Unearthing Your Green Thumb
The U.S. vegetable garden - Backyard plots are again in vogue
For the first time since Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady, there is a vegetable garden on the White House lawn.
With her two daughters in tow, Michelle Obama herself began breaking ground for a 1,100-square-foot raised-bed organic plot on the South Lawn mid-March. There are 55 different vegetables, herbs and berries growing, and all will be used for official dinners, family meals and snacks.There will be two beehives to assist with pollination.
While the undertaking is of local import, it has national import as well. Michelle Obama said in an interview with "The New York Times" that growing food locally is sustainable (far less fuel to truck it in; far fewer chemicals to keep large farms growing) and it also teaches children about healthy eating and avoiding obesity.
Her own children were beginning to put on pounds with lots of pizza and sandwiches. After her pediatrician "raised the red flag," with a new food regimen, Malia and Sasha toned up.
While White House staff will do the brunt of the work, Michelle said "the entire family -- including the president -- will pull weeds, whether they like it or not... Now grandma, my mom, I don't know." She said she would most likely sit back and say, "Isn't that lovely. You missed a spot."
And before you wonder of the price, the NYT reported the cost of seeds and mulch was only $200.
The only potential problem is the new First Dog, Bo, a Portuguese water dog. These breeds are reputed to like tomatoes. So the First Garden may be in trouble.
According to the National Gardening Association, 43 million American households plan to grow fruits, vegetables, herbs and/or berries this year. That's a 19 percent jump from last year.
There is an interesting Web site -- www.GreenTheGrounds.org -- that promotes more sustainable gardening practices not only in The White House, but also in governors' mansions and mayors' homes around the country. Maryland and New York are cited on the site.
The grounds of the Florida Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee -- at least during the tenures of Bob Martinez and Lawton Chiles -- focused on butterflies and native plants. According to James Finch with the department of management services for the mansion, the grounds -- roughly 5 acres -- is still very sustainably managed. "It's the right thing to do," he said.
He said the focus is on perennials, which don't need to be replanted all the time as annuals do, and the irrigation systems shut off when there is rain. Fertilizer is slow-release, to avoid nutrient runoff into the Wakulla basin. A substantial portion of the property is left natural.
Besides the native shrubs and flowers enjoyed by those on regular tours, there is a private herb garden that augments the cuisine enjoyed by Governor Charlie and Amanda Crist in their personal dining room.
Wilmot Gardens
It's official: Wilmot Gardens on the UF Campus now has its own historical marker.
Presiding in a marker-unveiling ceremony mid-March was Dr. C. Craig Tisher, professor of nephrology and dean of the College of Medicine and -- more importantly on this day -- one of the chief players on the renovation of the country's oldest camellia collection. At its inception in the 1940s, it was also the largest, with more than 300 winter-flowering shrubs donated from around the United States as well as from England, France and Japan. Tisher lauded the work and dedication of horticulturist Royal J. "Roy" Wilmot in establishing the garden. Wilmot's son and granddaughter attended the event, and said they were thrilled the original rock monument as well as the historical marker would preserve their patriarch's memory.
The five acres at the intersection of Gale Lemerand Drive and Mowry Road, just north of the cancer center, fell into disrepair and neglect since the 1970s, and became a spot for football game tailgaters.
Now, through the efforts of UF employee Linda Luecking and her husband, Bill, a master gardener, and countless volunteers working weekends for the past two years, the site is evolving into a haven for not only cancer patients receiving treatment nearby, but also a quiet place full of azaleas, camellias, towering pines, meandering paved pathways, running water gardens and corners to explore.
It was as old-meets-new kind of morning. Gloria Mayberry was one of the attendees. She and her husband, Maurice, were married under a magnolia tree on the site more than 36 years ago. A landscape architect who helped UF's Grounds Chief Noel Lake design many of the university's most revered sites, she happily pointed out plants she helped set out so long ago, as well as a new addition, a Rhodoleia propagated from one of Lake's original plants. §
Marina Blomberg has lived and gardened in Gainesville for more than 30 years. Contact her via editor@towerpublicatrions.com.
