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.
The Native, Not Native Plant Debate: Is It Valid?
By Debra Knapke Late fall is my time for contemplation, for this question and so many more. The leaves are down, the garden beds are put-to-bed – as much as I do that anymore. The days are moody with short periods of transcendent blue skies bracketed by gorgeous...
Weekend Garden Tour
Huntington Gardens at Schiller Park in German Village By Teresa Woodard Looking for a (safe) escape this Labor Day weekend? Consider a trip to historic German Village just south of downtown Columbus, Ohio to tour Huntington Gardens of Schiller Park. The tree-lined...
Back-to-School Challenge
Crowd-Sourcing Native Plant Ideas for School Landscape By Michael Leach Please put on your thinking caps. We’re looking for plants native to central Ohio that meet several requirements. The goal is a more environmentally friendly and educationally enhanced school...
Pandemic Garden Trends
Fire Light Tidbit™(Spring Meadow)Artisan™ Coneflower(Proven Winners)Whispurr™ Catmint(Darwin Perennials) Trade Show Reveals New Plants and Gardening's Future By Teresa Woodard If there’s a silver lining to COVID for the green industry, it’s the 16 million new...
Rain, Rain Come Play Today
By Michael Leach Splish! splish! Rain drops in the night were surely a dream that would fade with the sunrise of another white-hot day. The rain, however, wasn’t a dream. A haze of drops, blending into the pale gray clouds, still fell when the alarm rang. It was a...
Eva Monheim on Hedgerows
Heartland Gardening recently talked with Eva Monheim, author of “Shrubs and Hedges” (Cool Springs Press, March 2020) about the under-appreciated hedgerow – its rich history, diversity and ecological value. Eva teaches at world renown Longwood Gardens as well as the...
Stories of Native Plants and Their Homeplaces
By Debra Knapke Most discussions about native plants start with a definition, but not this one. Instead here are my thoughts of where native plants belong in our gardens. First and foremost, native plants are organisms that have developed affinities for the soil,...
So Many Reasons to Plant Trees
By Michael Leach The mention of Arbor Day brings visions of shovels, holes and little sticks with balls of soil at their bases. Trees are planted for many reasons. But they do more than provide lumber or counter climate change by reducing atmospheric carbon and the...
Natives and Beyond
Discover Nativar Plants to Bring Beauty and Eco-Benefits to Your Backyard By Teresa Woodard Flopping grasses, no-show flowers and unruly plants. Many home gardeners say “no thanks” to such “wild” native plants for these reasons and others. But, thanks to the...