Author Archives

Denise Thornton

PAINT OR STAIN OUR TIMBERS?

Our house will be built of unmilled timbers, which we selected from our woods (see  my post How to Peel Trees).  Most of them have been peeled and are starting to dry before they will be felled this winter.  Some are too tall to peel until they are felled.  It’s […]

ANOTHER SOLAR DECATHLON RISES AND SHINES

If you had been in Washington D.C.  in the past few weeks, you would have seem some very hopeful houses popping up like mushrooms on the Mall.  Unlike mushrooms, these structures thrive on light. Every two years the U.S. Department of Energy hosts a Solar Decathlon where college teams design […]

DEER TICKS ON THE RISE

If  you live in deer tick country, tuck your pants in your socks.    I just read in my October Arboretum Newsletterthat the deer tick population there is on the increase.  Researchers are on the lookout for these little beasties there, and this past summer they found deer ticks in […]

WHAT GARDENERS ARE GROWING AND WHY

Here is an article I wrote that appeared this week in Isthmus, Madison’s weekly newspaper: A first-of-its-kind study analyzes how much Madison-area gardeners produce and why Surprise, it’s not just about food! Denise Thornton on Thursday 09/15/2011 When Vincent Smith came to Madison to study urban agriculture, he picked fertile […]