Christoph Niemann uses leaves to illustrate ideas. (via kottke)

Part of the reason I got into gardening was simply to have less lawn to mow: the more gardens I had, the less grass there was to deal with. (And I enjoy taking care of flowers and shrubs much more than grass.)

I came across this site -- lesslawn.com -- that has many ideas and tips for having less lawn. This is just a public "note to self" when I have time to explore it more...

Off Mound, Mets' Ace Loosens Up in His Garden (NY Times)

"It has to be in you to work with flowers, but if you grow up with it, you realize how it can make you untouchable," [Pedro] Martínez said. "If something hurts, it disappears when you are in the garden. It's about deep thinking, about letting go."

I couldn't agree more. After a bad day, there's nothing I enjoy more than relaxing by taking care of my gardens.

Save the Flowers - Would-be scent engineers aim to resurrect lost floral fragrance

No one knows what's responsible for this waning of fragrance by roses and other ornamental-flower varieties, including carnations and chrysanthemums, but scientists who investigate floral scent suspect that the flower breeding that's led to an estimated 18,000 rose cultivars in an ever-widening spectrum has run roughshod over fragrance.

"Pigment compounds are derived from the same biochemical precursors [as scent compounds are], so it makes sense that if you make more of one you get less of the other," notes floral-scent biochemist and geneticist Eran Pichersky of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

I, for one, often choose my roses strictly on scent. That's one thing I missed most at our new house: not having my rose garden. Gonna have to start one next year...

While using my company's TV product, MyBestBets.tv, I was recommended a show on DIY Network, "Weekend Gardening," so I TiVo'd it and checked it out. Not only was it a pretty good show, but the episode was about starting a garden from seeds -- something I was planning to do this year.

So why am I bothering to put this here? Not because I think you care, but just so I don't forget to check out the DIY site's episode page...

Yee-ha! Some recent garden photos from around the house...

Despite a little snow in the forecast, it looks like spring is finally here. And today was what I've been waiting all winter for: it's the first time I was able to spend some significant time in the garden. For the most part it was just cleaning branches from the yard and raking the gardens, but it was great to see the tulips, crocuses, and yellow-tipped daffodils making their way up. I was even treated to a little early color, thanks to some violets.

Also, we're the only people in the neighborhood with any snow left, thanks to a good-sized pile at the end of our driveway that never gets sun this time of year. So if anyone on our street wants to have one last snowball fight, you're on!

I have been unable to find a good garden/landscape design software for the Mac (preferably OS X-native, but it's not necessary). Everything I've found is either quite inadequate or very expensive high-end CAD software. It doesn't even have to be a standalone application: some garden-specific Illustrator libraries would be great.

If anyone knows of any mid-level Mac landscape design software, please contact me and let me know!

It's late April, I have my main garden all planted ... but tonight we're getting about an inch of snow?! Bleah. Luckily it won't be sticking around.