The online correspondence between Ranters Marianne Willburn (in Virginia) and Scott Beuerlein (in Ohio) began in July 2019 with Scott’s column ‘Time for a Grexit’ in Horticulture magazine which grumpily condemned British garden writers and their books. Marianne couldn’t let him get away with it; but chose to answer on GardenRant soil. Scott rebutted. Marianne rebutted his rebuttal, and Scott returned the punch.
Marianne answered with a letter.
What followed has been an edgy, informative, humorous and often intimate portrait of their gardens and lives in very different regions of the country. The letters aren’t managed or edited, and often, readers of GardenRant see them even before Scott or Marianne does.
It’s a gardeners’ correspondence for a digital age. You can find the entire collection of letters below. Enjoy!
A Letter from the Midwest: Clammoring About in Cleveland
Behind the posts, articles, conferences and social media, there’s a backstory. Have you kept up with the digital correspondence between Ranters Scott Beuerlein and Marianne Willburn? You can start here, [...]
The Pressure is Real. Especially When You’re Thirty: A Letter To The Midwest
Behind the posts, articles, conferences and social media, there’s a backstory. Have you kept up with the digital correspondence between Ranters Scott Beuerlein and Marianne Willburn? You can start here, [...]
Gardening and Christmas Should Be Happy: A Letter From The Midwest
Behind the posts, articles, conferences and social media, there’s a backstory. Have you kept up with the digital correspondence between Ranters Scott Beuerlein and Marianne Willburn? You can start here, [...]
Getting It Done in November, Bone on Bone: A Letter from the Midwest
Cincinnati, Ohio November 3, 2024 Dear Marianne, I don’t know about you, but I garden a lot more productively when I’m rushed and surly. And I’ve been both lately. Having [...]
Correspondence, Connection & Commiseration : A Letter To The Midwest
Behind the posts, articles, conferences and social media, there’s a backstory. Have you kept up with the digital correspondence between Ranters Scott Beuerlein and Marianne Willburn? You can start here, [...]
Standing Tall Despite it All: A Letter from the Midwest
Behind the posts, articles, conferences and social media, there’s a backstory. Have you kept up with the digital correspondence between Ranters Scott Beuerlein and Marianne Willburn? You can start here, [...]
You’ll Need to Sit Down: A Letter to The Midwest
Behind the posts, articles, conferences and social media, there’s a backstory. Have you kept up with the digital correspondence between Ranters Scott Beuerlein and Marianne Willburn? You can start here, [...]
Drought, Definitions, and Other Dilemmas: A Letter to The Midwest
Behind the posts, articles, conferences and social media, there’s a backstory. Have you kept up with the digital correspondence between Ranters Scott Beuerlein and Marianne Willburn? You can start here, [...]
Shame About the Garden–The Heat and Drought of June 2024: A Letter from the Midwest
This year was the best Spring I can remember. It just rolled out soft and sweet. No late freezes, no extreme temps, no bad storms, and lovely, beautiful, consistent precipitation. It was wonderful and I don’t know which was worse, that the heat and drought came on like someone had thrown a switch or knowing that it would.
Dry Humor Is One Thing, Dry Gardens Another: A Letter to The Midwest.
Behind posts, articles, conferences and social media, there’s a backstory. Have you kept up with the digital correspondence between Ranters Scott Beuerlein and Marianne Willburn? You can start here, or [...]
Crocodiles & Mangroves: A Letter to The Midwest
Behind posts, articles, conferences and social media, there’s a backstory. Have you kept up with the digital correspondence between Ranters Scott Beuerlein and Marianne Willburn? You can start here, or [...]
Brave New Hope for an Old, Decrepit Gardener: A Letter from the Midwest
Hell, I've learned that shit dies. I’ve come to accept that. Sort of. And if a Liatris succumbs to a Chionanthus, so be it. I'm not its mother. It won't be on my conscience.