Pandemic Hair, Ice, Snow and The Sons of Lee Marvin
Even with slowly lengthening daylight, what little sun we have has been eclipsed this year by pandemic hair, ice and snow. I’m willing to forego a haircut if this story [...]
Allen Bush
Film “The Biggest Little Farm” and AppHarvest
Have you seen the feel-good documentary The Biggest Little Farm? You should. It’s the story of a husband and wife who change careers to pursue a dream of living and [...]
The Crossroads of Horticulture
Joanne and Clyde on a slow-moving freight train in 2013. Proto-punk rocker Iggy Pop and gardening aren’t usually conjoined, but Pop’s song The Passenger could be a [...]
Holly Cooper’s Family Arboretum – Yew Dell
Sept 2020 - Holly Cooper in Yew Dell's holly allée. (Robin Cooper photo.) Holly Cooper comes by her name naturally. Theodore Klein, a nurseryman and plant collector, was [...]
Remembering Aunt Rose
Rose Russell Blakely passed away in late September. Aunt Rose loved her garden. She was 93 years old. I often visited Aunt Rose, and her garden, in Washington, D.C., since [...]
On Naming Asters – Meet the New Boss. Same as the Old Boss.
One of fall's last hurrahs. Symphiotrichum (Aster) oblongifloium on October 27th. The old joke among horticulturists is that shuffling and splitting plant names keeps botanists off the dole. [...]
Presidential Consequences and my Meadow
Early February. Pam Spaulding photo. I squeaked by in high school chemistry doing little more than fiddling around with the Bunsen burner so it would throw flames like [...]
On the legacy of our country neighbor, Otis Knox
Otis Knox in his 2018 sunflower field. I would not have batted an eye at Mr. Stripey if Otis Knox had not insisted it was the best [...]
Hosed Again
In the beginning there were blessed, soaking rains. Then came the curse of the tangled hose. The Romans built aqueducts to move water around. I, on the other hand, drag [...]
To lower the heat, let’s sit and talk in the shade of a big sugar maple
Rufus patrols the border. It’s hard to stay on top of runaway name-calling. Most of the tried and true insults now look like tread-bare bald tires, but [...]
Louisville’s Big Rock in Cherokee Park – So What if it’s Not the Biggest Rock in the World?
Big Rock Tai Chi Club, May 2020 I have spent nearly 20 years at the Big Rock corner of Louisville’s Cherokee Park. I meet here regularly with [...]