Weekend Reading 6/7/24

Welcome to Garden Center magazine's Weekend Reading, a weekly round-up of consumer garden media stories meant to help IGCs focus marketing efforts, spark inspiration and start conversations with consumers.

This week: The physical and mental benefits of gardening, gardening through grief, the rewilding trend, an ancient watering method and a beetle that's "just like a cancer" to Southern California oak trees.

Why Gardening Is So Good for You, The New York Times

Dana Smith shares both her personal gardening experience and research that gardening can have real benefits for the mind and body.

'As Both My Parents Were Dying, Gardening Eased My Grief… and Brought Me Back to Life', Woman's World

Jeni Driscoll shares how gardening helped her through the grief of losing both of her parents five months apart in this emotional personal essay.

Rewilding Is the Biggest Gardening Trend of 2024, House Beautiful

Learn more about rewilding, a recent gardening trend aiming to return environments to their natural conditions.

Gardening expert demonstrates ancient method to keep plants perfectly hydrated: 'The best way to water your garden', The Cool Down

TikTok account The Cottage Peach (@thecottagepeach, 90.3K followers) explains how to use ollas, or terracotta pots full of water buried in soil. Using ollas is an ancient technique that's been documented for thousands of years, with the submerged clay pots keeping plants watered for days at a time.

Tree-killing beetle is on a death march through Southern California’s oaks. Can it be stopped?, Los Angeles Times

For our Southern California IGCs, make sure you're aware of the goldspotted oak borer, which has spread across Southern California since its discovery in 2008 in San Diego County, where it has slaughtered more than 80,000 trees. One official describes it as "just like a cancer" that's "metastasized" and is "stage four."

Enjoy your reading, have a great weekend and we'll see you next week!