April 21st, 2010

In Praise of Diversity

nancy If you ever visit Rodale headquarters in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, you’ll immediately see one thing that makes it different from other corporate campuses. The lawn is not a vast uninterrupted expanse of fescue or bluegrass, but a tapestry of grass mixed with white clover, dandelions, violets, henbit, bluebells, and various other “weeds” that lend color and texture to the landscape. Of course, pollinators love this mix, so when the weather warms up, the grounds are abuzz with life. How boring it would be if we sprayed herbicides to turn our tapestry into indoor-outdoor carpet!

Tell me if you saw this flower at your local garden center you wouldn’t want to buy it:

Doesn't this dandelion look rather chrysanthemum-ish?

Doesn't this dandelion look rather chrysanthemum-ish?

And why would you want to kill this:

A "volunteer" violet.

A "volunteer" violet.

Our Photo Director, Christa Neu, captured these plants right outside our office.

Vive la différence!

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