I'm an unashamed fan of the Rant and all four ladies who passionately pull the gardening world to bits, spitting out the bones and dissecting the flesh for our consumption. Each of them are admirable in their own right yet there's one woman who should be christened the "Energizer Bunny of Blogging" - Susan Harris.

For those who have been reading GTNI for some time you will remember that Susan headed my post 14 Bloggers to watch, a list of some of the most amazing writers in the gardening blogosphere. After hitting the top of that list, one could be excused for accepting the accolades and stretching back in the Lazy-Boy but for Susan it was just another stepping stone on her journey, pushing the boundaries of achievement in the blogging arena.

Not only is Susan part of the famous four-some known affectionately as the Rant, she also blogs at Sustainable Gardening Blog (a companion weblog for her site Sustainable Gardening) plus joins another group of bloggers - including Ed Bruske - to write for the DC Urban Gardener News. This doesn't include the myriad of other blogs, magazines and journals she contributes to or the Garden Coach Directory and Regional Directory of Gardening Blogs she created in her spare time as well.

She is truly an icon in the gardening blogosphere and as a extra blessing for GTNI readers she agreed to have me interview her. Here are her responses;

What was your first big break into the garden writing arena?
That question's a hoot! But okay, now that I've stopped chuckling I will say that though I immediately loved blogging, the real fun started when Amy and Michele invited me to team up with them at GardenRant.

How has writing for blogs, both your own and others, affected your writing style and is the medium much different from traditional forms from a writer's perspective?
I think the honest answer is that blogging IS my writing style. Before I started what's now SustainableGardeningBlog three years ago I'd only written for a garden club newsletter, for pete's sake. No voice, no opinion, no fun. And blogging did lead to my column in a Maryland newspaper, which at first was very how-to but which has evolved to become more blog-like, interesting, and fun to read. And FAR more people stop me on the street or at parties to talk about the column than when it was standard print-media fare. So yes, I think blog-writing is different from most garden writing in print but not so different from opinion pieces in the traditional gardening media.

Is there a tension between your gardening hobby and professionally writing about gardens? Does it affect the way you spend time in your own garden?
Well, I've been gardening in one spot since 1985 and was frankly getting kinda tired of the old place but now I'm doing all sorts of new stuff with my garden - like removing all the lawn and trying vegetables - because it'll be fun to write about! Now I'm not just gardening for ME but for readers, and that's kinda cool.

You've intimated a few times that you would like to be financially-supported by your gardening efforts (ie. blogging, writing, coaching etc). Where do you think the most lucrative opportunities exist?
I think I could possibly support myself coaching if I were far, far better at the business end. Like doing follow-up e-mails to clients, or even offering a continuing support service for a modest fee - it might include unlimited email answers to questions, offers of free divisions from my garden, etc. I'm not at ALL on the ball as an entrepreneur.

Garden blogging seems far less promising as a source of income, so I don't even try. Garden writing in print pays pitifully, and I'd only do it if I had some reason to do it other than money. I'm reaching out to potential sponsors of my website, however, and am encouraged by the response. That's the approach I'm most comfortable with, by the way - partnering with companies I know and can whole-heartedly endorse.

If a blog owner or magazine editor rang you tomorrow requesting you to join their writing team, who would you wish was making the call?
Treehugger or Huffington Post, for sure, because I think there's a void there that I could help fill. And there must be some good general-interest sites I'd enjoy writing for that I don't know about or can't think of right now, sites like Slate, for example, which DOES have a garden writer, a good one. As for magazines, anything general interest. I see the kind of articles that Michele Owens (another GardenRanter) gets to write for Oprah's magazine (it's big in the U.S.) and would love a gig like that - maybe for a mag targeted to women of a certain age, like More.

Of your existing blogs, if one of them were to make you incredibly famous which one would you like it to be?
Stuart, maybe a gardening blog could make someone "incredibly famous" in Australia but not, I'm afraid, in the U.S. Hey, do you think you can get me a work visa in your part of the world? Maybe in Perth?
But in a pretend America where the population is actually interested in gardening, I think GardenRant could be a big hit. GardenRant TV? I do like the sound of that, though with us spread out across 3,000 miles, it ain't gonna happen.

Finally, which celebrity gardener, if any, would you most want to sit down and sip a chardonnay with?
See, there's that reference again to celebrity in the gardening world - extremely rare and limited in scope in my part of the world. But I confess I've been courting Paul James for years now and would LOVE to hang out with him for an afternoon in his garden, or have him visit me in mine. He's the "Gardener Guy" on Home and Garden Television station, an old rock-n-roller, cute as can be, and funny.
Hold it - I have to clarify "courting". I've been writing about him and hoping he'll Google his name someday, discover what I've written about him, and say hello. But judging from all the comments left on my blog posts about him from fans trying to contact him, there are lots of us trying to correspond with Paul and he isn't having any of it, from what I can tell.

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Is it the amount of plants that a garden must hold? Or perhaps, for the landscaping lovers, maybe it's when the yard shows signs of forethought and architectural design? It's quite an ambiguous question to begin to unravel and one that ultimately isn't that important - but humour me!

Many of the homes in our area contain the postage stamp lawn and if they're lucky might house a border of perennial shrubs to hide their fences. Their backyards aren't much more exciting with the only difference being the larger expanse of lawn. For me, this is just a yard. It has a functional purpose and looks neat but apart from the standard array of big-box plants it offers very little.

Not that there is anything wrong with that. Each to their own I guess. But for me, a yard becomes a garden when a gardener enters it. While the humble yard is overtly different to a glorious garden the key variable is acutely - the gardener.

Why? Because gardeners can't live with yards.

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While I have hopes and dreams for this current garden I have far grander plans for my garden of the future. It holds an eager sense of expectation that forces me not to abandon it but instead to nurture and embrace it.

The dream is bigger than 670sq.m and I'm not sure of its exact dimensions but I do know that it's large enough that neighbours can't be seen without some travel. It's also big enough to hold groves of Karri, Jarrah and Tuart trees where a conventional plot would struggle to hold just one of these. A babbling brook that trickles through the valley and cascades over a delicious waterfall culminating in a dammed pool also rates high on the list of needs wants. It is a dream, after all.

Horses for trail rides with the ankle-biters. Cows for milk and steers for prime rib. Free-ranging chickens, geese and ducks. The odd sheep and a handful of goats and maybe even a working pig. Self-sufficiency would be the goal here where nothing is bought onto the property.

Which means that my dream for an aquaponics set-up would also become a reality. Fresh barramundi, bream and trout (ready for the smokehouse - which is obviously hidden behind the house and down the track to the right) would possess the upper levels of the tank while fresh-water mussels, yabbies and marron own the bottom. And the veggies - never in short supply as they feed from the nutrient rich ammonia run-off.

Flowers? In copious supply from the indigenous species that I planted years ago. Acacias, grevilleas, proteas, one or two callistemons and banks of melaleuca and waxes. There would be no point adding bird feeders for everything they desire is replenished naturally.

And the landcape? A version of tweaking nature that exudes its own resplendent qualities but is harnessed enough to be practical and yet subtly ostentatious. Dry stone walls bordering paths that escape out of view may be the bane of many back problems and toiling in the sun but the result - pulchritudinous.

My present-day garden is a "guinea pig" version of my dream. Whatever works here should - 'touch wood' - work on a grander scale and so my adventure here mimics the dream I hope to embrace in the future.

I'd love to hear your dreams and aspirations and even of those you've already realised. I'm especially interested in those from gardeners who may already be in their late 50's and 60's who still have a dream for their garden they haven't quenched yet continue to hope see come to fruition.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (7)

While I have hopes and dreams for this current garden I have far grander plans for my garden of the future. It holds an eager sense of expectation that forces me not to abandon it but instead to nurture and embrace it.

The dream is bigger than 670sq.m and I'm not sure of its exact dimensions but I do know that it's large enough that neighbours can't be seen without some travel. It's also big enough to hold groves of Karri, Jarrah and Tuart trees where a conventional plot would struggle to hold just one of these. A babbling brook that trickles through the valley and cascades over a delicious waterfall culminating in a dammed pool also rates high on the list of needs wants. It is a dream, after all.

Horses for trail rides with the ankle-biters. Cows for milk and steers for prime rib. Free-ranging chickens, geese and ducks. The odd sheep and a handful of goats and maybe even a working pig. Self-sufficiency would be the goal here where nothing is bought onto the property.

Which means that my dream for an aquaponics set-up would also become a reality. Fresh barramundi, bream and trout (ready for the smokehouse - which is obviously hidden behind the house and down the track to the right) would possess the upper levels of the tank while fresh-water mussels, yabbies and marron own the bottom. And the veggies - never in short supply as they feed from the nutrient rich ammonia run-off.

Flowers? In copious supply from the indigenous species that I planted years ago. Acacias, grevilleas, proteas, one or two callistemons and banks of melaleuca and waxes. There would be no point adding bird feeders for everything they desire is replenished naturally.

And the landcape? A version of tweaking nature that exudes its own resplendent qualities but is harnessed enough to be practical and yet subtly ostentatious. Dry stone walls bordering paths that escape out of view may be the bane of many back problems and toiling in the sun but the result - pulchritudinous.

My present-day garden is a "guinea pig" version of my dream. Whatever works here should - 'touch wood' - work on a grander scale and so my adventure here mimics the dream I hope to embrace in the future.

I'd love to hear your dreams and aspirations and even of those you've already realised. I'm especially interested in those from gardeners who may already be in their late 50's and 60's who still have a dream for their garden they haven't quenched yet continue to hope see come to fruition.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (7)

From a distance - in the vicinity of 21,000kms, to be precise - I've enjoyed taking part in the first ever Spring Fling. The brainchild of some of Austin's affable garden bloggers, the Spring Fling was the official meet-up for gardeners who blog the world over.

While it was predominantly, if only, attended by those living in the States, it was certainly an open doors policy to any garden blogger desiring to show up. And I'm sure that many international bloggers are already planning ahead for the 'inaugural' to become the 'annual'. I, myself, am already pained for not being able to make it this year after reading all the wonderful summary posts from the 37 bloggers who attended - a summary of the summary posts can be found here.

So, from the sidelines here in Oz, I can say that I have enjoyed it almost as much as one of the attendees - though being there would have been so much greater.

And there are some serious Kudos in order for Pam - Digging, MSS - Zanthan Gardens, Bonnie - Kiss of Sun and Diana - Sharing Nature's Garden plus all the other Austin bloggers who shared the organisational burden. What you have created has been awesome in its delivery and I can vouch for many who would love to be there next year - if there is a next year. Hopefully, there will be!

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In Mumbai, India, work started on the 245m 'Residence Antilla' for mogul Mukesh Ambani midway through 2007. Expecting to be completed by the end of this year, the tycoon's palatial residence boasts some very impressive green ideas - notwithstanding that nearly half the levels are gardens with open space built into its design.

Although the building will be the headquarters for his company Reliance Industries it predominantly serves as Ambani's home. In the most densely populated city in the world (30,000 people per sq. km) who can blame this man from desiring some space and tranquility.

And tranquility will certainly be in abundance. Far away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Mumbai, the Ambani family will be able to enjoy open space consisting of fytowalls, waterfalls and massive sky-gardens. In fact, the whole building will be reminiscent of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon - albeit inaccessible to the public.

One of its claims to fame is this comment from Skyscraper News;

Even more impressively is the outer skin of the building which in part will have a living wall - it's been designed to have entwined plants running up to the top of it on the 40th floor which will make it a unique building and set a new world record for the tallest continuous living thing.

Touted as costing more than US$1 billion dollars, it's a palatial garden centre that has spread heavenward rather than sprawled through urban or rural locales.

Would I have built it if I had the money? Let's say the jury's still out on that one - which is probably why I don't have that kind of money - but it certainly does have some benefits. Plus, it raises and incorporates many of the future thoughts I have discussed here, here and here.

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A while back I mentioned the upcoming Garden Photographer of the Year awards for all you budding SLR maestros. Well, if you weren't enticed before to enter maybe the upgraded awards package might tempt you out of your lazy-boy and into the garden.

Here's GPOTY's press release;

The Garden Photographer of the Year Team is delighted to announce the support of Manfrotto, Kata and Visible Dust as prize sponsors for the forthcoming competition.

In addition to the main cash prizes of £5000 for Best Single Image and £5000* (includes £2000 Calumet vouchers), for The Best Portfolio, there is now a generous range of more than £10 000 worth of vouchers for products from these highly reputable brands. This means that the total prize pot of cash and vouchers now exceeds £25,000.

The full range of cash and equipment prizes for winners and runners-up for each of the categories can be found on the website, www.gpoty.org

Prizes for Young Garden Photographer of the Year will be announced shortly.

Entries close on 31.1.08 and participants can enter single images or themed portfolios in each of the following categories:

• Plant Portraits
• Garden Views
• My Garden
• Life in the Garden
• Trees

The top 100 winning and commended images will be shown at a purpose-built outdoor exhibition in Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, London from May to September 2008 to an audience of hundreds of thousands of viewers.

Andrew Lawson, Judge and Director of the Garden Photographer of the Year said, “ We're delighted to have such stunning prizes and we're particularly pleased to be able to reward the sustained work of portfolios as well as single images. The prize fund of £10,000 cash recognises flower and garden photography as the equal of landscape, travel and natural history photography, which already have their own competitions. The extra £10,000 worth of vouchers from the Manfrotto, Kata and Visible Dust brands adds a whole new dimension”.

For more details on “How to Enter”, please visit www.gpoty.org.

So, get cracking.

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Described as the hybrid saint of soil-based gardening and hydroponic gardening there are many gardeners who profess to this style in the same way that devout followers of Islam espouse their religion.

But is it a veritable gardening method or just another way to sell a heap of DVD's and books?

If you want to know the truth, you need dig a little below the surface because the proponents of the Mittleider Method are the ones making the most from it.

To understand the method you need to understand the man. Dr. Jacob Mittleider was certainly an enigma in the sustainable gardening world and his efforts have helped families, communities and nations. He transitioned traditional gardening practices into a method that did more than become another alternative.

Mittleider understood that food production was more a management system than it was an environmental rape and pillage. Fruit and vegetables required minerals in the soil to produce better yields and healthier foods and that crop rotation, while it's good, cannot give everything back to the soil. So he developed a 13 mineral formula (which you obtain when you buy the books and DVD's) that fertilised the soil and continued to build it up regardless of what was being planted.

History has proved Mittleider's methods and I would certainly advocate on behalf of implementing his philosophy. Whether you need all the books and DVD's to start practising his methods is another question entirely.

So where does Jim Kennard and the Food For Everyone Foundation come into the picture? Kennard has been a Mittleider gardener for more than two decades, even teaching courses with Dr Mittleider. He started the FFEF in 1998 with the aim of helping gardeners implement better gardening practises.

Dr James Mittleider took his method throughout the world, especially developing countries where good gardening knowledge was in short supply. There have been projects in more than 30 countries and currently the Food For Everyone Foundation is working in Madagascar.

I'm really intrigued to know who has had experience with this method and what results they have had with it. If you have implemented the Mittleider method in your garden please share via the comments.

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It was a leisurely stroll though and as we walked around admiring the gardens in our neighbourhood it struck me at the diversity of people and how they view their own gardens. Some were a mish-mash of ideas and plants, others were more formal and obviously constructed while others seemed to have a charm all their own.

Gardening is obviously more about personal taste than it is about what should and shouldn't be. The rules I apply for my garden aren't accepted by others and their rules wouldn't work in mine.

Then I stumbled across this great article "What kind of gardener are you? - Figure it out -- THEN go shopping" [since moved] which talks about the type of gardeners we are. I've reproduced their list below...

Continue reading "What type of gardener are you?" »

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