Breakfast in the Garden with Audrey Hepburn

Photo by Philippe Halsman via Laura Loveday

Happy Birthday, Audrey Hepburn!

She would have been 85 today, but of course she is immortal thanks to her classic films, her Oscar and now her Google doodle.

My favorite Audrey Hepburn movie has got to be Charade, although perhaps she is most famous for Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Although I like to think that if she had her druthers, the real Audrey Hepburn might have preferred to have breakfast in a garden. (And hey, if she had wanted to come over for breakfast in my garden, we could have had strawberries and cream or whatever her heart desired!)

Audrey wearing a sensible hat that would certainly protect her skin from damaging UV rays in the garden.
Photo by Howell Conant via fred baby

After all, her final on-camera performance apparently was in the 8-part PBS television series Gardens of the World. Filmed on location in 1990, the series featured Hepburn taking viewers on a tour of beautiful and famous gardens in France, Japan, Italy, England, Indonesia, the United States and several other countries.

Having Audrey narrate and guide visitors through the gardens made sense because apparently she was a knowledgeable gardening enthusiast.

I even found one delightful quote attributed to Audrey Hepburn: "To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow."

Audrey Hepburn seems like she was a wonderful person in many ways. From the joy she gave (and continues to give) to millions of people through her films, to her work as a humanitarian through UNICEF.

It heartens me that someone with so much fortune and fame found enjoyment in the garden. Apparently she also appreciated the bounty of gardens - relishing fruits and vegetables and "extolling the virtue of organic homemade produce" according to a 2008 article in The Guardian.

I wish I could have visited her garden or invited her to my own, but I suppose the next best thing will be to try to find a copy of Gardens of the World and tour those gardens vicariously with Audrey.

And perhaps I can try to incorporate a bit of Audrey's vivacity, elegance, fun and beauty into my garden and the rest of my life.

How Much Biodiversity Do We Need in Suburbia?

Knockout Roses have conquered suburban landscapes like this one. I have never seen a bee visiting a Knockout Rose - either in a photo or in real life. (Photo by mellowynk)

Douglas Tallamy thinks we need more biodiversity in our backyards (and presumably in our front yards too).

After taking a walk this weekend through my neighborhood and seeing the same 10-20 plants repeated ad nauseum (boxwoods, knockout roses and daylilies - oh my!), I'm inclined to agree.

Why does biodiversity or the lack thereof matter in the Grand Scheme of Things?

Tallamy makes the case that humans have taken over the vast majority of the land mass in the United States either for housing/retail/manufacturing or for agriculture.

To the extent that we then plant the land we've expropriated with grass and a smattering of (often exotic) plants that are useless to the native fauna, he argues that we are pushing many species toward extinction and thus impoverishing the planet.

Does the average suburban home landscape have any more wildlife value than a plastic tree? Note that plastic trees do not need to be watered or sprayed with pesticides. (Photo by BrickArt!san)

On my 90-minute early morning walk through my neighborhood last weekend, once I left my property, I saw exactly:

- 1 bee
- 2 species of birds (lots of mockingbirds, one goldfinch)
- 2 butterflies
- 1 coyote pup (very exciting!)

Do the yards in your neighborhood have enough biodiversity?

And how much is "enough" anyway? 

Should we set a goal that the average suburban property should contain 20 species of plants? 50 species? 100 species? What is the typical biodiversity of plant species on a 1/4-acre or a 1/2-acre of land anyway?

I don't the answers to all these questions, but I do think they are important questions to ask as gardeners in a nation where the population of humans continues to grow north of 300 million souls.

Gardening Gear -- Best Gloves?

These gloves are made for skiing, but that's not how I've been using them...

OK, fellow gardeners, here's a question that mystifies me:

I've been gardening for ~2 years now, but I have yet to figure out what to look for in an ideal gardening glove.

Part of me really likes natural materials (animal skin) and to shop local (Made in USA). For those two criteria, I think it's hard to meet Sullivan Leather Gloves for quality and value.

I have a pair of super-comfy outseam gloves (seam is on the outside of the gloves) from Sullivan made of deerskin that I wear as my everyday winter gloves (driving, walking, etc.) -- plus they're really nice enough to be considered dress gloves too for a night out.

They're way too nice to use in the garden. But Sullivan has gloves like these Work gloves made of elk, goat or deer that seem to be designed for dirty work.

Even so, I have a hard time imagining getting these all mucked up working in the muddy, sticky clay that we get here in spring or fall.

For that type of work, I almost want a glove that I can either rinse off with a hose (which I don't think would be a smart idea with a leather glove) or even throw in a washing machine.

So I've been improvising and using some gloves that were clearly not designed as gardening gloves. For instance, I've used ski gloves (keeps my hands warm in winter, overheated in summer, decently padded for working with a shovel, but forget about any delicate work like planting seeds or picking small weeds).

These are my other 'gardening gloves'. They are actually bicycling gloves. Not that I've ever tried to garden while bicycling. Because that would be weird.

I've also used gloves that were meant for bicycling. These have a bit more dexterity and I like the elastic around the wrists that keeps dirt and debris from falling into the gloves, but they're clearly not meant to be gardening gloves. They still don't give much dexterity for detail work (sowing seeds, picking weeds), plus they were sown roughly on the inside so I always feel like I'm getting poked in the fingertips.


I have gone out and bought dedicated gardening gloves in the past - like these Magid nitrile-and-bamboo gloves from Amazon - but I find that they tend to rip and tear very easily. Plus that nitrile stuff makes me hands really sweaty and uncomfortable, especially in hot weather, despite the fact that the bamboo is supposed to make the gloves breathable.

I found these Magid nitrile-rayon bamboo gloves from Amazon affordable, but not very durable (they tore easily). Plus they made my hands all sweaty. Yech. 

So help me out here fellow gardeners: What is the secret to the perfect gardening glove?

Or do you have a couple pairs of gloves that you use for different kinds of work?

For instance, should I get a pair of deerskin or goatskin gloves for certain kinds of heavy/dry work (chopping wood, trimming trees, etc.) and then just use disposable latex gloves for wet and muddy work?

I'd love to find a pair of gloves that is eco-friendly, durable, protective, comfortable, maybe even washable. Too much to ask?

All suggestions are appreciated! Looking forward to hearing what works best for you.