Max Kim-Bee
21.08.2023 - 11:49 / theunconventionalgardener.com / Emma Doughty
On this day last year, I won a competition – 5 signed books from Triodos Bank. They sat on my Unread shelf for a while, and eventually, I shelved them properly (still unread). This morning I have pulled one out – This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein. So far I have only read a few pages of the introduction, but it’s neatly tying into things that I have been thinking lately, which bodes well.
Years ago, I read Ms Klein’s No Logo, which investigated how corporate branding was turning everything into a marketing opportunity, and drowning out any non-commercial messaging. Since then she’s written Shock Doctrine, which I haven’t read, but which is about the way that capitalism capitalises on disaster, selling off public assets or reducing government oversight (e.g.) in its wake, and isn’t above generating disaster when the world has been too long without one. Ms Klein is an investigative journalist of the highest order, contemplating complexity and distilling it into readable prose for the rest of us. In This Changes Everything she has turned her attention to the climate change crisis, and why so many people are so intent on ignoring it, but also to the opportunity it presents for us to change the world for the better.
She begins by looking at some of the horrendous events that climate change has caused over the last few years – epic flooding, extensive droughts, temperatures so hot that a plane sank into the runway in Washington D.C. – and how we continue to use fossil fuels at ever-increasing rates, so that we now have to explore horrifically damaging extraction methods such as fracking to get our fix. She extrapolates from that to a future where humanity spends a great deal of time fleeing from the weather, or recovering
Max Kim-Bee
September is a period of transition in the garden.
Succulents are some of the coolest plants you can have in your collection! Keeping that in mind, we bring you a simple hack to cultivate them quickly! Do This Simple Trick to Grow More Succulents in No Time!
There are so many gardening techniques out there. Some are new techniques, some are old techniques, and some a blend of old and new. Electroculture gardening is an example of the latter. Electroculture gardening techniques have been studied since the late 1800’s to early 1900’s, but many of us have never heard of them. That’s because until recently electro gardening was deemed to have little to no benefit, often because those initially interested went chasing after another possible more profitable enterprise. New studies are proving that electroculture does influence plant growth as well as having other beneficial effects. Intrigued? Keep reading the following information on electroculture for beginners.
Header image: Lupinus albus (altramuces o chochitos), by Calapito via Wikimedia Commons.
Cooler temperatures are on the horizon! And the return of fall marks the perfect time to refresh your home decor. Store any summer-specific or seasonal items or consider switching up your home's color palette entirely for a more autumnal flare. Items like thin throw blankets, light curtains, and more can be swapped for cozy velvet floor cushions, luxe curtains, and other velvet accessories in rich colors. Wondering what velvet accessories to purchase? Check out our 11 favorites. Better yet, they are all under $50.
As the fall season quickly approaches, many of us may feel a shift in how we want to approach our living spaces. With summer ending, fall can often push us to get things in shape and want a refresh—particularly around organization.
If there’s anything better than fall decorating, we’ve yet to find it. While there are technically 27 days (maybe less by the time you read this) left until the official start of the season, we say it’s never too early to be prepared.
Michael Gollop / Getty Images
This is a really fun video (12:24 long) from Adam Savage’s Tested series, in which a chef tries to help astronauts on the ISS eat nicer meals by combining foods they already have in stock. Chris Hadfield is their astronaut guinea pig, and demonstrates very effectively why it’s so hard to prepare meals in space!
Mind altering [Image credit: NASA]
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