The Unmowed Blog

The unmowed corners.

That’s where life shoves through, grows to the sun, flourishes.

I stop every time I’m in a parking lot, a schoolyard, a graveyard–anywhere–and see what plants are growing. There’s unintended beauty in the untended places. I look to see what’s pushing through the cracks in the pavement. What the mowers have missed. What the weed whackers have failed to whack.

So come on this journey with me. Examine and rejoice in that which no one else notices.

Read Unmowed Blog posts here.

“It’s not what you look at, it’s what you see.”

–Thoreau

About me and my blog:

I worked for many years as an educator at a nature center in upstate New York. I live on a farm, with my family, dogs, cats, and a whole lot of chickens. I teach about nature in classrooms.

I love to write, and if you’d like to read more about a plant that grows in almost every place, mowed or unmowed, check out my book The Teeth of the Lion: The Story of the Beloved and Despised Dandelion. I’m also probably the only person in the world to have written not one but two books on poison ivy (one for kids, one for adults) which is a nasty plant for humans but an important wildlife food.

I like to sleep late, sew quilts by hand, hike, drink coffee, watch Game of Thrones, read anything. I like to garden but I won’t fuss–if a plant can’t make it on its own, it’s out of luck. I gave up on tomatoes and tulips and just plant things that take care of themselves, like daffodils. This is why I like “weeds” so much–they’re undemanding. Lately I’ve been trying to plant native species of plants, being increasingly aware of the desperate need for food and shelter for native wildlife in our ever-shrinking green places.

So, welcome! I’d love to hear from you, or see photos of wild and weird plants in unexpected places. I can’t promise to identify mystery plants, but I’d be glad to try. Visit the Unmowed Blog here.

Photo credit: Dandelion by p_a_h, on Flickr (used with Creative Commons license; use does not connote endorsement)