Society for the Abolition of Donuts

Walking around a certain (unnamed) neighborhood got me thinking about one of my favorite on-line garden writers, Don Engebretson, the Renegade Gardener of Minnesota.  That's because on more than one occasion he's ranted about what he calls donuts - shown in these examples from his site - and now he's got me noticing them everywhere. So if Don wants to start a society against 'em, I'm signing up.

When I first went to his site Don got my attention right away with his "10 Tenets of Renegade Gardening," which is mix of sentiments that I find, let's say, interesting.  He first declares that "Gardening  should be challenging, relaxing and fun," which made me tired just reading. Then he supports buying local, knowing Latin, and being irreverent, all terrific ideas.  So I'm pretty much on board until almost the end, when he opines that there's "nothing wrong with cutting down a tree on your property." Boy, I'd love to hear him go at it with the treehugger forces here in the treehugging capital of the Eastern U.S. on that one.  Me, I'm conflicted - it's the old environmental protection/libertarian dilemma (with the libertarian sphere of my brain shriveling in defeat at the worsening news for the planet.)

But enough philosophizing - back to the donuts.  I learned about them by moseying around Don's site and finding these nuggets from his "Don't Do That" articles: "Don't circle trees with stuff" and "Don't cut little circles into your lawn and plant flowers in them."

So recently I was asked for garden advice from a friend - there's trouble right there - who presented a donut and asked what was missing from its collection of flowers.  Yikes, how much honesty is called for in a situation like this?  I wasn't even being paid, so I could have winged it with some plant ideas.  But designwise how could I have looked in the mirror the next morning?  Well, I'm overdramatizing but you get the idea. This particular donut - technically a circle in the lawn - had been created to fill in the spot left by a tree, see, so I boldly recommended filling in the space with lawn.  Actually, that advice doesn't seem too brutal; it was the expensive and labor-intensive other shit I told her really needed to be done that probably made her regret ever asking for help.

Really, when you're asked for suggestions by friends and neighbors how honest do you get?

Before I sign off, one more thing about Don's site and its wealth of gardening info.  I've linked his "Landscaping 101" to the local gardening info site I launched last spring and referred several new clients to it, so you can take that as an endorsement.  And his style is outrageous and entertaining, just what we're always bitching about the dearth of.  The Garden Writers Association likes the site, too, and last year named it the best gardening site in the U.S.  Go Don!  Just please don't tell us why you became a Republican - some things are better left unsaid, amigo.

Comments

[blackswamp_girl (Kim)]

I love the Renegade Gardener... my only complaint is that he doesn't post nearly often enough, even during a regular summer.

Don, do you hear this? You need a regular blog! (Okay, so WE need you to have a regular blog... you probably don't really need the headache, yourself. lol.)

For anyone who hasn't found him yet, go to www.renegadegardener.com and read the tenets. Then click on "Design" at the left, and read "The Astonishing Truth Behind Tree Circles." I still get a kick out of that!

[Kathy Jentz]

I'm a Renegade Gardener fan too ever since hearing him talk live at a Home & Garden Show in the DC area a few years back. Whoever, booked him down here made a great choice! Don, you DO need a blog, if only to list your current speaking dates so others can see you live and in-person -- energetic, knowledgeable, and engaging. Hey, HGTV needs to get this guy now before someone else does...

[Kasmira]

For the doughnut-lover, I recently learned a trick for creating the perfect doughnut:

- Buy a round, vinyl tablecloth.
- Place it on your lawn and weight it down.
- Once the grass dies, cut out the cirular patch of sod.

Voila, a perfectly round island bed. Repeat for crop-circle effect.

[RENEGADE GARDENER]

Oy ...

I cruise Rant so much and so often I'm beginning to feel like a voyeur, or horticultural peeping Tom, so I had better show myself.

Thank you for your kind words ... kindred souls!

Yeah, I know the updates were sporadic this summer ... I couldn't do a real blog, unless it's still a blog if you only get to it every six weeks ... but I have been busy, about 25 hours of writing and photo mayhem, posted NOW, 2006 High Spot/Black Spot Awards at you-know-where.

RENEGADE GARDENER