Not quite a newsletter, but we’re getting closer.

Hi Plant People,

Happy spring equinox!! I hope you enjoy this mini-newsletter.

I am too busy to write proper newsletters, sadly. I’m working on an amazing (top secret) public garden design, lecturing, traveling about, and just getting the most out of this fellowship. I promise I’ll be back once the fellowship ends in May.

BUT, I’m ramping up speaking engagements again. Starting at the end of the month, I’m back at it, with many new ideas to share. Info below.

If you’ve tried to book me for a lecture or training, you may have noticed that I am not… efficient at correspondence. Thankfully, my friend and colleague Kathryn Acerbo-Bachmann is, and she is handling all booking moving forward. So please email hello@experiencecurationconsulting.com when seeking my professional attention. Of course, still email me directly to say hi!

RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT

• Ecological gardeners rejoice! Mt Cuba has published the results of their 4 year Carex trials! Their new guide has it all: sun tolerance, winter interest, and tolerance of mowing. They even answer that burning question, “What IS the best sedge?” Apparently, Carex woodii! I always think of it as “giant C. pennsylvanica” but apparently it’s also denser. Just remember to check your range, as C. woodii is pretty limited.

• Here is an interview Margaret Roach did with Sam Hoadley, manager of Horticultural Research at Mt. Cuba, about the sedge trials.

• Benjamin Vogt’s new book is out! Prairie Up: An Introduction to Natural Garden Design. Can’t wait to read it!

• You’re likely already familiar with the incredible garden photography of Ngoc Minh Ngo, but she is also a marvelous writer. Her new book, New York Green, is a love letter to NYC parks filled with history and of course, amazing photos. It doesn’t hurt that BBP got the cover! 💚

IN THE NEWS

• David Wagner is a national treasure. He’s the rare entomologist for whom insects are not just here to be collected and organized. He wants all of us to get to know them, to support them, and even learn from them. I couldn’t be more thrilled for this deep dive Elizabeth Kolbert wrote on the man, and the caterpillars, in the New Yorker.

• Every heirloom seed has “a story to tell — a link to those who grew it before, and the places it originated,” writes Margaret Roach in this beautiful tribute to southern seed saving (and sharing) pioneer, Ira Wallace. Ms. Wallace tells the story of Whippoorwill pea, which was brought to North American by enslaved people sailing from Africa. The whole article is heartwarming and shows how growing plants could be: sharing, supporting each other, and recognizing seeds as no less than the “embodiment of our living history.”

• When Americans seek to protect declining wildlife, they first go to Sate agencies to get animals listed as endangered, threatened, etc. However, in many states, insects do not count as wildlife! Catrin Einhorn explains why that matters, as well as the workarounds people use to protect insects.

• Unfortunately, even federal Endangered status is not always enough to protect wildlife and rare ecosystems. Bell Bowl Prairie was bulldozed a couple of weeks ago, despite housing the endangered Rusty Patch Bumble Bee. All so that Amazon trucks could drive on the hypotenuse of a triangle rather than around a corner.

• From the department of “We are going mainstream,” the Washington Post published a piece on leaving the leaves in spring, as well as some chores for those of us who cannot but help to get in the garden this month: clean up hardscapes, define edges, make brush piles.

• The incredible Heather Holm made this fun “story map” about specialist bees. A full 25% of our native bees are specialists, requiring the pollen of the plants they evolved along side of in order to reproduce well. To find out which plants in your garden might support specialist bees, here is a helpful chart from Jarrod Fowler.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• An Evening with Uli Lorimer and Rebecca McMackin at the Native Plant Trust

  March 31, 2023

  Framingham, MA

  In person and virtual, open to the public

  Uli and I will discuss no less than the state of native plants and ecological horticulture today.

• The Language of Flowers. Pollination Ecology at Grow Native Massachusetts

  April 12, 2023

  Cambridge, MA

  Free, in person and open to the public

  I cannot wait for this lecture! This organization is marvelous. It’s free and will likely sell out. So reserve tickets now if you’re sure you can attend. It won’t be live-streamed but will be available online in the future.

• Beauty and Butterflies: New Techniques in Ecological Horticulture at the Long Hill Garden Symposium

  May 5, 2023

  Beverly, MA

  In person and open to the public

  Curious about garden management strategies to promote wildlife? This is the lecture that shows you how to do it.

www.rebeccamcmackin.com