Margaret Roach’s blog tour for her new book “Backyard Parables” has been going strong for two weeks, and I’m kinda late to the party. But like any opinionated gardenblogger, I have things to say. At first I was confused by the title but soon learned that this book is a one-year gardening memoir, with how-to [...]
Read more in: Books, Unusually Clever PeopleBody: posted by Holly Scoggins Of course we want to buy locally-grown plants! There are a gazillion sound reasons to do so. In a paper that may be f. […]
While reading the latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens, I stumbled upon a new (to me) trend in outdoor living: Outdoor Televisions! Phew! It’s. […]
Body: Posted by Bert CreggLast week I posted about some horticultural disasters I witnessed in the Czech Republic. This week the chamber of horrors. […]
Guest Rant by Billy Goodnick Come with me to the imaginary hearing called by the Senate Subcommittee on Crimes Against Horticulture. The hallowed chamber shudders as my gavel slams down, calling the room to order. I delight as the company reps and industry lobbyists squirm in dread anticipation of...
Read more in: CRRRITIC, Guest Rants
Guest Rant by Layanee DeMerchant I confess; I’m caught up in the romance and intrigue of the PBS series, “Downton Abbey.” I’m enjoying the fashion, the opulence and the stunning backdrop of a castle, on top of the great acting and the fascinating changes going on in British society...
Read more in: Everybody's a Critic, I Don't Have a Garden, but I Watch One on TV
I’m not much of a pack rat, but I have saved old letters from the past thirty-five years. Gardeners, who it seems seldom had a boring day, dominate the files. Among them are letters from Christopher Lloyd and Elizabeth Lawrence, but I especially enjoyed rereading my letters from David...
Read more in: Guest Rants, Unusually Clever People
Susan asked in a post whether we should blame Frederick Law Olmsted for the popularity of lawn in the U.S., and we have an answer by guest ranter Thomas Mickey. Recent posts have appeared on this site that blasted the American obsession with the lawn. I have no problem...
Read more in: Guest Rants, Lawn Reform
Tony Avent had a lot of fun with people’s guesses, but as promised, released this version of their catalog with tags for all the faces. So commenters, here ya go. Oops – seems that the tags don’t show up here. So, click here to see it on the Plant...
Read more in: Who's Ranting About Us
Did you see the Renegade Gardener’s 2012 High Spot/Black Spot awards? I don’t always catch these, but Renegade Gardener Don Engebretson (award-winning Minnesota garden writer and designer) is recently a Facebook friend and that made it easier. There was much to love in this year’s batch of awards, but...
Read more in: CRRRITIC, Everybody's a Critic, Uncategorized
The beloved/hated/always buzzworthy Plant Delights catalog cover has done it again, with its just-released 2013 version. And what a hoot that the Ranters are all there! (Upper left). So now for shut-ins and compulsives in any situation, can you name all these gardeners? I’ll start. Clockwise from the Ranters...
Read more in: Who's Ranting About Us
If you’re sitting around in a post-holiday daze, wondering what to load onto the new ereader/tablet/laptop/smartphone you just got over the holidays, I have an answer! To my delight, my publisher Algonquin has put a ton of ebooks on sale today. Here’s a list of all the garden/nature titles...
Read more in: Books, Taking Your Gardening Dollar
On a visit to the nearby Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge, I stopped to read the signage about America’s “Conservation Leaders” and was surprised to see Frederick Law Olmsted right there, with Audubon, Thoreau, Jacques Cousteau and Morris Udall. The sign described his work pioneering Yosemite Valley before it became...
Read more in: Everybody's a Critic
Thanks once again to my Hollywood brother for this one, who actually managed to cast an actor to do most of the heavy lifting.
Read more in: Books, But is it Art?
Too many times over the decades, even knowing that it won’t end well, I have herded party captives into a corner, hoping for a mad gardener conversion. The compliant lambs sip Sauvignon Blanc, and chat about their boxwoods, then turn deaf when I start in on the wonders of...
Read more in: Guest Rants, It's the Plants, Darling
I’d never heard of perennials expert David Culp until his long-awaited book finally came out and I started seeing raves everywhere. Then I learned that garden centers up and down the East Coast have long been fans of David through his work for Sunny Border Nurseries, a respected perennials...
Read more in: Books
As near as I can tell, the gardening industry has overlooked a vast area of marketing that has the potential to start a gardening revolution among young folk and thus grow a new generation of gardeners in this country. Following in the footsteps of a current wildly successful television series, The Walking Dead, and...
Read more in: Guest Rants, Taking Your Gardening Dollar
A New York Times Magazine article titled “Bloom Town: The Wild Life of American Cities” got my attention and that of several Rant readers, who wrote to me about it. And no wonder – it appears to be about a subject we’ve written about here over the years, and...
Read more in: Everybody's a Critic
“Why do you love what you do?” This was a question posed last month at the annual conference of the Eastern Region of the International Plant Propagators Societyin the Brandywine Valley, Pennsylvania. The joyful reply came from Joe LaMent (a fellow whose name in no way fits his personality)...
Read more in: Guest Rants, Unusually Clever People
Dear Penthouse Letters: I never thought it could happen to me. I mean, me? S&M? NO WAY. Then I realized… Gardening, for me, was masochism. It’s true. For years, I was a virtual slave to plants I lusted after but couldn’t grow. How voluptuous were lilacs and peonies when...
Read more in: Books, Guest Rants
Marijuana’s Going Legal Hard to believe, but America’s long prohibition against marijuana may be coming to an end, at least in places like Colorado and Washington State, both of which voted this week to legalize pot. And that’s for recreation, not for any medical purpose, real or phony. In...
Read more in: Books, It's the Plants, Darling
At first I wasn’t sure that showing the paintings of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera together, along with all the biographical drama that comes with that, was such a great idea. I’m somewhat of a purist when it comes to looking at art—I want to be able to assess...
Read more in: But is it Art?
Ranter James Rousch recently lamented that Garden Literature is going Up in Smoke, based on his count of 87 pot-growing books currently on offer at the local Barnes and Noble. I recently read one of them myself (to review, I swear!) – the excellent Supercharged from Timber Press, which...
Read more in: Books, Unusually Clever People
Commented on About Us { Hi, I have been interested in air conditioning for quite some time, and have been researching on these. I found your blog has one or... } – May 24, 5:51 AM
Commented on The Drunken Botanist Goes to Manhattan... { The Drunken Botanist Goes to Manhattan… | Garden Rant } – May 24, 5:47 AM
Commented on Trees by the numbers { I suspect inflated estimates like these do more damage than good. Tree huggers will still hug trees, but enviro-skeptics will probably be more skeptical of... } – May 24, 4:43 AM Commented on Trees by the numbers { The calculators generous estimates include the assumption that every tree is perfectly placed to provide maximum shade and that storm run-off water gets absorbed instantly,... } – May 24, 2:33 AM
Commented on Plant Ideas Needed for Biodiverse Lawn { You make a good point -- before sowing flowering plants such as clover into a lawn, I make a point of asking the client if... } – May 23, 10:09 PMWe are:
perfect
magazine
gardens.
Gardening
our
asses
off.
Having a
hell of a lot
of fun.
