preview of Amy Stewart‘s new book Wicked Bugs. I shuddered, laughed, and squirmed reading these tales of dastardly deeds from the author of Wicked Plants.

Humboldt County locals can look forward to Amy’s talk about her new book at the Rose Society meeting on February 10th; the rest of you will have to wait till she comes to your area. I don’t know about you, but I’ve pre-ordered my copy of Wicked Bugs and can’t wait to read it.

edible front yardAnd another preview – I’ve just gotten an advance copy of Garden Up! by Rebecca Sweet and Susan Morrison, of Gossip in the Garden and Blue Planet Garden Blog fame, as well as Ivette Soler‘s (The Germinatrix‘) new book The Edible Front Yard.

garden up!If you’re a fan of these ladies then you know what you’ll find in these books – gorgeous, drool-worthy photos and friendly, easy-to-follow advice that will inspire you in creating a garden that reflects your spirit and impresses your neighbors. I can’t wait to review these books properly once I finish reading. I’m already inspired with some new ideas!

That’s all for this week, and as always, let me know if you’ve seen anything cool around the web by leaving a comment below.

Genevieve

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3 responses to “Monday Miscellany: No-Mow Lawns, A Hardy Tropical, and a Wicked Bugs Excerpt”

  1. Thank you so much for the shoutout! If you do get a philodendron, they adapt well to container culture so you could sink a planter in the landscape, bringing it in for winter! You’d be sure to get some double takes.
    I’ve also been anxiously awaiting those three books like nobody’s business, so it’s nice to get a little appetizer!

  2. That’s awesome, Steve. My local college campus actually has a huge one, so I know that in the right setting they can overwinter just fine here. Just need to find a tree for it to shelter under!