Spring is upon us, we can feel it in the air, we can see it in the colors, but there is something wrong with this picture, as our ability to enjoy this lovely time of year as new life sprouts up, has an ominous side…. Leaf Blowers! Yes, the roar of leaf blowers and mowers fill the air, and yellow signs dot the roadways warning us to stay off the lawn for at least 24 hours so that the pesticides can seep in. Yup, Spring is here, and simultaneous to buds and flower petals popping up across the landscape, the pollinators are losing their battle with humans as pesticides, the mow and blow mentality and habitat loss are causing their population to decrease in record numbers. We revel in the rebirth of the land, and while the song Live for Today by the Grassroots tells us to ” live for today, and don’t worry ’bout tomorrow,” these times demand that we have to worry about tomorrow and take action to make things better. Beauty is all around us, and people are tending to lovely gardens and planting shrubs and trees to maintain a park like feeling, which Doug Tallamy calls the Home Grown National Park Movement. We have to stop and smell the roses, and let the bees and insects do their thing as keystone species, which are responsible for sustaining ecosystems around the globe. In the online article via nrdc.org/stories titled A World Without Bees? Here’s What Happens If Bees Go Extinct, it stated that Albert Einstein was sometimes quoted as saying, “If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live.” While the quote has not been confirmed, there is truth in that statement. So with that in mind, let us look at how we can grow gardens, plant more native plants and stop using pesticides and leaf blowers which kill pollinators. Our guest on this episode is Donna Sharrett, who is an amazing artist and Master gardener. She gives us some great information about pollinators and how to maintain a healthy garden and lawn. Donna’s artwork has been exhibited at numerous venues including the U.S. Embassy, Bangladesh; the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the Katonah Museum of Art, the John Michael Kohler Institute, Sheboygan, WI and many more. Donna is also a member of the planning board in the town of Ossining, NY. Her home garden will be featured on the Garden Conservancy Tour next month. Go to (https://www.gardenconservancy.org/) for get information.
For more information about Donna’s art and garden go to DonnaSharrett.com, and for past shows go to HudsonRiverRadio.com and Malcolmpresents.com. Follow The Many Shades of Green (TMSOG) on Facebook, Instagram and Threads @tmshadesofgreen. Listen to TMSOG podcast on all major podcast apps. #RaiseYourEcoConsciousness
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