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NEWS ABOUT: gardening

Michelle Writing Book on White House Garden

Charity volume will give tips on community gardening, keeping healthy

(Newser) - Barack Obama's not the only Obama who can write a book, and now Michelle Obama is taking her turn, the AP reports. The illustrated tome from Crown Publishing Group will tell the story of the White House garden, Obama says, answering questions like: “How did we do it? Why... More »

Hottest Trend in Dining: Gardens

According to chefs, who say they're cheap, and popular

(Newser) - Chefs have responded to the local food movement by going as local as it gets: their own gardens. In a survey of 2,000 chefs by the National Restaurant Association, a third identified gardening as the top restaurant trend of 2010, the AP reports. Growing produce, they’ve discovered, is... More »

Big Bird to Michelle: Are You Part Bird?

First Lady Obama makes her Sesame Street gardening appearance

(Newser) - Michelle Obama’s much-hyped guest stint on Sesame Street airs today, and as promised, she helps Elmo plant a garden—and assures Big Bird that they’re not related, even though they’re both tall. Watch the clip above. More »

First Lady to Garden on Sesame Street

Michelle Obama will educate the residents on the value of healthy eating

(Newser) - What do Michelle Obama, Cameron Diaz, Eva Longoria Parker, Ricky Gervais, and Kobe Bryant have in common? All of them will appear on this season of Sesame Street, its 40th anniversary. The first lady will flex her green thumb and talk about gardening and eating healthy on the show’s... More »

Michelle Obama's Garden: Policy Move or Photo Op?

(Newser) - Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden had its first big harvest recently, and so far, it’s the most tangible food policy move the Obama administration has delivered, Salon reports. President Obama came to office promising real reform that so far hasn’t materialized. The more patient  in the progressive food... More »

Plant Your Own Beer Garden

Even if you don't drink, hop vines can be an attractive garden addition

(Newser) - Sure, anyone can buy a home beer-making kit. But why not go one step further and grow the hops yourself? That’s what Ben Granger, owner of a specialty beer shop, decided to do when he turned to home brewing. “I wanted to know what I was working with,... More »

Plants Warn Each Other: Study

(Newser) - They can't quite Twitter, but plants have sophisticated means of communication nonetheless, reports the Telegraph. A new study suggests they use complex chemical signals to discuss both predators and pollinators. In one test, sagebrush shrubs whose neighbors had their leaves clipped, as if by grasshoppers, appeared to grow more resilient,... More »

Those Greasy Burgers Don't Fool Us, Barack

Dowd to prez: Stop pretending you like junk food and eat healthy

(Newser) - He might take his veep out for a burger once in a while, but Barack Obama is a health nut—so much so, notes Maureen Dowd, that when he and Michelle had dinner in New York "he managed the impossible feat of nibbling only one French fry." For... More »

Veggie Gardens Thrive in Lean Times

Seed sales set records amid recession

(Newser) - Sales of vegetable seeds are skyrocketing this season and experts say it’s not just the local food movement or Michelle Obama’s First Garden that’s driving the craze. Americans hit hard by the recession are slashing grocery bills by growing their own, as evidenced by a 30% spike... More »

Human Hair Grows Plants, Profits for Fla. Company

(Newser) - For growers and gardeners of all kinds, Smart Grow mats could be revolutionary. Tucked around the stems of plants, the cheap, natural mats keep weeds and pests away as they spur growth. There’s just one thing holding them back: They’re made from human hair. “No matter what... More »

Michelle Digs Into White House Garden

President bans beets from veggie plot

(Newser) - Michelle Obama and kids from a Washington elementary school got their hands dirty today, Newsday reports, breaking ground for a vegetable garden on the White House lawn. The garden, the first on the grounds since World War II, will feature many veggies—but not beets, at the president’s request.... More »

Obamas Planting Veggie Garden at White House

(Newser) - The Obamas are planting a vegetable garden at the White House, the Washington Post reports. And not just any garden—it will have 55 different vegetables, including the one that vexed candidate Obama: arugula. Michelle will break ground tomorrow with local students, and chefs will use its bounty to feed... More »

Flower Shows Wilt Under Recession

Hard times, changing tastes killing off lavish displays

(Newser) - The economic downturn and changing demographics are killing off flower shows across America, the New York Times reports. Sponsorship money is drooping and greenhouses are becoming costlier to heat. One of the most famous, the New England Flower Show, canceled this year’s event after 137 years of bringing an... More »

Invest in Gardens, Where Yields Make Wall St. Blush

25-to-1 return includes benefits 'that, literally, money can’t buy,' seed-seller says

(Newser) - With the economic outlook darkening, there’s still one good investment that will help you weather the downturn, George Ball writes in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: a garden. The “astonishing garden-grown return on investment is not modern-day speculative sleight-of-hand, but real, tangible and fungible,” the chairman of the Burpee... More »

Locavore Movement Spurs Luxe Niche

Personal gardeners, chefs spring from move to locally grown food

(Newser) - The number of people seeking out locally raised food—locavores-—is on the rise, reports the New York Times, as are businesses that cater to them. People too busy (or lazy) to plant their own garden or visit a local vegetable dealer are hiring people to find the best regional... More »

Gardeners Dig These Gadgets

New tools can make your thumb look a little greener

(Newser) - Technology is coming to the rescue of gardening-handicapped yard owners. A variety of new tech tools can help weekend gardeners keep their plants alive and even thriving with a minimum of effort, reports MSNBC. Among the new green gadgets:
  • Wireless Weather Projection Station: This handy device measures temperature and barometric
... More »

Motown Crops Spring From Decay

Charity makes dent with farms in desolate Detroit neighborhoods

(Newser) - An ambitious charity thinks it can turn Detroit’s most desolate neighborhoods into bustling farming utopias. The group, dubbed Urban Farming, grows vegetables on vacant land throughout the city, then gives them out for free to local residents, the BBC reports. Parts of Motor City have been transformed by its... More »

Pistil-Packin' Guerrilla Gardeners Strike LA

Green activists stealthily plant food and flowers on unused urban acreage

(Newser) - "Guerrilla gardeners" armed with plants are stealthily greening neglected and forgotten patches of land in Los Angeles and other cities across the nation. The furtive horticulturalists have nighttime planting parties or "seed bombings" and turn corners of the city into flower or food gardens, reports the Los Angeles ... More »

Grow Yourself a Garden (Even if it Doesn't Help)

Try to reverse climate change with some home-made eats

(Newser) - Climate change seems too big for individuals to fix, but that’s partly because we're trapped in a cheap energy mindset, Michael Pollan writes in the New York Times. Low-cost energy has allowed us to rely on distant specialists for most of our needs, and we have a moral duty... More »

Itchier Poison Ivy Stems from Climate Change

Rising CO2 levels lead to bigger, stronger rash-causing weeds

(Newser) - Poison ivy is getting bigger and more potent, and the culprit is the 21st century's all-purpose scapegoat: climate change. The itchy, rash-inducing plant that has plagued hikers and gardeners since the beginning of time thrives in environments with high levels of CO2, the Journal reports, and with rates on the... More »

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