The Marvelous Melinda Myers Makes It Better
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(April 24, 2022) That headline applies to many things. Your garden. My show. My SEO score for this blog post. Life in general. Who knows what else? The possibilities are endless. The point is that the Marvelous Melinda Myers returns to the show this Sunday. And she brings good news about spring and your garden.
For the uninitiated, Melinda Myers is a semi-regular on our show. Her gardening books include Can’t Miss Small Space Gardening and about 20 others. She hosts the internationally distributed Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” DVD series. That features the latest Food Gardening for Everyone DVD set. You can also see her on television via “Melinda’s Garden Moment” segments. In 2017, she became a Hall of Famer when GWA: The Association for Garden Communicators (now known as GardenComm) bestowed that honor on her.
Updating Midwest Gardener’s Handbook
One of those 20 books is the Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, now updated for 2022. You can tell it’s updated because she writes about invasive jumping worms in our gardens. She also tells me that she removed recommendations for some plants that are now considered invasive. The book explores gardening in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. That covers a lot of ground. But she offers a lot of practical advice, including profiles of more than 250 plants. And Myers walks you through a lot of basic horticultural techniques. It’s a terrific book for new gardeners. Experienced gardeners can use it as a refresher course.
In addition to reporting on the book, we’ll talk about spring gardening in the Midwest. Melinda says that you should get your cool season veggies in the ground now. By the way, that article is on the Pasquesi Home and Gardens site. She’ll be speaking there on Tuesday, May 10 from 6:30 pm – 7:15 pm, followed by four hours of Q & A. Okay, that might be hyperbole. Regardless, the free webinar is called “Spring Flowering & Evergreen Shrubs.” Register for the free webinar here. At any rate, did I mention that Melinda knows a lot about gardening? She also writes about how to Create a Colorful Year-Round Landscape in Natural Awakenings Chicago Magazine. (Co-host Peggy Malecki is publisher.) And you can find more about her upcoming presentations (and past talks) here.
However, we throw all of that stuff out the window when The Marvelous Melinda Myers stops by. Basically, we lean over the garden fence and chat about what’s going on in our yards. It’s a great way to spend a Sunday morning.
The Green Dispatch
Meanwhile, we just blew through Earth Day 2022. You probably saw more stories about the environment than you will see for the rest of the year. But I’m not complaining. Peggy and I took last week off, so today we’re catching up with a few green stories of note.
As the cost of groceries rises, food pantries across Chicago see increased demand. ‘It has just not stopped.’ – Chicago Tribune
Hundreds of birds found dead, likely from avian flu, at Baker’s Lake near Barrington: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this’ – Chicago Tribune
A megafire raged for 3 months. No one’s on the hook for its emissions. – The Washington Post
Biden to issue Earth Day order to safeguard old-growth forests – The Washington Post
Pacific Northwest’s ‘forest gardens’ were deliberately planted by Indigenous people – Science.org
The Fiddle Leaf Fig Is Dead – The New York Times
Solar energy can now be stored for up to 18 years, say scientists – Euronews
Just when you think your work matters, A survey comes along to set you straight – Unspun
Schaumburg trustees unanimously approve trucking firm’s HQ over neighbors’ objections – Daily Herald
Pollution and habitat loss make Mississippi River among nation’s most endangered – Des Moines Register
Landmarks group lists ‘most endangered’ sites in Illinois – Chicago Sun-Times
This is how many humans have ever existed, according to researchers – World Economic Forum