Phys .org: New online resource can help users ‘bee’ friendly when it comes to planting for pollinators. “An online database developed at the University of Sussex which documents pollinator-plant interactions, could help the public understand how to plant for pollinators and support biodiversity.”
EPA: EPA Marks National Pollinator Week by Launching Pilot Projects and Resources Portal to Help Protect Vulnerable Species from Pesticides. “To enhance access to pollinator protection resources, EPA launched a webpage that provides information on best pest management practices, state managed pollinator protection plans, and mitigations, from EPA, federal partners, and scientific journals that offer lessons on protecting pollinators and their habitat. These resources will help empower farmers and others interested in pollinator protection to learn about and address the challenges facing pollinators.”
Mashable: 7 best gardening apps, so you can stop killing all of your plants. “Whether you are starting a windowsill herb garden, buying some indoor plants, or planting a garden in your yard, these apps will help you figure out how to care for your plants and remind you to care for them.”
Oklahoma State University: OSU Extension websites provide valuable toolkits for all things gardening . “For more than a century, Oklahoma State University Extension has provided research-based information on a wide variety of topics to Oklahoma residents and beyond. Today’s technology allows quick access to this valuable information in a digital format. With gardening season preparation underway, three new websites have been developed that pertain to home landscapes and gardening, home lawn care and pond management. In addition, the Oklahoma Proven and Oklahoma Gardening websites have been completely updated, featuring beautiful color photos and the most up-to-date, research-based information.”
San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco gardeners use TikTok to share unconventional planting methods. “Call them guerrilla gardeners, ‘petal-punks’ or TikTok horticulturists. Phoenix and Shalaco McGee of SF in Bloom are sowing native wildflower seeds in neglected plots of land and sharing their blooming adventures on social media. The San Francisco pair’s informational gardening videos and unconventional planting techniques have garnered more than 200,000 followers and 5 million likes on TikTok. The McGees take to San Francisco streets, spreading native, non-invasive wildflower seeds with pink, plastic guns and Parmesan cheese shakers.”
University of California: People turned to gardening for stress relief, food access during pandemic, new survey says. “People who turned to gardening during the COVID-19 pandemic did so to relieve stress, connect with others and grow their own food in hopes of avoiding the virus, according to a survey conducted by researchers at the University of California, Davis, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) and international partners.”
BBC: Thailand Covid: Idle taxis used to grow food for out-of-work drivers. “In a car park in the Thai capital Bangkok, green shoots sprout from the roofs of colourful taxis. Thailand’s tough Covid-19 restrictions have left the city’s hectic streets quiet, putting taxi drivers out of work. As fares dried up, many drivers left the city for their home villages, leaving so-called taxi graveyards behind.”
Mashable: The best gardening apps, so you can stop killing all of your plants. “Whether you are starting a windowsill herb garden, buying some indoor plants, or planting a garden in your yard, these apps will help you figure out how to care for your plants and remind you to care for them. There will be no dead plants on these app’s watch.”
CNET: How the pandemic and gardening startups fed our home-grown cravings. “When the pandemic hit, most of us watched as supply chain shortages — including imports that account for 15% of US food consumption — emptied grocery store shelves for the first time. Faced with such unprecedented stress, it’s no surprise that just over one in four Americans began growing food at home, according to a Packaged Facts National Online Consumer survey. These novice gardeners said their worries about the future, including food shortages, hunger and inability to go to the grocery store, were the main reasons for their newfound self-sufficiency. Locally grown meant more than just being within driving distance; it meant being in your backyard.”
Hudson Star-Observer: Growing small venues with love, new website provides backyard connections for microweddings. “The website is a nationwide venture, and the two welcome potential sites from anywhere in the country. To begin, they’re focusing on the St. Croix Valley and Twin Cities area, as that’s where they’re from. Currently the site has six backyard sites available. The microweddings, an increasingly popular trend in the wedding industry, does not include all the aspects of traditional large venue weddings.” This is very, very new, not much here yet.
University of Florida: Identify weeds fast with new online tool. “Florida weeds run aplenty, especially in the summer. Getting rid of weeds starts with proper identification, and UF/IFAS experts developed an online tool that organizes weeds by flower color for fast identification. The tool helps identify 130 of the most common weeds found in Florida.”
Google Blog: Take a trip around UK Gardens with Google Arts & Culture. “Gardens United is a new, interactive digital hub sharing the stories of a range of gardens around the country, thanks to collaboration between Google Arts & Culture and over 30 cultural partners in the UK. From archives to allotments, from botanic gardens to heritage bodies, there is something for everyone to enjoy and discover.”
Fox 4: Kansas City’s famous rose garden goes high tech to celebrate 90th anniversary. “Visitors to the rose garden in Loose Park may notice something new as they stop to smell the flowers. The Kansas City Rose Society launched a new website that categorizes every variety in the garden by name, color and classification.”
New York Times: Lockdown Gardening in Britain Leads to Archaeological Discoveries. ” Gardeners in Hampshire, a county in southeast England, were weeding their yard in April when they found 63 gold coins and one silver coin from King Henry VIII’s reign in the 16th century, with four of the coins inscribed with the initials of the king’s wives Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour. The archaeological find was one of more than 47,000 in England and Wales that were reported this year, amid an increase in backyard gardening during coronavirus lockdowns, the British Museum said on Wednesday.”
Philadelphia Inquirer: The pandemic caused a seed shortage. Here’s how to save them.. “‘The more you spend time with your plants, the more you develop a relationship with them,’ says Owen Taylor, founder of Truelove Seeds. The local seed company works with small farmers to cultivate and preserve not only rare seeds but also the stories and cultural significance behind them. It’s the difference, Taylor says, between seed-saving and seed-keeping (which is also Taylor’s Instagram handle, sans the hyphen).”
