In the Garden: June, 2011 Regional Report  Share |  Nature-based
gardening products and a suburban-friendly chicken coop reflect
our increasing interest in "greener" gardening and food
production.  The Customer Speaks; The Industry Listens
--Conservationist and foremost naturalist John Muir, My First
Summer in the Sierra, 1911  We gardeners are connected -- to the
earth, to each other, to the palpable cycle of life. If
fortunate, we see and feel and smell the process, the ebb and
flow of beauty. We enjoy the flowers and fruits, marvel at the
spider's web wet with morning dew, nudge the worm from the hot,
hard sidewalk into the cool, soft grass.  Even in that idyllic
world and state of mind, we can still be plagued by pests or
poor soil or frustrating weather. So we go to our favorite
garden center for horticultural first aid, guidance, new ideas,
and fun stuff.  Have you noticed the sea change to many more
natural, safer gardening supplies? The shift's scope recently
surprised me -- lots of new, nicely packa