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.
Favorite Flora: Poinsettias
Perpetual poinsettias not for me By Michael Leach Every year the question arises: How can I get my poinsettia to bloom again. And I wonder why? For the price of a bland burger, greasy fries and sugary soda, you can buy a spectacular plant. No work needed. Best of all,...
Trendspotting: Homemade Holidays
By Teresa Woodard This season, join the handcrafted craze and give gardening gifts that are more from the heart than the wallet. Try seed bombs in a hand-printed bag by a Cincinnati print shop. Dress up old clay pots with DIY gilding. Pot amaryllis or paperwhite...
Snapshots: Leaf Mulch
By Teresa Woodard Artist Andrew Wyeth may not have been a gardener, but his poetic painting reminds me of the beauty of fallen leaves and the valuable role they play in protecting plants in winter, conserving moisture in the ground, keeping soil cool and returning...
Book Notes: Energy-Wise
Energy-Wise Landscape Design: a New Approach for your Home and Garden – Sue Reed, New Society Publishers, BC, Canada, 2010. Reviewed by Debra Knapke Sustainability, conserving energy and organic are the buzzwords of our time. And many claims of new techniques and...
Book Notes: What a Plant Knows
What a Plant Knows: a Field Guide for the Senses – Daniel Chamovitz, Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, NY, 2012. Reviewed by Debra Knapke I am teaching a new course – for me – at Columbus State Community College. Its official title is Plant Sciences,...
Gardens to Drive For: Cemeteries
Make Haunting Fall Memories By Michael Leach Can't make it to New England -- or even a state park -- for a fall foliage tour? Not to worry. A free show probably grows in a nearby city park or venerable cemetery. Cemetery? Sounds scary to some, I suppose, but not me....
Garden Happenings: Pumpkins
Check Out These "Smashing" Pumpkin Events By Teresa Woodard This weekend, the Circleville Pumpkin Show will celebrate all things pumpkin with giant pumpkin weigh-ins, a super-sized pumpkin pie and plenty of pumpkin-flavored foods. This small central Ohio town of...
Bulb Planting
Time to tip-toe with tulips, crocus, daffodils and more By Michael Leach So many worn phrases accurately apply to bulbs: Can't judge a book by its cover; small but mighty; big things come in little packages; the more the merrier. My mind flounders trying to find a...
Favorite Flora: Cypress Vine
By Debra Knapke Yes, the flowers are that intense scarlet! The cypress vine is an annual vine that graces the garden in the late summer to mid-fall. It is shy about opening its blossoms on cloudy days, but a bright overcast day is enough to send it into a frenzy of...