Design

It's ungrateful not to be glad for the inch and a half or so of rain we've already received, but... we're glad to have an evening wave of thunderstorms and heavy downpours add to the total. We came out of drought conditions officially last January after years of significant, if not severe drought, but went back into incipient drought (according to our state climatologist) in mid-summer, I think. October is normally a dry month, and in a newspaper article today, she (our state climatologist) is predicting a dry fall and winter because of La Nina effects.  So anything helps at this point. I'm beginning to think about focusing more sharply in my educational gardening programs towards sustainable gardening.  I've already been doing that, but really, we don't have any justification as gardeners to use landscape plants that need more water than we've ever normally received in rainfall.  And in a time of a changing climate, it's best to be more conservative th...

Of all the things going high tech, this is the most unexpected. Yes, after everything, its your toilet this time. High tech toilets are the all new big thing, about to hit the markets sometime soon. The high tech toilets from Japan are already creating waves, their modern age, sensor features. The high tech toilets of the future are bathroom fittings on the same lines. Some of the features that are operational right now in the Japanese high tech toilets are as creative as the toilet lid lifting itself up as and when a person approaches it and deciphering whether to stay up or be down. It is fully adjustable, lets one decide the angle of the jet, the temperature of the water, releasing a deodorant to keep away put off the smell. A completely adjustable toilet seat allows a comfortable sitting position for old people and arthritis patients. No toilet paper is required in these high tech future models and an automatic drying follows after the wash. But of all the other features of the hig...

All the rain last week (hooray for that) meant lots less time outdoors (since it was pouring) and in the garden (actually being back at work is the main reason). But shifting from home garden thinking to work garden ideas isn't too much of a contrast -- it all blends together in how I think about plants, gardening, ecology, environmentally-friendly approaches to gardening, and observing and learning more about nature. I've been thinking quite a bit this week about sustainable gardening, and what waterwise gardening in our climate really means. Talking this week with my colleagues about updates for our xeriscape garden has me mulling over my approach to sustainable gardening. I guess because my first interest in plants was those living in 'wild' landscapes that were native to the Texas Hill Country where I grew up, followed by a fascination with weedy species from a summer spent with my family in upstate NY (and visiting frequently in NYC) as a young teenager, and for...

We need all the rain we can get in the Southeast. It's been raining tonight, and this winter, more in some places than others. The Greenville paper reports that we're still behind by a third of normal for this year for the area that they monitor. The local ponds have filled up but the larger lakes (which serve as local water reservoirs, in addition to their recreational uses, and power plant support) have tremendously large blank areas along their edges. The long-term forecast from NOAA suggests that the drought will ease here this spring. I hope so. But I'm also hoping that the winter respite from the evaporative stress of summer and fall won't lull us into thinking the drought is over. I heard a public service message last week (on a Charlotte, NC station) with the Governor of North Carolina reminding listeners to conserve water, as the drought was still severe.