Welcome to the first installment of this blog! I’m glad you’re here, and can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this discussion.
When I wrote my thesis, Conservation Gardening and Sustainable Landscaping, I was able to discuss my findings and ideas with my thesis committee, Doug Tallamy and Pat Sutton (and several indulgent friends who patiently listened). However, I wanted to be able to have a discussion with a much broader audience (that means you).
[Note: I originally called this concept "Conservation Gardening" but was encouraged to change the name to "Ecosystem Gardening" because it better describes my philosophy]
I’ll be sharing a lot of exciting information that I uncovered in my years of research leading up to publication of my thesis. Much of my discoveries didn’t even make it into my thesis due to my final completion deadline. I found so much that just didn’t make it in, that I am happy to now have another place to share and discuss these findings.
Well, now I’ve let my secret out, I really enjoy reading research articles in the scientific journals. I know, that makes me pretty nerdy, but there you go.
One thing that I discovered in the course of doing all of this research is that there is a lot of misleading misinformation being published in the books you see on the shelves of Borders or Barnes & Noble. This misinformation is repeated over and over in each wave of new books. How can we make the best choices for the management of our properties when the information we are getting is false or misleading?
The truth of the matter is, we can’t. Accurate information, that is backed up by scientific inquiry is absolutely essential to making the best choices for our health, a healthy environment, and healthy wildlife populations.
Also, I am here because this morning in my garden I watched the baby House Wrens take their first flight, I watched a pair of Robins pick more earthworms than I would have thought possible out of my woodchips to feed their young, I watched a Monarch lay her eggs on my milkweed, and I spoke with my friend who watched what she called a swarm of turtles lay their eggs in her yard. These experiences bring me incredible joy, and I imagine you are here because you feel the same!
My goal here is to share with you information that is backed up by the scientific research. I want this to be a conversation between us all, and I’d love to know what you think. Please feel free to leave your comments and questions here so that we can all learn together.
Ask Carole–Have a burning question about Ecosystem Gardening? Or habitat gardening for wildlife? Sustainable landscaping? Or attracting more wildlife to your garden? Ask your question here, and I’ll post the answer at Ecosystem Gardening.
© 2009 – 2010, Carole Sevilla Brown. All rights reserved. This article is the property of EcosystemGardening.com If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Carole Sevilla Brown
Wow, girl! Didn’t know you WERE here till you texted me today! K, let the discussion and learning begin! I’m listening!
Oh, and I’ve always known you’re a nerd, just didn’t think YOU knew! LOL It’s just part of what I love ’bout you!
@D: Thanks for appreciating my “nerdiness”!
Absitutely, dar link!
I just found that you left replies to my comments, so I’m running back through to see what you said! LOL
Secondary sources of information are often less valuable than journal articles because they obscure the context in which something was written. I understand that few people ever read primary sources, though, and if authors stuck to well thought out summaries of relevant research it would be a nice touch. It seems anyone can get published regardless of credentials, and places like Barnes and Noble do little to filter out the junk. Many of the book authors claim to be Phd in their fields. When I’ve checked them out they often received degrees from non-accredited insutitions, sometimes by mail order! Not saying they couldn’t find and publish good information, but often they do not and misleading the public regarding their credentials makes them highly suspect in my opinion.
That’s why is is so important to do our own homework. Look plants up before we plant them. Know which plants are causing problems in our area. There are some great resources online where plants can be checked out, such as: USDA plants database: