Metropolitan Gardening

H odgson Farms from Walden, NY brings us pallets of amazing blossoms at the Union Square Green Market. It's so early in the season but these flowers are busting.  It's hard to believe that spring is here - it's true these temperatures are record setting and bode some concern, but let's just stop for a minute and look at the flowers.

L yndon Fenlon runs the urbanhoneyco.com in Melbourne, Australia where he is growing bees to make honey that can be delivered hyperlocally. Lyndon is on my list for one of the most ethical and sustainable business models I've ever seen... um list of well you get it. Lyndon is the beekeeper poster child of the early 21 Century. He gave us an interview and spoke kindly of his love for bees in a way that was super funny and touching. He answers the question of colony collapse disorder (CCD) head on. Bryan Ogden: In your humble opinion what are the major reasons for colony collapse disorder? Lyndon Fenlon: A lot of things have been lumped under the same heading of CCD but I'll talk about the original condition I first heard of and that was the one where hives rapidly emptied of bees or died off extremely quickly and remained untouched even by the usual creatures that move in to clean up abandoned hives. My initial thought was that it must be viral but then agricultu...

B rian Houck is the chief horticulturalist at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. His role is to provide garden services and ecological restoration in an urban environment quite unique for most of us gardening in cities. Brian's sincerity and technical skill is compelling. Please enjoy this short interview we have had the honor of getting with Brian. Brian Houck (on right) with volunteers. Metropolitan Gardening: Zoo horticulture often might go unnoticed -but I've always appreciated care and thought surrounding animal enclosures at zoos. Brian Houck: Thank you for this observation. Zoo horticulture does play a significant role in the support for animal well-being and exhibit support. Our charge is to create, re-create and maintain the intended landscape design goals. Views into exhibits are critical to the zoo experience, with the landscape in particular enhancing the immersive feeling for the guest. By immersive, I mean the blending of elements within exhibits and pub...