Our home-grown snow peas bought the farm a few weeks ago, but I found agents of inspiration to take the edge off summer heat. Jared Barnes and Thomas Rainer have wonder to spare and share. Not surprising for two peas in a pod who grew up “semi-feral” playing outside. Last month, on his Plantastic … Read more
I flew to Seattle a few weeks ago to visit my daughter Molly and her family in Bellingham, Washington—a two-hour drive north of Seattle. Give me Liberty took flight from Louisville stripped of masks and loaded with—I worried—highly transmissible subvariants. A mind-numbing, COVID-incubating slog through airports, and buckled into packed planes, ended 23 hours … Read more
There was an illuminating Patti Smith Instagram post on August 19th entitled: “This is weeding.” The poet, musician, author, and activist had returned from a European concert tour and found her garden in Rockaway, Queens, New York, as you might expect—worrisome. “…I have no problem with the weeds, but they got a little forest … Read more
Expect to read rants from Seattle-based Lorene Edwards Forkner starting next week. A longtime garden writer, Lorene was the first woman to edit Pacific Horticulture, a quarterly magazine focused on West Coast gardens. She also owned and operated a small specialty nursery at one time and gave design advice to gardeners looking to tame their … Read more
The grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference. –Thomas Merton Steve Foltz In late August Steve Foltz was given the last slot at the Plant Trials Day Symposium at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. The auditorium was packed to … Read more
No one ever called me a nimble-fingered crafts maker. My prospects dimmed as a ten-year-old Cub Scout when our Den mother taught us how to make ashtrays. My parents, appreciative smokers, kept my folded metal art piece for years. My mother pretended it was museum worthy. No one dared soil it with cigarette butts, but … Read more
I’m here to recommend a fascinating article about bonsai in the New Yorker – “The Beautiful, Brutal World of Bonsai” – featuring an American who undergoes a “brutal” six-year apprenticeship to a Japanese bonsai master, and his life and work back in the U.S. The apprentice is Ryan Neil, pictured above in a glamour shot … Read more
By now I’m betting you’ve all seen this view of Oprah Winfrey’s garden, the set of her famous interviews with Harry and Meghan. But look at another shot of Oprah’s garden for her sit-down with Quinta Brunson. (Love her!) Call me picky or worse, but are those fake plants we see, especially near the camera? … Read more
Watching a seed cotyledon (sprout) pop through the soil is heaven on earth. I am especially interested in flower and tree seeds, but Rose and I collect a few seeds from our small vegetable garden, as well. We are indebted to seed savants. The Sower, Jean-Francois Millet “He who plants and he who waters … Read more
What is a gardener? Many years ago Charles would refuse to ‘own’ his part of the garden because he declared that he couldn’t properly claim to be a gardener. He appeared to be giving the term considerable status. Then recently a friend sent me a card with this image on it. I realise I am … Read more