Links that may or may not be related to gardens, food, travel, nature, or heterotopias and liminal spaces but probably are. Sources in parentheses. Unless mentioned, all links should be free of paywalls
article: Exploring Shrub Swamps (Susan Shea/The Outside Story/Northern Woodlands) We have all three varieties of swamps near us — alder, buttonbush, sweet gale. As Shea says, from a distance they can look like “an unattractive monoculture of brush,” but spend five or ten minutes near one, observing, and you’ll notice its varied components and how it helps prevent erosion and provide for wildlife.
essay: Meetings with plants: Salad Burnet (Andrew Timothy O’Brien/Bramble & Briar) Salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor) “tastes and smells of cucumber, but with a little heat or bite, and makes a great contribution to a salad, or a seasoning for fish.”
article/trial results: Vernonia for the Mid-Atlantic Region (Mt Cuba Center) They trialed 45 different Veronia (Ironweed) species. I don’t grow this perennial, yet, but there is some in town blooming right now that I admire. Additionally, there’s a blog post about an ironweed specialist pollinator, the denticulate longhorn bee (Melissodes denticulatus).
photo essay: Exploring Daphne du Maurier’s Cornwall (Susanne Fowler/NYT – gifted link) They had me at “piping-hot scones.”
Leave a Reply