gardening

As gardeners and weekend warriors, we do so much to create and maintain beautiful spaces. But much of the work includes the use of gasoline-powered equipment such as mowers, blowers and edgers that spew a surprising amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

I like English ivy -- in the right place.

To a non-gardener, that doesn't sound like much of a confession. But to gardeners and people who enjoy walking in the woods, those are fighting words.

The end of summer is nigh, but autumn isn't yet in full swing. These dog days are devoted to the fruit of the rose, which is visible now that the woodlands are still green and the trees are not yet showing their colorful finale. Called rose hips, these small, round fruits contain seeds wrapped in a fleshy outer coat that is sweetly astringent and packed with vitamins.

Edward Gorey, the late writer and illustrator best known for his gleefully ghastly fictions, would feel right at home in Amy Stewart's garden of poisonous plants in Northern California.

No doubt you've heard of at least one of the following: red imported fire ant, Japanese beetle or the emerald ash borer. They are exotic, invasive insects that are causing great harm in the United States yet rarely get noticed in their native land. Non-native, invasive pests are a popular topic of discussion in the fight to protect ecosystems and biodiversity.

There's a great debate going on these days about whether to have a lawn or not. In fact, a growing number of people across America are replacing their sod with low-maintenance ground covers, ornamental grasses, perennials or some combination of the above.

Old trees can transform a neighborhood into glorious woodland. However, those who live in our country's wonderful older suburbs know mature trees make growing bulbs like tulips basically impossible. Rather than lament this fact, consider a different approach to bulbs that is compatible with street trees, tree groves, natural woodlands and even wild-land forest.

Over a century ago, the Industrial Revolution changed the American landscape. The rise of our great manufacturing empire lured poor, struggling farmers to the city to take jobs in factories. In coming to the city, they carried with them the knowledge of how to grow their own food, and many of them began tiny gardens filled with basil and tomatoes and oregano.

Recently I was in Baltimore to install another community garden for Fiskars, under its Project Orange Thumb initiative. The company selects sites in neighborhoods where poverty rates are high and urban blight is all too apparent, believing that community gardens can be the catalyst and inspiration for great change.

I now know you can't judge a book by its cover. I almost managed to overlook my review copy of "Backyard Medicine" by Julie Bruton-Seal and Matthew Seal (Skyhorse Publishing, 2009); however, one evening I sat down to give it a look and was pleasantly surprised to discover a first-class read.