Grow Like Wild!

Hello and welcome to my podcast! I’m sorry if you missed me. I wasn’t able to record last month what with epic adventures in Mongolia taking all my time. But the good news is that I’m doing an entire Garden-side Chat presentation on those aforementioned Mongolian adventures!

You might be interested because:

* A surprising number of the flowers we saw there have been introduced into the ornamental horticulture trade. It was lovely and informative to see them in their habitat.

* There were more blue flowers than I have ever seen in my LIFE. Who can deny that the teeny Gentiana squarrosa above has the most charming flowers on Earth? But it was their seed distribution that stole my heart. I’ll give you a clue: raindrops are involved! If you love blue flowers, I am going to share so much about them.

* A full 30% of the Mongolian population is nomadic, while most others are only a few generations away from herding. There is a deep respect for herders from everyone, even in cities. And that made the society fundamentally non-hierarchal. It was AWESOME.

If you’d like to come hear more, the Mongolia Garden-side Chat will be Thursday October 15th at 6PM eastern time. You can attend by clicking below to become a supporter of Grow Like Wild!

Anyway, I hope your autumn is as glorious as New England’s and you’re gearing up to talk about leaving the leaves for the next two months.

xoxoxo,

Rebecca

Happy Belated Buck Moon Podcast!

At long last, the new podcast episode is published. People, are you really listening to this? I get around 4,000 downloads a month. Which is GREAT. But not amazing, you know? If you’re a podcast person, and know of tricks and edits for making a podcast successful, I’d be much obliged for advice. Luddite podcasting is not the easiest…

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ANWAY, I’m studying Echinacea this month. Like all asters, flowerheads are a composite of tiny individual flowers (“florets”), with functional reproductive parts but no petals. You can see their yellow stamens sticking out below. I love to notice how the bees walk in a circle around the flowerhead, hitting each tiny bloom. As they’re fertilized, and seeds start to grow, the cone raises up higher, and the inner rings of florets bloom, forcing the bees into tinier and tinier circles.

If you’d like to learn more about this gateway flower into ecological gardening, please come to the Echinacea Garden-side Chat, this August 17th, at 6PM ET.

‎These monthly zoom presentations and hang outs are for supporters of Grow Like Wild. It’s $50, but then you get to come to every Chat for a year!

Did you know that no one is really sure how many species of Echinacea there are? It’s true. 💗

Hi Plant People!

The Strawberry Moon podcast episode is officially ON THE INTERNET.

It’s a doozy: delving into how two North American strawberries went to France to create the fruit we know and love today. There’s also tons of research, garden fashion reviews, a media roundup, and the latest statistics on native plant sales.

GET EXCITED.

xoxoxo,

Rebecca McMackin

The Blue Moon edition of Grow Like Wild is out in the world!

This month explores everything amazing about Tulip Trees, explains why biodiversity will lead to less tick diseases, and provides you with far more information than you’ve ever thought you needed on how World Cup soccer pitches are grown. Get ready to impress your soccer friends.

If you find yourself as enamored with Tulip Trees as I am, please come to this month’s Garden-side Chat on Monday Jun 22, at 6:00PM EST. We will cover all there is to cover on Liriodendron evolution, ecology, nectar imbibing, and use in the landscape.

If you’d like to attend this and every virtual Garden-side Chat’s for AN ENTIRE YEAR, click below to become a paying supporter.

xoxoxox,

Rebecca

The podcast is super late this month! What can I say, I’ve been outside! I hope you’re there as well.

I’ve been pulling Garlic Mustard for WEEKS - determined to clear it from the entire forest behind my house. I’m actually having great luck so far and do think I have an effective method. It boils down to this: take it seriously. And remember that seeds can live in the soil for 5 years, but only 4% of seedlings make it to reproductive age.

If you’d like to learn more about how to get rid of this delicious and pernicious weed, consider attending this Thursday’s Garden-side Chat, a monthly, virtual lecture and discussion group for supporters of Grow Like Wild.

It’s only $50 and you get to attend every Garden-side Chat for a year! As well as support the efforts that go into making this newsletter and podcast.

What does weeding have to do with phalanx warfare? Find out this Thursday May 21st, at 6PM EST. See you there!

In this month's PINK MOON episode, we've got aquatic bumblebees, birds who love cigarettes, and the very best way to plant very small plants.

Hello gardeners! At long last, please find the recording of the latest Grow Like Wild podcast episode - the BLOOD WORM MOON! (cue scary music).

These “podcast announcement” emails are never super thrilling, so I thought I’d spice things up by including a fun friend each month for you to be on the look out for. Above is the Half Wing Moth, Phigalia titea. While they aren’t especially glamorous, they are usually the first moths of spring in the northeast.

This guy is a male and I know that because females only have tiny wings (half, if you will) and do not fly. They both overwinter as pupae in the leaves under their host trees (birch, maple, oaks and others) so leave those leaves!

Adults emerge in the first warm days of spring and have only one thing on their minds. They don’t eat, they just mate. Females lay eggs on the bark of their host trees and, when they hatch, their inchworm babies inch up the tree to eat newly emerging leaves. They can only eat those tender, new leaves. If you feed them old leaves, they’ll starve.

So keep an eye out for the halfwing moth! They aren’t beautiful pollinators but they make great bird food and let us know that spring is on the way.

Happy Waning Crescent Snow Moon.

This month’s podcast was long in the making, but out in the wild white yonder at last. Snow is everywhere. It’s biting cold. We should all be in bed with a book (or a podcast!). But the days are getting longer and the light is coming back.

xoxo,

Rebecca

The moon tonight is a waning crescent, but that silver sliver is still in the month of the Wolf Moon. It was the last super moon of the season, we won’t see another till fall. And even thought the sky is dark, we’re still gaining more than 2 minutes of sunlight each day. It’s the perfect time to listen to a podcast and enjoy the snow.

Want to follow up on articles, papers, and videos? The written newsletter has a million links and references. Please visit https://rebeccamcmackin.substack.com/p/grow-like-wild-wolf-moon.

xoxox,

Rebecca McMackin

December’s Cold Supermoon will only be a half moon this evening, but it will still trace its highest arc across the night sky - higher than all other moons of the year. It’s the perfect time to listen to this month’s Grow Like Wild podcast, featuring hard evidence of the benefits of ecological gardens, the latest horticultural drama, and a gift guide for all your favorite gardeners.

Want to follow up on articles, papers, and videos? There’s a written newsletter that comes out on the full moon with a million links and references. Please visit https://rebeccamcmackin.substack.com/p/grow-like-wild-cold-moon.

xoxox,

Rebecca McMackin