Hi and welcome to Idaho Gardener. My name is Mary Ann Newcomer. I also have several nicknames - the printable ones are M. A. , Auntie Mame , Dirt Diva, Princess Dew Sparkle and Duchess of Dirt.
A native daughter of Idaho, I have been gardening since I was a small child. My grandmother and grandfather were avid gardeners and I was given a 3′x3′ plot for starters. I was encouraged to grow radishes, I believe because they came up in just a couple of days (instant gratification for a 5 year old) and because the first sets of leaves were heart shaped (a message from my grandmother).
I served on the Board of Directors for the Idaho Botanical Garden for over a decade and still work with the Lewis and Clark Native Plant Garden committee and the Garden’s committee for Design Review. I have spent a good part of the last 20 years fund raising for, and promoting the programs at the garden. I chaired the committee that built the Contemporary English Garden in 1997.
Largely self taught, I have an insatiable curiousity and thirst for knowledge, especially relating to horticulture and garden design. I make every effort to attend as many educational seminars/workshops/programs/speakers series as time and money will allow.
I find myself focusing a lot on the concept of ‘genus loci’. It is about honoring the spirit of place. In my case, that means understanding the lay of the land, the weather that comes with it, how to garden and live in harmony with my surroundings.
I am a scout-in-training with Meredith Corporation (publisher of Better Homes and Gardens and 128 other titles). I do garden design in the Boise Valley, teach classes on garden design, and aspire to write a book on the gardens of the Intermountain West.
All content is copyrighted by me. Your comments and suggestions are welcomed.
17 responses so far ↓
1 Pete Grimaldi // Jun 28, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Dear Mary Ann,
Hi! I was checking out your blog. I like it.
My name is Pete Grimaldi, we have “shielding lotion” called Skin MD Natural (www.SkinMDNatural.com). It’s something I thought you and your readers might be interested in. Gardeners love it!
To see some of the recent blogs, websites, and magazines that have been writing about Skin MD Natural go to our press page: http://www.skinmdnatural.com/press.html
I’d be happy to send you a sample.
Please provide me with a mailing address if you’d like to try some!
Below is a new video that you might be interested in checking out. It shows Skin MD Natural shielding lotion protecting skin from rock-dissolving acid!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMYqFO4qD2E
Feel free to share this video if you wish.
Conventional moisturizing lotions only attempt to replace a lack of natural moisture with artificial moisture but the problem is it comes off every time you wash or touch something.
Until now, all one could do to alleviate a dry skin problem was to apply conventional moisturizing lotions. In order for any moisture to actually improve a dry skin condition it needs to get below the second major layer of skin. In reality the only moisture that is going to reach this level is your skin’s own natural moisture.
Have you ever stopped using artificial moisturizers only to experience an episode in which your skin actually became drier than it was before you started using them?
When you apply any artificial moisture to the skin’s surface you are often sending the wrong signal - that your skin is being adequately moisturized, when in fact it is actually dehydrated of natural moisture. This often results in reducing your skin’s production of the natural moisture needed to actually resolve a dry skin condition.
Unlike artificial moisturizers, Skin MD Natural bonds with the outer most layer of skin cells to turn it into what works like an invisible shield.
This “invisible shield” keeps moisture-robbing irritants out while helping to retain your skin’s own natural moisture, resulting in skin that is far better hydrated, over the long term, than what can be achieved by conventional lotions.
Here are videos on what some doctors have to say about shielding lotions:
http://www.skinmdnatural.com/doctor-reviews.html
Thanks.
Sincerely,
Pete Grimaldi
21st Century Formulations
9663 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite #860
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
800-540-4790 toll free
310-858-2992 fax
petegrimaldi@earthlink.net
http://www.SkinMDNatural.com
To view a selection of hi res images go to:
http://www.skinmdnatural.com/photos
2 tim // Jun 29, 2007 at 6:45 am
Hey Diva!
I just found this at DailyKos and wondered if you were interested in it:
Life in the Hothouse
by Devilstower
Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 09:43:37 PM PDT
Remember when NASA director Michael Griffin spoke out in defense of global warming? Griffin indicated that it was “arrogant” to think that this was the best possible climate. Though Griffin’s pro-warming stance may have been shocking to some, similar statements aren’t unusual in right-wing circles, where books and talking points commonly advise that increased CO2 is “good for plants” and warmer climates will “extend growing seasons.”
Maybe something like this is what they had in mind.
Some of the showiest hebes expire at 17 degrees Fahrenheit – a warm winter day for the Pacific Northwest. The plant’s fatal relationship with the cold explains why the genus has been such a heartbreaker in the Northwest, where until recently, only plant nerds risked loving and losing the plant.
Things have changed.
Just yesterday, I saw hebes growing happily at a local community college. And each week, it seems, our nurseries are selling new Hebe species and cultivars.
NPR reporter (and plant lover) Ketzel Levine is not alone in marveling over plants growing where they never have in the past. I have to admit that, while my garden is filled with coneflowers and other prairie natives, I have a shady place that’s home to a cluster of holly ferns. More exotic still, I have a small but expanding grove of Vivax, a giant Chinese bamboo (think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), spreading along a walkway at the rear of my home. Not only is neither plant native to my area, they’re not native to my latitude.
If you’ve ever so much as raised a sunflower in a pot, you’ve probably encountered the USDA’s Plant Hardiness Map. This map is supposed to reflect growing conditions within a band of the country, particularly average temperatures and winter lows, that limit the species available to gardeners in those areas. According to the USDA, I’m in Zone 5. Those holly ferns? They’re rated for zone 7. So is the bamboo. But for the last four years, both plants have thrived in my “zone 5″ yard.
Gardeners across the country now report growing plants they could never get away with before.
“A classic example for us would be windmill palm, Trachycarpus fortuneii,” says Tony Avent, the well-known proprietor of Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh, N.C.
“Up until 1996, I would consider those very marginal in our area,” he says. “All of a sudden, they’re almost completely reliable in our climate.
In fact, the USDA map, which hasn’t been updated since 1990, hasn’t kept up with the changing climate. In dipping down two regions to get my keen bamboo, I’m not being all that risky (though I am costing myself that “natural backyard” award from the conservation department). If all this sounds like nothing but a blessing to gardeners who occasionally get tempted to plant outside their zones, there’s one part of the NPR story that sounds a warning bell.
Evidently, good old-fashioned peonies are now struggling to grow in Raleigh, denied of their preferred, invigorating winter cold.
Now imagine if that said “corn will no longer grow in Iowa.” In his terrific book, Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond points out that one of the limiting factors for civilizations that developed in the Americas was the north-south orientation of the climate, which limited the potential growing area for any given set of crops. In the past, that meant civilizations had to face changing climates when they moved. Now we’re facing changing climates even when we stay in our own backyard.
3 Stephanie // Aug 8, 2007 at 7:12 am
Why would our tomatos have a whiteish center and be somewhat hard vs. big, red and juicy! Is it related to the heat we’ve had or another issue?
4 Sue // Oct 7, 2007 at 8:54 pm
My son recently moved to Boise. His wife would like to plant a vegetable garden next Spring. Could you refer a book I could buy that tells about gardening in the Boise area. Thanks.
5 Kathryn Hall // Oct 30, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Hi, I’m a book publicist/gardener/writer with a new blog called plantwhateverbringsyoujoy.com.
I encourage you to write your book. It sounds like you’ve got a vast experience to draw from!
Kathryn
6 Duncan Brine // Dec 10, 2007 at 7:44 am
Hey Mary Ann–
I enjoyed meeting you awhile back and your site reminds me of your zippy zest. Your poppy watercolor wants companions, show us more.
I’ve finally gotten GARDEN LARGE going. It’s about my landscape design business, my large
garden and me. Currently, it also tells the sad story of Gifford Garden, which is destined to be literally uprooted because the new guy thinks it doesn’t serve the scientific mission of his institute.
I hope you’ll visit and have a reason to return to visit http://www.gardenlarge.com.
Duncan
7 Tauna // Jan 23, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Good day Duchess!
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your blogs…I laughed out loud several times in my office.
I heard you this morning on the River, mentioning container gardening in regards to sustainable living. I wondered if you had any books, websites, etc that you could recommend for me to dive into.
Thanks, Tauna
8 Red Dirt Ramblings » Blog Archive » A Garden’s Growth // Jan 26, 2008 at 9:05 am
[...] friend, Mary Ann, suggested I write more about the origins of my garden. My first thought was “Oh, no, I want [...]
9 Monique // Feb 28, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Hello Dirt Deva,
I’m looking for Garden Bloggers who would like to do a link exchange with my ‘GardensAndGazebos.com’ web site. Specifically I would like to publish an article by you, and link it back to your site, (more effective than a straight link), in exchange for a link back to our site.
Please let me know if you would be interested.
Sincere Regards,
Monique
10 Richard A Morrell & Cameron J Davis // Mar 13, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Hi Mary Ann,
I was excited to learn about you and your website today from Linda Anderson at Epitome. She suggested that we meet with you to introduce our passion of gardening and our products that are taking off throughout the Treasure Valley. Starting as a means to share photos of our garden with friend and family last spring, we have now developed a FREE subscription to Garden of Light - Notes from the Garden that feature photos from our private garden here in Boise as well as travel photos. We include a daily inspirational message. This list started with 19 people on May 9, 2007 and has now grown to about 200 people in about 15 states. We have a line of greeting cards that are being sold in about 7 local shops and now growing fast with the production of our first catalog. We have been involved with local charity events such as the Saint Alphonsus Festival of Trees in which our first entry was chosen for an auction tree, auctioning off at over $11,000.00. We were the photographers for the Eagle Food and Wine Gala/Festival and also held a display booth for the festival. We are resigstered with Eagle City Hall for an upcoming “Artist of the Month”. Feel free to check out our website (under construction) at http://www.camrichdesigns.com. I would love to place you on our email list to receive our FREE nature/botanical photos with our Garden of Light. We hope to have the opportunity to meet such a delightful person soon. You may call us at 208.853.6753.
Thank you,
Richard and Cameron
11 Bo // Apr 2, 2008 at 10:34 am
Good Morning, Diva (love the handle!)
I am a member of the Idaho Earth Institute and we are having a Plant Sale fund raiser on April 19th, 10 am- 2 pm, at Lucy’s Coffee & Espresso, and I was wondering if you could/would be so kind as to “advertise” this for us. We will be selling organic locally grown veggies, herbs and some bedding plants from Canyon Bounty Farm and organically drought tolerant (some of those are natives) plants from Draggin’ Wing Farm. Thanks a bunch. Oh, I simply love this site! You da bomb!!!
Regards, Bo
12 Annie in Austin // Apr 10, 2008 at 9:47 am
Hi Mary Ann!
It was wonderful to meet you at the Austin Spring Fling. You’re now in my bloglines so I won’t miss out on your writing. We don’t have to garden in the same place on the planet to enjoy reading about being a gardener.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
13 Mary Ann // Apr 10, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Annie, I, too, adored meeting you and checking out all the garden hot spots in TX. Next time I am coming to Cercis Circus! Thanks, too, for the lovely kind compliments you paid me when we were together……..
14 Steve Caldwell // Apr 24, 2008 at 11:50 am
Hey MA!
Just a note to let you know your that recently your website is very slow to load…
15 Debbie DeNardi // Apr 26, 2008 at 8:11 am
Hi Mary Ann, Have thought about ya many times over the years, and wa’la’ here you, awesome site. I am going to Seattle Memorial Day to help plan my daughters gardening foray with her new house. Got any ideas or sites I should go to. You are as beautiful and talented as ever, good thing to see some things never change in this ever changing world.
Deb
16 Mercedes // Apr 26, 2008 at 8:13 am
Mary Ann,
I just found your website, and so nice to learn that a fellow AMG is writing. Very interesting site. I look forward to more articles.
17 Monica // May 6, 2008 at 6:40 am
Auntie Mame,
Great Great site, I have been involved in gardening ever since..What amazes me is the ideas brought on board each time you read or visit a fellow gardener..I read your blog quiet often and look forward to it regularly. Please do keep up the good post..
Mon. x
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