Lessons About Plants & Gardens
Seeds Are Still Free — At the Moment
My donkey and I have been doing this week what men and donkeys have been doing for millennia. We’ve been planting seeds. In doing that, we carry on our backs (ok that’s an exaggeration and the pic is set up) one of the basic freedoms, the truths, rights and pillars of all civilization. That’s not…
Read MoreTithonia – An Old Fashion Flower You Only Buy Once
Henry Mitchell wrote about Tithonia; you can’t really see the flowers in the summer because it gets so tall but after autumn rains, after a hurricane wind, it falls over, lays on the ground and you can finally enjoy the flowers. I love him. Tithonia, in the picture below, seeds itself in every year, grows…
Read MoreTerrace Fountain Doubles as a Table
It felt great to build a little fountain for his 12th floor terrace. He loves to garden but up there, floor space is for plants, two chairs and a small table. Walls can’t be pierced. Fountains are a challenge. I had to step way outside of my normal range of activities for this…
Read MoreHigh & Low; What Are the Components of a Joyful Garden Scene?
We made a giant seesaw in front of the chicken pen; the three neighbor children and I. From under the barn and in junk piles, we gathered stuff like a quarter of a creosote power pole, galvanized pipes and boards. That took weeks; it wasn’t a very focused effort. As we found one part, we’d…
Read MoreA Frank Conversation About Sustainability
If you still question whether people can change the earth and climate, then become a gardener. You’ll find out how quickly you can screw up a living system and how long it takes to put it back right. I love any book that stimulates me to think and write and question. I love this…
Read MoreBonding, Gardening, Literature & Turtles
When we were younger, Andy and I bonded over a project inspired by a mule-drawn plow and the death of an old man. An inspiring old man: a visionary, a looking-to-the-future old man who’d used and loved old farm tools. He’d done well, lived well, and raised a family, who had hired us young guys…
Read MoreTime to Cut Back
Good god at the weeds. In my city garden, I compromised; broke down and used some chemicals. But on the lily farm, for two years now, the crinum lily fields have been organic. I just can’t taint the purity of my lilies. Really, I can’t stand the thought of the toxins settling in the dirt,…
Read MoreAmerican Jeans
You can enjoy my photo or buy an original Redoute print of this plant for a mere $617,000 here. With it, on this web page, for free, you get a tiny, important bit of garden history.
Read MoreCollages
Having fun with this little photo collage ap on my phone. But headed out today for finishing touches on our Permculture Studio barn that Tom designed. The loft is ready and we’ll post pics over the weekend — who wants to be in on the first sleep over?
Read MoreArmstrong Atlantic
Amazing plant collections and grounds at this Savannah college. I just pulled off I-95 and walked around campus yesterday and took these pics of really cool plants:
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