About this item
In a time of climate change and mass extinction, who we garden for matters more than ever Our landscapes push aside wildlife and in turn diminish our genetically-programmed love for wildness. How can we get ourselves back into balance through gardens, to speak life's language and learn from other species? Plenty of books tell home gardeners and professional landscape designers how to garden sustainably, what plants to use, and what resources to explore. Yet few examine why our urban wildlife gardens matter, and not just for ourselves, but for the larger human and animal communities. Author Benjamin Vogt addresses why we need a new garden ethic, and why we urgently need wildness in our daily lives -- lives sequestered in buildings surrounded by monocultures of lawn and concrete that significantly harm our physical and mental health. He examines the psychological issues around climate change and mass extinction as a way to understand how we are short circuiting our response to global crises, especially by not growing native plants in our gardens. Simply put, environmentalism is not political, it's social justice for all species marginalized today and for those facing extinction tomorrow. By thinking deeply and honestly about our built landscapes, we can create a compassionate activism that connects us more profoundly to nature and to one another.
About the Author
Benjamin Vogt has a PhD from the University of Nebraska, an MFA from The Ohio State University, and a BFA from the University of Evansville. He owns Monarch Gardens LLC, a prairie garden design firm that works with clients in Nebraska and throughout the Midwest. His 5,000 foot home garden has been featured in Fine Gardening, Garden Design, Nebraska Life, the Omaha World Herald, the Lincoln Journal Star, and on several television and radio programs. Benjamin writes an award-winning garden column for Houzz (nearly 3 million reads) and has contributed words and photographs to several books including: Lawn Gone!, Pollinator Friendly Gardening, and Gardening for Butterflies (The Xerces Society) . He is a sought after speaker for his humor and lyrical passion, presenting at national conferences, botanic gardens, and symposiums.
Benjamin is a former board member of the Wachiska Audubon Society, a prairie conservation and wildlife organization overseeing 1,000 acres in southeast Nebraska. He also runs the Facebook page Milk the Weed, a lively space where some 10,000 folks share the joys of milkweed, native plants, and helping native pollinators through sustainable design. You'll find his essays in anthologies like The Tallgrass Prairie Reader, Natural Treasures of the Great Plains, and Prairie Gold. He is also the author of three poetry collections and an unpublished memoir, Turkey Red, which unearths the ecological and cultural history of Oklahoma as Benjamin confronts his Mennonite family who homesteaded the region in the 1800s. His writing and photography have appeared in such publications as Orion, The Sun, Creative Nonfiction, ISLE, and the syndicated column American Life in Poetry.
Benjamin and his wife dream of restoring 40 acres to tallgrass prairie, hosting an artist residency program, and creating a large destination garden using 100% native plants. They are on the lookout for suitable land.
For more on Benjamin's speaking schedule, garden design work, online classes, and newsletter, please link to:
http://monarchgard.com
Find Benjamin on social media:
Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/monarchgardensbenjaminvogt/
Facebook -- https://www.facebook.com/MILK-the-WEED-302812519846071/
Twitter -- https://twitter.com/BRVogt? lang=en
