By Chris Young
MethuenLife Writer

She likes to pull everything up after a hard frost.
He prefers to leave the spent plant material, covered with salt marsh hay, for the birds to nest in.
She likes to make the garden look neat for the winter.
He’ll clean it up in the spring.
Bianca and Ed Garside agree on most things, even to their commitment to a chemical-free lawn and growing organic. But they will probably always agree to disagree over fall garden chores.
Their 3-year-old home at 2 Murfield Drive in northeast Methuen is upscale, comfortable and well-cared for, reflecting the couple’s shared sense of order and beauty. It is an Energy-Star house with extra insulation and fluorescent lighting throughout.
They use seashells for garden paths and never, ever use chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
“But we have this debate every fall. Is it better to let the plant material die down for the winter, or remove it, or even, till it under?” asks Bianca. “Ed says let nature be. I want to clean it out, every single thing that is not blooming.”
Ed has an ally in Bianca’s sister, horticulturalist Felicia Motherway. Felicia, originator of the Kensington, N.H., Organic Lawn Project, encourages gardeners to let plant material lie fallow until spring, but only if it is disease- and insect-free.
Other garden experts weigh in on the neat approach, admitting that while tall flower stalks add interest to the garden in winter, spring cleanup is harder when you have to work around new growth. They point out that disease and insects reproduce on dead plant material, passing on problems to next-year’s planting season.
What convinces Bianca to go with the flow is her faith in nature: “We don’t mind waiting for nature. We buy small and wait patiently for fruit.”
For instance:
• They bought small blueberry bushes, planted them in soil enhanced by chicken manure, creating a hedge for the garden. They enjoyed fruit the first year.
• Bianca grows tomatoes, zinnias and sunflowers from seed. The family enjoyed a bountiful crop of tomatoes despite a gloomy summer.
• Birds and squirrels have already found the sunflower seeds - on the stem. and that's OK with the Garsides.
• They inter-mix flowers with vegetables and herbs in their raised bed to attract bees which pollinate squash and eggplant.
• Ed rotates crops, which reduces the likelihood of transmitting disease from year to year.
• If their petunias are infected with a pine tree moth, they treat with an organic insecticide, like Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis).
“We are in Emerald Pines, after all,” Bianca laughs. The pesky moth lays eggs on the underside of her petunias. Untreated, the petunias would not flower.
Slugs are also a problem.
“We’re on the wetlands and we respect that, but they do bring slugs. We don’t mind sharing with the bugs, but we don’t want them to wipe us out.”
After removing thousands of slugs by hand one year, they now use an organic product called Sluggo and get to eat more of what they plant.
Bianca grew up in Haverhill; Ed, in Methuen. He is the CFO of Optima Bank and Trust of Portsmouth, N.H. Bianca runs her own beauty salon from home. Their daughter, Briana, is a freshman at the University of Southern Maine; son, Tony, studies Internet technology at Greater Lawrence Technical School.
Because both Bianca and Ed enjoy cooking and often cook together, they grow their own herbs, including horseradish, lemon grass and basil.
They are so committed to growing organic, that they have never used weed killers on their lawn. Ed pulls dandelions by hand in the spring.
They have assumed care of a public island near them and are trying to convince the developer’s landscape company to “go green” for health reasons. It may cost more, but Bianca thinks it’s worthwhile.
“We could spend more money on something that wouldn’t benefit us as much. The standard lawn treatment gives you instant results in exchange for bad health,” she said.
“We take great joy in doing this (their own lawn and garden work). Besides, we get to know our neighbors.”