Tag Archives: Gardens

Food & Drink, Pleasures, Science & Health

How Much Garden You Would Need to 100% Survive On? | Lifehacker

Could you grow enough food to feed yourself and your family if you wanted to—or needed to?

By Jeff Somers, Friday 11:00AM

Photo: Irina Fischer (Shutterstock)

Gardening is often pitched as a relaxing, therapeutic activity—and it is relaxing and therapeutic!

But it’s also a sign of how advanced society has become that we can regard growing food as a charming hobby instead of an absolute necessity.

On the one hand, that’s a clear sign of mankind’s mastery over the world. On the other, it’s left us remarkably dependent on a system of farming and delivery logistics that has been shown to be distressingly fragile.

Anyone who has ever successfully grown a tomato plant in their backyard has wondered if they could go “off-grid,” grow their own food, and be done with their local supermarket. The answer is yes, but that’s the wrong question.

The question isn’t whether it’s possible—the question is how. It’s all about the logistics: How much space do you need to grow enough crops to feed you and your family? Math will help you figure this one out.

Source: How Much Garden You Would Need to 100% Survive On

Current Affairs, Libraries, Memories & History, Pleasures, Travel

Virtual Tours – Smithsonian Gardens | The Scout report

Saucer magnolia in the Enid A. Haupt Garden
Smithsonian Gardens Virtual ToursSocial studies
Source: gardens.si.edu/plan-your-visit/tours
The Smithsonian’s lush and diverse 180-acre educational gardens, which the institution calls a “museum without walls,” are now accessible to all via an array of virtual tours. Casual flower fans and horticulture buffs alike can simply scroll the page linked above to appreciate the Smithsonian’s magnolia collection (“Magnolia Madness”) or see the best and brightest fall colors at any time of the year (“Fall Foliage Walking Tour”), among other offerings. For a deeper dive, readers can click “Be A Plant Explorer” to access a searchable guide to the Smithsonian Gardens collection, including high-resolution images, scientific information, and fun facts about each specimen (note that the tool works best on a computer or tablet). Garden geeks can show off with verdant digital backgrounds for computer desktop or Zoom, found in the Featured section at the bottom of the page. Readers can also follow the gardens on Facebook, Instagram (@SmithsonianGardens on both services), and Twitter (@SIGardens). The best part about the virtual gardens? They’re always in full bloom. The only downside is trying to smell the flowers through your screen! [HCL]
From newsletter…

Source: https://scout.wisc.edu/report/current

Food & Drink, Memories & History, Pleasures, Science & Health

Americans Have Discovered the Garden, and Celebrities Want In – The New York Times

Many of us turned to gardening for solace during the pandemic. Now Martha Stewart and Drew Barrymore want to guide us to green thumbs.

By Ronda Kaysen, April 16, 2021Updated 8:34 p.m. ET

Trisha Krauss

Last spring, as the world descended into a collective panic, Drew Barrymore planted her first lawn.

“I did not think I could do this,” said Ms. Barrymore, 46, who until last year did not include gardening in her exhaustive list of achievements.

And yet, the actress, writer, producer, businesswoman, mother and recent television host managed to make grass grow. “It was all barren. I got the water and the rake and the bag of seed and I waited weeks and watched it grow,” she said, speaking by phone as one of her two daughters vied for her attention in the background.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/16/realestate/americans-have-discovered-the-garden-and-celebrities-want-in.html

Food & Drink, Pleasures, Science & Health

Monty Don’s brilliantly simple tip for building raised beds in the garden | Country

Monty Don's tip for building raised beds
(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)


By Melanie Griffiths 3 days ago

Raised beds offer endless possibilities for growing crops and flowers, and they are so easy to include thanks to this advice from the celebrity gardening expert

Whether you want to grow your own produce, zone plants, or improve your soil, raised beds are the ideal solution. It’s tempting to invest in a flat-pack kit, but celebrity gardening sage Monty Don has a clever tip for building attractive raised beds that couldn’t be simpler.

Don shared the many benefits of adding raised beds to the garden in a video for BBC Gardener’s World. He explained that not only will they enormously improve drainage on heavy soil, but they ‘warm up quicker in spring, and mean you can focus all your energy into a very contained area. You can also plant them a little more densely.’

Source: Monty Don’s brilliantly simple tip for building raised beds in the garden | Country

Pleasures, San Diego, Travel

Inside the Icon: San Diego Botanic Garden – San Diego Magazine – March 2019 – San Diego, California

Photo by Lucianna McIntosh

How this 37-acre oasis blossomed over the last century

Source: Inside the Icon: San Diego Botanic Garden – San Diego Magazine – March 2019 – San Diego, California