After a lifetime spent playing other people, Drew Barrymorehas created a new career—and a home line—based on being herself.
21.07.2023 - 22:16 / awaytogarden.com
THANKS ANYWAY, drone engineers, but I don’t really want to live to see the day when drones are used for pollination because we let all the bees die. I know, I know; progress and innovation and all, but… Pollinator drones are not brand-new (the one in the video above, from “Science” magazine in February 2017), but apparently Walmart has applied for a patent on just such a device—perhaps a move to offset Amazon’s increasing entry into the fresh-food market, some industry analysts say.
a robotic fish to monitor fragile oceans?I WAS FAR more mesmerized by the tale of the “soft robotic fish” (“Sofie” for short) that MIT is pioneering to perhaps become monitors of undersea health—of fragile coral reefs, for instance. Meet Sofie and learn about her maiden swim off Fiji.
say yes to a whole-food diet (skip the calorie-counting)I’M NOT a BELIEVER in fad diets or calorie-counting. Since adulthood, I have been all about eating when hungry, and specifically about eating whole foods in a balanced manner. Emphasis on the whole; forget the processed. A paper published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association, based on a large study by Stanford Prevention Research Center, indicates that quality, not quantity, of what we eat is the governing factor in achieving healthy weight. Read about it in “The New York Times,” as I did. Now go make a pot of brown rice and cook up some dry beans and roast some of the last of the winter vegetables, won’t you?
stinkbug takeover?STINKBUGS, anyone? Many of you sent me this horrifying tale from “The New Yorker” on the creature that seems to unhinge us all (but also seems to love to live with us, at least in winter). If that is not stinky news enough, there is its voracious appetite; the
After a lifetime spent playing other people, Drew Barrymorehas created a new career—and a home line—based on being herself.
Though located in a stately pre-war building on New York’s Upper East Side—a neighborhood not generally associated with laid-back, loosey-goosey vibes—the sunny three-bedroom, three-bath apartment that Drew Barrymore shares with her two daughters, Olive, 10, and Frankie, 9, is anything but uptight. Her two cats and two dogs make themselves at home on the sofas, her girls regularly spread out their messy art supplies all over the dining room table, and even Jeremy, the family’s bearded dragon (who, by the way, is female), is allowed to roam free.
As Digital Content Editor Christine Alexander explains, pollinators play a vital role in our ecosystem and we should all be doing our part to support their populations:
As Digital Content Editor Christine Alexander explains, pollinators play a vital role in our ecosystem and we should all be doing our part to support their populations:
As Digital Content Editor Christine Alexander explains, pollinators play a vital role in our ecosystem and we should all be doing our part to support their populations:
New Trees: Recent Introductions to Cultivation by John Grimshaw, Ross Bayton and illustrated by Hazel Wilks. Amazon
Ornamental Japanese Maples are widely available for planting in your garden. The autumn colouring makes these trees spectacular when planted en mass in a woodland or Japanese garden setting.
Icon of the southwest, organ pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi) is one of the best known species of cacti in the United States.Reaching up to 26 feet in height and 12 feet wide, this slow
ONE OF THE FIRST FRUITS that Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge planted when they took ownership of historic Beekman 1802 farm in Sharon Springs, New York: gooseberries. Now the city-turned-country pair are having a bumper gooseberry year—and Josh joined me on the radio to talk about that and other aspects of “The Heirloom Life,” the subject of the duo’s breakfast slide lecture in my town August 17 to help celebrate my next garden Open Day. I’ve pre-ordered a couple of copies of the “Beekman 1802 Heirloom Dessert Cookbook” (due out in September) to share with some lucky winners, so read on for a chance to win–and some gooseberry lore, recipes and more.
MORE RAIN THE LAST WEEK MEANS a happier landscape, and also more links to share, since I sat sidelined, waiting for breaks in the action to go out and tidy up–or take pictures of a fiery doublefile Viburnum leaf, above, and whatever else is still smoldering. From a tender video of one man’s 40-year garden-writing career, to the story of a “seed library” up in my neck of the woods, to beginner blunders and the impact of gardening on the restaurant business (think: big), the latest digital harvest:The Thoughtful GardenerAA READER SENT NEWS of the understated but powerful video from garden writer Robin Lane Fox of “The Financial Times,” who recently marked 40 years at his enviable post.
Lee’s tips for growing pawpaw or American persimmon couldn’t make it sound more appealing, or simple:“Plant it, water it, and keep weeds and deer away for a couple of years, and then do nothing,” he says. No fancy pruning (like those apples crave), no particular pests–and a big, juicy harvest. More details on how to choose which variety to grow are included in the highlights from the April 29, 2013 edition of my public-radio show and podcast, transcribed below. To hear the entire interview, use the streaming player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).growing ame
I PROMISED I WOULDN’T ADD EVEN AN EXTRA TRIP TO THE CURB WITH THE TRASH to my schedule, with all the mowing I have to do, but (big surprise) I layered on a couple of events, and I want to make sure you know about them, in case you are in the Hudson Valley/Berkshires vicinity this summer. Another container-gardening class, a 365-day garden lecture with an extra focus on water gardening and the frogboys, and a tour here in August (that last one you already might know about). Details, details:Sunday July 12, Containing Exuberance, container-gardening workshop, with Bob Hyland at Loomis Creek Nursery, near Hudson, New York, 11 AM to 1 PM, $5.