Heartland Gardening bloggers
(left to right: Michael Leach, Debra Knapke and Teresa Woodard)
Michael Leach, Teresa Woodard, and I were in Indianapolis in 2011 attending a GWA – The Association of Garden Communicators – conference. After a garden writers workshop we went out to dinner. Not an easy thing to do in a city where three other conferences were also in session. Over the second bottle of wine, while waiting for our table, we decided to create a blog together. We not only launched the blog, Heartland Gardening, but developed deep friendships.
In June, 2021, Michael passed, Teresa became more involved with her writing – please look for her book American Roots and her next book, Garden to the Max which will be published in March 2025. And I became involved with projects that focus on care for the Earth and and all who live on it. Teresa and I felt that it was time to let our blog settle into an archive as a beautiful testament to three gardeners who shared their passion for plants, people, and collaboration.
Enjoy.
Trendspotting: Greening of Pittsburgh
By Teresa Woodard Last month, Debra, Michael and I traveled to Pittsburgh for a jam-packed, 4-day conference with the Garden Writers Association. Here, we met with hundreds of other communicators in the lawn and garden industries and witnessed first-hand many of the...
Catch Us If You Can
Michael Leach will be part of a garden guru panel Fri., Sept. 5 at 1 p.m. at the 2014 Home & Garden and Holiday Fest at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, Ohio. Michael and other panelists will answer questions and offer tips for the winter garden. “Anyone can...
Favorite Flora: Hardy Hibiscus
Hardy Hibiscus for the Midwest It’s hard to believe – a tropical-looking hibiscus with plate-size flowers is hardy for Midwest gardens! In fact, the showy flowers are now in bloom in area gardens. Heartland Gardening recently talked with Linda Johnson, co-owner of...
Gardening in Tight Spaces
By Teresa Woodard Today’s gardeners are getting more efficient when it comes to gardening in tight quarters. Whether they’re city dwellers planting a garden on a balcony or empty nesters tending a small patio garden, these gardeners are finding savvy solutions for...
All-Star Asters That Brighten Autumn
By Debra Knapke Autumn is the time of golden, scarlet, and maroon leaves and shortened days. It is the time for picking apples and harvesting vegetables. We watch our gardens slowly decline, and yet there is one perennial that says “Wait, my time is now!” Enter the...
Gardening in the Shade
Dry Shade? Don’t Despair – Plants that thrive under shade trees By Debra Knapke Dry Shade – words that strike fear in amateur as well as seasoned gardeners. Some gardeners camouflage these areas with nicely...
Catch Us If You Can
This summer’s been a busy one for Heartland Gardening bloggers. Congratulations to Debra -- named the honorary president of the Herb Society of America for 2014-16! She just returned from the Perennial Plant Symposium in Cincinnati where she saw a lot of new...
Fall Veggie Crops
By Michael Leach If you want fresh vegetables for Thanksgiving and perhaps New Year’s Day, start planting. Most of the vegetables typically planted in spring are equally adept at producing in fall and sometimes into...
House and garden ideas to steal from Thomas Jefferson
By Michael Leach Many Americans are mixed up when it comes to their home landscapes. Too often we put all the emphasis on an attractive border across the front and give scant (if any) attention to the patio. Little wonder the back 40 is rarely used. Ideally,...