https://www.persistentgardener.com/blog daily 0.75 2026-03-30 https://www.persistentgardener.com/blog/what-i-mean-by-persistent monthly 0.5 2026-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67f3f9458a84f004f44ef6a2/196f4648-6dd0-44d4-9ac2-dd29d1928b92/Ryerson_sandbox_2012.jpeg Blog - What I Mean by Persistent Take my small Brooklyn backyard as an example of a changing landscape and ‘persistent gardening’. Shortly after we moved in, we hired a garden designer to transform a patch of broken concrete and weeds into a usable garden. At the time I didn’t think about gardening in support of pollinators or other wildlife. I wanted something pretty and easy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67f3f9458a84f004f44ef6a2/325b979d-7677-448b-887d-38526d6b41a1/GBatWork.jpg Blog - What I Mean by Persistent - For years I dutifully did the tasks I associated with gardening. For the most part I felt productive and it brought me joy. There were also mistakes, frustrations and surprises along the way. For example, I didn’t know how to prune correctly so shrubs became overgrown and unhealthy. When I started the horticulture certificate program at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and began reading about ecological gardening practices, I started thinking more about the relationship between biological diversity and environmental impact. Gardening started to be less about WHAT and HOW and more about WHY. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67f3f9458a84f004f44ef6a2/1774905375866-AWJ8S0AUE42KLUZPAJRD/Asters.JPG Blog - What I Mean by Persistent https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67f3f9458a84f004f44ef6a2/1774905400023-26IB6L1H96PWRF72C139/Goldenrod.JPG Blog - What I Mean by Persistent https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67f3f9458a84f004f44ef6a2/1774905419169-GANX19IV4ZCT9DT9IFSS/Amsonia_pot.jpg Blog - What I Mean by Persistent https://www.persistentgardener.com/blog/showing-up-despite-opposition monthly 0.5 2026-02-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67f3f9458a84f004f44ef6a2/09c3e197-66dd-4a89-ada3-fb748327dbc4/IMG_8845.jpg Blog - How we show up My plan for this month was to provide information on winter sowing. Last year in late January I created small greenhouses out of 1-gallon jugs, sprinkled in seeds and set them outside. This year the winter sowing isn’t happening. Not only are we experiencing an unusually long cold spell with feet of snow here in New York, but I’m preoccupied and worried. I can’t seem to focus on daily tasks. I grew up in Minnesota. Although I’ve lived in New York longer than I lived in the Twin Cities, I still feel a strong connection to the people and the land there. In many ways it still feels like home. Like so many of us around the country, I watched with horror the footage of two Minnesota residents being murdered as they bravely attempted to protect their neighbors. I’m seeing countless images of the streets I know occupied by federal agents carrying military-grade weapons. https://www.persistentgardener.com/blog/what-my-clients-asked-forand-how-i-supported-them monthly 0.5 2025-12-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67f3f9458a84f004f44ef6a2/625f40e5-88b0-459b-92b7-dd66a7ecbeed/IMG_7032.JPG Blog - What My Clients Asked For—And How I Supported Them - I started The Persistent Gardener almost a year ago and I’m so grateful to each and every one of my clients. It’s been a privilege to work with them. These clients came to me feeling overwhelmed, unsure, or simply ready for a fresh start in their gardens. Many of them shared similar frustrations—and similar hopes. Here’s what they were wishing for, and how I helped support them: Greater confidence with plants Several clients expressed insecurity and trepidation about caring for their gardens. They told me they wanted to “develop more fluency in working with plants” and said things like “I know very little about gardening.” Together, we built their knowledge and comfort so that plant care felt enjoyable instead of intimidating. https://www.persistentgardener.com/blog/leave-the-leaves-somewhere monthly 0.5 2025-12-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67f3f9458a84f004f44ef6a2/7756d045-9ad8-45a7-89b4-5684cd4eeff8/unnamed+%286%29.jpg Blog - Leave the leaves (somewhere) Fall is a particularly challenging time in terms of the messaging around garden tasks. I wish I could give you a simple checklist of ‘5 things to do in your garden this fall’ but to do so would be misleading and oversimplified. So, what I’m offering you is an example from a client where best practices in ecological gardening involved rethinking. My hope is that in offering this small case study, you’ll recognize the impact of practices and the importance of assessment. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67f3f9458a84f004f44ef6a2/60c95f90-36e3-4e80-8fe2-49d1b94f99c2/unnamed+%287%29.jpg Blog - Leave the leaves (somewhere) A suburban client took this advice and dutifully raked the leaves into their newly established garden bed. They were excited about how this task, along with native plants and refraining from using pesticides, was contributing to the creation of a habitat for local wildlife. I shared in this enthusiasm until I remembered the results of the soil test they received in July. The test revealed very high levels of phosphorus and potassium. These are two essential macronutrients crucial to overall plant health, however, an overabundance can be detrimental. High levels of phosphorus and potassium can result in micronutrient deficiencies. In addition, phosphorus runoff can contribute to harmful algae blooms in nearby waterways. When leaves break down, they add these nutrients to the soil. Therefore, in this location, leaving the leaves isn’t desirable. So I changed my advice and asked these clients to move leaves to the wooded area of their yard. Luckily they were good sports about it! https://www.persistentgardener.com/blog/a-change-in-mindset monthly 0.5 2025-12-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67f3f9458a84f004f44ef6a2/41a18855-71e5-479b-8f4c-4fb182cb6650/unnamed+%285%29.jpg Blog - A change in mindset I recently discovered this article tucked into a notebook. I saved it because it was a turning point in my understanding of the relationship between gardener and garden. When I first read it in 2021, I had recently started the horticulture certificate program at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and I was soaking up as much information as I could about plants and gardening. By describing Rebecca McMackin’s approach to Brooklyn Bridge Park, Margaret Roach’s column shifted how I saw the role of plants in public areas and home landscapes. https://www.persistentgardener.com/blog/io1c75yfvym8rywzoi77i78oj1q1yu monthly 0.5 2025-12-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67f3f9458a84f004f44ef6a2/1765999650115-O8CWFMNDMWJ63IMZRM5Z/unnamed+%281%29.jpg Blog - Should they eat that? The other day, walking down my block in Brooklyn, I witnessed the person in front of me reach into a wild mass of a nightshade weed and pop a few berries into their mouth. My first reaction was shock and worry. Should they eat that? My next reaction was one of curiosity. So I did some research and realized that the berries of this species of nightshade, Solanum nigrum, are in fact edible when fully ripe. I don’t have the courage to try them, but I admire this neighbor’s urban foraging. This is how I learn a lot of what I know about plants and gardening. In addition to formal study, I’m continually making observations, asking questions and researching what I don’t know. My work with clients includes this approach as well. Each consultation, coaching session or design project presents a unique opportunity to look closely, assess needs and provide information. A recent client described her consultation like this… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67f3f9458a84f004f44ef6a2/2a1b4445-8741-49e6-b3ad-1d2f93d76333/unnamed+%282%29.jpg Blog - Should they eat that? “I loved working with Gretchen! Her intake process got me thinking, and I shared a bunch of topics and questions ahead of her visit, to structure our time. Once she got here and we walked around together, a whole pile of more pressing questions became apparent! She arrived with terrific ideas for the areas I’d identified beforehand … and was such a terrific thought partner for the new questions I was tussling with. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67f3f9458a84f004f44ef6a2/be06913c-a5d9-416f-951a-1bf82b3b8118/unnamed+%284%29.jpg Blog - Should they eat that? And then such a terrific email with all the ideas, plants, links to plant supports and other resources followed! I was set to go and inspired! It was the most productive and supportive hour (in the drizzling rain)!” https://www.persistentgardener.com/blog/blog-post-title-one-rr3dh-pa8ec-z5hpn monthly 0.5 2026-02-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67f3f9458a84f004f44ef6a2/d7f65fa0-afd7-47c3-bb05-1a36a2057317/Meghan_garden.jpg Blog - Mid Summer is the Perfect Time for a Garden Assessment - “Thanks to Gretchen, I have started to see what I can do on my own with my little piece of land. I know very little about gardening, but she gave me the courage to prune shrubs that were running wild and transplant perennials that I was scared to touch (they survived!).” Meghan, St. Paul, Minnesota https://www.persistentgardener.com/blog/blog-post-title-one-rr3dh-becpz monthly 0.5 2025-12-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67f3f9458a84f004f44ef6a2/9fa0caff-691b-4bfa-92bb-7a77b05c6ded/Rudbeckia+laciniata.png Blog - The Persistent Gardener website is live! 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