Winter Gardening is Sublime

A few images to wet your whistle. I tell you what, summer gardens don't hold a candle to the magic of winter -- 5 months of shadow and light, profound silence and absence, negative space, rest and rejuvenation, gathering purpose, habitat for wildlife. And since prairie plants lose up to 1/3 of their roots each year, lots of soil amending is going on. Wow.

The main garden

Smooth aster still showing off

Accidental designing is the best

Joe pye weed dressed to the nines

Birds deserve some art, too, with this feeder

Refugees Aplenty on Earth

The lesser prairie chicken is a refugee. Black-footed ferrets. Salt Creek tiger beetles. Prairie fringed orchids. Literally hundreds of species, flora and fauna, from the former prairies are homeless and vanishing. The tallgrass prairie is the most endangered ecosystem on the planet, once filled with great diversity that made central North America rich in abundance, health, and resilience -- a culture of uniqueness that thrived on interactions of give and take, niches of refuge and hope. There is a world of refugees out there, the vast majority not human, and yet all connected to the same root violence, fear, and distrust we force upon them.

Book Thankful

I'm honored to have been a part of these books, published from 2014-2016. You really should check them out.

Have images from my garden in this beauty (2016)

Includes an interview with me (2016)

One of my poems & a Mennonite family recipe (2015)

A few of my short essays on prairie gardens (2015)

An essay from my Minnesota memoir Morning Glory (2014)

An essay from my Oklahoma memoir Turkey Red (2014)

Looking for Land

This 80 acres of soybean / corn rotation is looking to be a prairie, nursery, and arts residency. Wouldn't it look fabulous in bluestem and monarda?

Talking in North Chicago 11/14

If you've been dying to hear my ideas about garden ethics, then November 14 in Grayslake, IL is your chance. The same topic will also be shared come March in Pueblo, CO. Only at my talks will you have the opportunity to buy the below 40 page booklet -- a collection of blog posts, articles, and short essays.

You'll need to register for the 11/14 talk, where many others will be speaking on such topics as Leopold's land ethic, native plants and pollinator relationships, prairie restoration, identifying invasives, and a ton more.