I was stumped. I had been hacking and levering at a small stump for about a paragraph of swearwords. I would have sat down to rest and ponder upon the stump stumping me but the miserable relic was too small and had numerable jutting sawed-off points. I think the tenacious dead thing would have appreciated [...]
Read more in: Guest Rants
Body: Posted by Bert CreggLots of coverage in the mainstream media these days over various initiatives to label GMO foods. I think GMO foods shoul. […]
Body: posted by Holly Scoggins Mosses are soft, green, and tough as nails, as shown in a recent article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of. […]
Things have been rough at work lately. Test scores have plummetted, students are troubled, many teachers are talking mutiny or early retirement. . […]
This is the time when the newly emerged hostas look their freshest (“June Frost,” below)—no slug damage, leaves torn by the sprinkler, or other signs of wear yet. It’s also the weekend of our annual art festival, which brings “sunshine artists” from far and wide into my neighborhood. You’d...
Read more in: But is it Art?
There is a friendly dispute going on about who has the smallest…umm…park. That’s a big deal. In the U.S., Portland’s Mill Ends Park lays claim to the Lilliputian prize (2’ in diameter), but a challenge has come from Prince’s Park (15’ x 30’) in Burntwood, England. “Wait a minute,”...
Read more in: Guest Rants, What's Happening
I’m not thoroughly anti-lawn, unlike some of my Lawn Reform comrades, especially the ones who live in desert climates. My beefs with turfgrass here on the Wet Coast are that it does virtually nothing for wildlife and that when it’s cared for in a certain way – the Scotts ideal...
Read more in: Everybody's a Critic, Real Gardens
Please listen to ProfessorRoush: you must plan your garden carefully rather than submit to the whims of spontaneous plant purchases and spectacular momentary blooms! Science suggests that in an infinite number of parallel universes, almost anything can happen. I’m sure, therefore, that somewhere out in the gardening universe, there exists a gardener who plans...
Read more in: Guest Rants, It's the Plants, Darling
by Lawn Reform Coalition Member Tom Christopher Like other members of the Lawn Reform Coalition, I believe that the contemporary model of lawn has got to go. It does have its virtues, though we critics tend to overlook them. For example, traditional lawn provides a relatively inexpensive and easy...
Read more in: Guest Rants, Lawn Reform
Anne Raver covered the newsworthy topic of Impatiens suffering from Downy Mildew Disease in her usual clear-headed way for the New York Times – or so I thought. This week they published comments by some dissenters, readers taking offense at Raver’s dissing of their beloved annuals. Raver had identified...
Read more in: Everybody's a Critic
Michael Pollan and Wendell Berry were in Louisville during the first week of May. They weren’t on the Derby celebrity runway that rainy day at Churchill Downs. That was left to Kid Rock, Smokey Robinson—among the few names I did know—plus dozens more B-list television, music and sports “stars”...
Read more in: Eat This, Guest Rants
As a big fan of Organic Gardening Magazine, I take no pleasure in expressing my shock surprise at seeing this photo illustrating an otherwise wonderful article about growing wildlife-friendly gardens. The caption on the right says “Orange Boy watches wildlife from the front porch.” I don’t imagine he just...
Read more in: Everybody's a Critic, Ministry of Controversy
Guest Rant by Geoff Lewis I would like to speak to the curious sport of bedding plants. Bedding plants – you know, big pansies, dwarf marigolds and their ilk. One’s vision is of an orgiastic colour melee: Vast flocks of the vegetative equivalent of Pekinese and/or Schitzu-Poodle crosses (schit-poos)...
Read more in: Designs, Tricks, and Schemes, Guest Rants, It's the Plants, Darling
Thousands of red tulips have been planted in the Churchill Downs paddock and winner’s circle for this year’s Kentucky Derby. They were shipped from Holland months ago. Nearly 500 red roses will arrive from South America a few days before the race (the first Saturday in May) and be...
Read more in: Guest Rants, It's the Plants, Darling
Guest Rant by Will Raap Honey bees and wild pollinators need your help and need it now. Gardeners know that good pollination makes for better crops of tomatoes, cucumbers, apples and raspberries. And that’s especially true for certain commercial crops like almonds, which need to have 1 million honey...
Read more in: Gardening on the Planet, Guest Rants
On a recent afternoon, after a day and a half of strenuous garden work, Professor Roush quit working and took a number of photos to convince himself, and all of you, that spring was beginning in Kansas. I was sidetracked, however, by the quick appearance of a small storm...
Read more in: Guest Rants, Taking Your Gardening Dollar
When you think of plant hunting—Indiana Jones style—you usually think of faraway places. Throw in tall mountains, deep ravines, landslides and feuding warlords, and you might soon forget the plants. The story becomes more about the adventure. Andy Schmitz and Jeff Carstens haven’t been to China or India, but...
Read more in: Guest Rants, It's the Plants, Darling
The memorial to FDR has been a local favorite since it opened in 1997, and yesterday it was the first stop on my cherry blossom tour via bicycle. (You can get your own bike there via subway or rent one when you get downtown.) But like thousands of other...
Read more in: Everybody's a Critic
In the early days of the iPhone, we were ravening for gardening apps. After a while though, the craving just seemed to go away. I have several theories on that. It could be that our devices have become so essential to the tasks of multi-level communication, social media, mapping,...
Read more in: Armitage Rants, Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Guest Rant by Evelyn Hadden Let’s face it, the outdoors is getting noisier, and not in a good way. It used to be that a person could find calm, quiet places even in the city — be it a park, a secluded backyard, or a low-traffic residential street. But...
Read more in: Gardening on the Planet, Guest Rants
Armadillos have reached southern Kentucky, while the Asian longhorn beetle is poised just across the Ohio River in southern Ohio. Both are on the march to Louisville. The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) got here first. Armadillos (possums on the half-shell) root around like feral hogs and make a...
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Guest Rants in Verse by Jennifer Martenson For Whom the Leaf Blower Blows Consumer grade cost cutters available in mildly indifferent and turbo screw all y’all models* shift the burden of debris faster than you can say externality *inline deregulators sold separately Prélude à l’après-midi d’un leaf blower...
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Recently there was a lively garden-writer discussion on Facebook that began with this question: “I’m a member of several professional garden groups and a recurring theme that comes up is anti-master gardeners. Why?” Boy-oh-boy, did people have answers. One opined that Master Gardeners represent a “stale and stagnant status...
Read more in: CRRRITIC, Ministry of Controversy
Commented on A Stump Story { Thanks Emily, that's cool. I re-learned something the vikings were onto. } – Jun 18, 11:00 PM
Commented on Plants we Love to Hate { I like many of the flowers listed such as hyacinth, coneflower, lambs ears, and geraniums. I like most sweet blooming flowers/bulbs. I appreciate anyone who... } – Jun 18, 10:56 PM
Commented on Red on red { It's Blaze. } – Jun 18, 9:47 PM
Commented on Plants we Love to Hate { I love bearded iris the way I love the organdy ruffles on one summer blouse - not everywhere in the garden, not for everyday wear... } – Jun 18, 7:37 PM Commented on Red on red { Who cares . . . you had me at "light fragrance;" I like rose scent but some of the really heavily-scented ones can smell like... } – Jun 18, 7:33 PMWe are:
perfect
magazine
gardens.
Gardening
our
asses
off.
Having a
hell of a lot
of fun.
