Links that may or may not be related to gardens, food, travel, nature, or heterotopias and liminal spaces but probably are. Sources in parentheses.
photo essay: A burst of glory: Coventry Cathedral welcomes everyone. Including those who “got lost on the Ring Road and wound up here by mistake.” Andrew Eberlin/Photos, Photographers and Photobooks) A cathedral of “modernist grandeur,” whose welcoming message — including “We welcome you whether you can sing like Pavarotti or just growl quietly to yourself. You’re welcome here if you’re just browsing, just woken up or just got out of prison” — is chef’s kiss, made me want to be there.
essay with photos: Welcoming Woodland Garden: Could it be Native? (Shari/Nuts for Natives). Creating a front garden using native trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, and groundcovers. She marks up the photos to show the plants and the design more clearly. Some of her suggestions include native cherry laurel (Prunus caroliniana) and American holly (Ilex opaca), both too southern to be reliable for us here in New England (I’ve tried the holly), but others could work here as well as farther south, like inkberry (Ilex glabra) instead of boxwood, and dwarf eastern white pine (Pinus strobus ‘Nana’) or heuchera ‘Autumn Bride’ (Heuchera villosa ‘Autumn Bride’) to create colour or texture contrast. The blue wood sedge (Carex flaccosperma) she suggests in place of lavender (for colour and texture contrast, not for scent) would be lovely! but it’s also more suited to the south — we do have others sedges we can plant in New England — three sold in our area are Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica), Common Wood Sedge (Carex blanda) which honestly I’m having trouble getting established as most of them die over winter, and Tussock Sedge (Carex stricta), which I want to try. The green and gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) she suggests in place of vinca minor (myrtle) as a groundcover is hardy to USDA zone 5, in which much of New England now finds itself.
article: Mating Rituals of Muskrats (Colby Galliher/The Outside Story/Northern Woodlands). “Muskrat Love”: Just How Accurate Is The Song?
photo essay: How to feed and encourage birds naturally in gardens: Creating long lived habitat and plant communities for birds to thrive (Jack Wallington/Wild Way). Some ideas: grow plants that produce easily accessed seeds; attract insects; provide multiple water sources; create a mix of habitat in your garden.
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