is a musician who likes to get her hands dirty. by Robin Intemann
Greenwoman: How did you decide on a degree of horti- cultural landscape and design?
Greenwoman: I love it—gardening does have it all. I get the sense that your gardening may be as eclectic as your music. Would you describe your garden?
DeCicco: Since I have always been a renter, I have a very large potted garden that goes with me from house to house. I do my vegetable gardening at a local community garden called Beardsley Community Farm. Inside on my dresser I have a large collection of jades, succulents, and cacti in little vintage McCoy planters. I always plant a few annuals wherever I live because I like to see a little color every day.
Greenwoman: And what are those colorful annuals?
DeCicco: This year, right outside my front door I planted a zinnia ‘Cut and Come Again’ mixture, nasturtiums, a vitro- nella-scented geranium, and a moonflower that has wrapped my column and probably grown more than 20 feet! On my porch in pots, I have pink impatiens, blue lobelia, strawberries, Kalanchoe thyrsiflora ‘Flapjacks’ and other succulents, white Angelonia angustifolia, boston ferns, spearmint, pineapple mint, thyme, a weeping willow, a butterfly bush, and a wis- teria. I like to propagate plants from nature or share cuttings from friends. I would have a very different garden if I were not a renter. I would invest in fruit trees (peach, cherry, pear, and apricot) and might even try an espalier. I would also have lots of bulbs, I love how low maintenance they are and how easily they reproduce on their own—especially Easter lilies, ‘Casa Blanca’ lilies, grape hyacinth, regular hyacinths, ‘Pheasant’s Eye’ daffodils, and Star of Bethlehem. Someday I would like to live on a small farm and produce cut flowers and herbs.
Greenwoman: What’s happening this year at the community garden?
Photo by Brian Wagner
DeCicco: Ever since I was young I’ve always enjoyed plants and the studies of biology and ecology. When I was in college I selected that concentration because I wanted a job that allowed me to work outside, was intellectually challenging and engaging, had a beneficial environmental aspect to it, and was a blend of art and science.
DeCicco: In Tennessee we have a long fall growing season so this fall I’ve replanted a lot of the same crops I grew early this spring. I’ve planted ‘Rainbow’ Swiss chard, onions, spinach, red leaf lettuce, arugula, carrots, beets, kale, cilantro, and strawberries. This year I also broke ground near my house and planted a small herb garden of thyme, oregano, Italian parsley and fennel. I really like leafy greens and herbs. In the summer I worship tomatoes and could eat two to three big ones a day. I’m also a big fan of zucchini, green beans, okra, raspberries, blackberries and peaches.
Winter/Spring 2012
greenwomanmagazine.com 37
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