I sat down at the bar at Hunter Gather alone. People talk there. One time, I was telling some guy a story. He stopped me mid story and said, “You’re that guy who gets up at 4:30 makes gardens all day, then eats lentils and goes to bed.” How do you respond to that? I… Read More
On a hot October Saturday, family had gathered to bury my youngest cousin. It was on the funeral home front porch that first cousin twice removed, Bill, started a conversation. Sitting in a rocking chair, a tiny plate of deviled eggs in his football player lap, I guessed he was about 75. He was almost… Read More
Pay attention, indulge, wait and be delighted. This month my buddy’s pre-teen boy is into magic. He’s been through Egyptian mythology, dinosaurs and bigfoot. His dad’s endless patience amazes me. The magic show commences with an elaborate introduction, “On the death-day of the great Houdini, I honor the risk he took to share magic… Read More
Gardening, painting, sculpting. Those things have something in common– they all start with imagination of something you’ll bring to fruition. A vision. Sometimes these really hot days make me have visions. Stiffling hot. Swooningly hot. I chop some crinum down to the ground; it’ll be fine by fall, I think to myself. I weed, pulling… Read More
‘Funky Little Flower Farm’ stories include memories like my coming out, of being with my father on his deathbed and Momma’s memories of her grandparents. I want to share them, but I want control over how they get published now and forever. When I struck a book deal with a publisher for my first book,… Read More
The circular patio holds a 1,000 pound urn. We made it. It’s a seating bench, a place to rest a drink or plate and it is an urn for a Japanese Apricot tree. The earth-formed texture, (as well as patio texture) come from our farm’s clay, roots and thick weave burlap. In the sides, there… Read More
There’s a patch of paper whites and snow drops in our pasture that’s older than I am. Just behind the little shed that’s been pony shed, goat shed and now donkey shed. Those are the kinds of bulbs I want in my gardens. From a practical stand point, because they come back, they thrive and… Read More
Isn’t orange. The name comes from the Orange River, the longest river in South Africa. This species of Crinum grows along it’s banks. Like most wild things, each one is different. We grow big flowering strains as well as our own selection, ‘Aurora Glorialis’ which opens green, fades to lite pink and then to rich… Read More
In this year, when we walk let’s walk walk with big, amazing steps. Considering every every cell and bone and where each foot falls. Connect to the life below each step. Feel the the tiny creatures in their universe below ground. When we garden this year, let’s weed, kneel, dig, spray in ways that make… Read More
In our fields and gardens, we have some crinum lily in flower from April first all through the summer all the way to mid November. A different lily for every month. In our book, Gardening With Crinum Lilies 3, there’s nifty chart showing what flowers when. Always for the beginning of July, we have a… Read More
