Catching up with Graham Rice

What's New and Book Giveaway

Graham Rice is one of gardening's most prolific and prize-winning authors, and we're lucky to have him - on both sides of the Atlantic.  After more than 20 books, including the behemoth Encyclopedia of Perennials that he's holding in this photo, his Planting the Dry Shade Garden is a great resource for the site-challenged gardener.  To win a copy - signed by both the author and the photographer, Graham's wife Judy White - just leave a comment and I'll select the winner at random. (Entries close Friday at 9 p.m. Eastern time.)

But really this whole post was an excuse to catch up with Graham, with whom I've had the chance to hang out a few times in gardens around the region.  He told me about the terrible vole pandemic his Pennsylvania garden suffered this year - the worst ever.  He says voles are more destructive than deer because they don't just mulch on hostas; they eat the centers and kill the whole plant.  At least the family cat had a good year - it bagged over 50 voles over the season, more than earning its keep in kibble.

Of course I asked about Graham's next book and I wish I could report on the answer but he's keeping the details under wraps (Here's his big tease about it).  And he's still pondering what the one after that will be but he tells me he never runs out of book ideas.  Or blog post ideas.  Or magazine article ideas.  Can't imagine that.

And Graham's a Twitterer!  (@Graham_Rice).  Facebook, not so much. 

Transatlantic Media Commentary

Graham is my go-to guy for U.S.-U.K. comparisons, and this time he enlightened me with these tidbits:

Digitally, there's a lag, with garden blogs catching on here first.  He believes he was the first British garden writer with his own site or blog.

Asked to name his favorite garden writers, Graham (cautiously, wisely) named Christopher Lloyd, whose book about foliage made him laugh out loud.  Another source of laughs was Reginald Farrer, now long gone.  And Pat Stone, editor of Greenprints and the Weeder's Digest, is also known to be funny.

I was sad to hear that English gardening magazines, admired by so many American gardeners, are shrinking in number.  Still holding on are the top guns - BBC's "Gardens Illustrated," and the Royal Hort Society's "The Garden," but other mags have stopped paying for photographs - at all.  The cause is the same challenge faced by all print media, of course - having to compete for advertisers with online media outlets that can track results to the exact number of eyeballs.

Speaking of garden writers, the U.K. has no equivalent of our big Garden Writers Symposium - because they don't need it; they see each other all the time.  It's a small place - the country, and the world of garden writing.

Transatlantic Hot Topic Comparison

Organics are a hot topic in the U.K., as here, but natives and invasives, much less so than here.  Of course I had to ask about lawns.  We complain about boring, resource-intensive lawns here but what about the homeland of the greensward, where supplemental watering is rarely needed?  Graham can't remember seeing anything on the topic in the British press or other media - zip.  He thinks that's because they have such tiny lawns, anyway - or none at all - on their much smaller properties, especially in or near cities.  They're much more likely to use decks or paving for their outdoor rooms, and no lawn at al.  And maintaining the lawns they do have rarely involves the use of pesticides like grubkillers.  Just a bit of fertilizer, thanks.

Off-Topic:  Brit Mix

Honestly, my favorite thing to talk to garden writers about is what ELSE are they interested in?  And in Graham's case he has an actual media outlet for his other passion - music, British music.  He has his own radio show, fer crissakes - Brit Mix, broadcast on 90.5 FM Radio Catskill - that covers "British music right through from the 1960s to next week". I'm a big folk fan myself, so asked for a tip in that genre - that would be June Tabor, with her mix of traditional and contemporary. 

Fun with Google Images

When I went looking for the book cover above I put "Dry Shade Graham Rice" into Google Images and got the usual interesting mix of responses, including this photo of some Graham at some bar (one of 365).  Definitely not our Graham; ours is hip without having to try so hard.  

Comments

[Katie]

Love his blog and the info might just help me next year with the area under a black walnut that I'm currently sheet mulching. Let's see... juglone toxicity + dry shade = an experiment that will likely extend over several years!

[Pat]

Dry shade R us. Love to have the book.

[Rob]

I'll probably get this book, but getting it free would be nice too. :-)

Silver and sugar maple trees? Check. Hostas survive, sort of. That part of the garden just sort of hangs on, until there's a flood.

[laurie]

I've just added the transatlantic gardener to my subscriptions list and Planting the Dry Shade Garden to my wishlist.

[Natasha K]

This looks like a great book!!

[Nora]

I volunteered at a native plant salvage just so I could score some ferns to plant in my shady spot. Unfortunately, there are only two survivors in the bunch. Turns out - I have dry shade! I desparately need some help in plant selection and would love to win a copy of Graham's book!

[Nancy]

My whole garden is dry shade! Need this book! Pick me! Pick me!

[Lewis E. Ward, Figure in the Wood]

I have a few spots that are dry and shady. Presents problems even in woodlands.

[Maureen Cox]

Sounds like a wonderful book. Would love to learn of solutions other than the usual groundcovers.

[bev]

I have dry shade AND voles. But dry shade caused by 30 mature native trees, which are a treasure......but I could sure use the book, thanks!

[Kristi]

I have a three foot overhang on the eves of my house - lots of dry shade! Here's hoping I "get lucky".

[TatteredSpinner]

Comment.

No, just kidding.

One of my favorite UK Garden people is the lady who puts out the Alternative Kitchen Garden podcast. She always has interesting things to say, whether it's about her garden, her chickens, seedswaps, or book reviews.

[Liz]

I've enjoyed his blog tremendously. He often gives a different view of things than others out there.

[Nancy O]

Beech tree, horse chestnut and a silver maple (neighbors yard). I wish I knew what 'wet shade' was...

[Ruth]

I really need this book! A large chunk of my yard if full of great big white pines ... very little sun and almost no rain pass through.

[Craig @ Ellis Hollow]

Can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket.

[Ramble on Rose]

Fortunately my hostas weren't ravaged by voles, but I could always use more tips for dry shade!

[Dan Mays]

I too faced the despair of plant demise caused by voles. A wide variety of lilies that I had grown for years are now only a memory. :-(

[Joyce]

I'm holding out hope for shade in the sandhills, SC. shamelessly optimistic. mulch is gold. enjoyable articles.

[Tina @ Suddenly I Seed]

So excited to read this book! Love Mr. Rice's writing.

[A. Marina Fournier]

Sounds like a book for me--for the first time in my life, I actually have substantial amount of shade, and mostly dry dirt in it. I've been planting heucheras, a bit of moss, and dwarf conifers, but could use some other ideas.

Spot on for June Tabor. Her Aqaba is positively haunting. She's also done some work with the "Mrs Ackroyd Band" a construction from the imagination of the very twistedly funny Les Barker. She and Maddy Prior of Steeleye Span have two albbums out worth pursuing, as well, Silly Sisters and No More to the Dance. I think she works with Oyster Band these days.

[Albert]

If I do not win your free copy of this book, I think I'll buy it myself as a Christmas gift... :-)

[Hil]

This book is definitely one to add to the collection. It will be on my wish list 5 minutes from now.

[Darcy]

Great commentary! Love Graham's book and will be getting one either way.

Sad to here about the printing challenge. Digital has its place but I love going through page by page of the last of the great gardening magizines and adding them to my reference library. I am also one of those that go for the hardcover books - be nice if the reading public could understand that. sigh...

[Sue Schwartz]

...like other gardeners or wanna-be-better gardeners, I would like to add this book to my library.