Sugar Cane Mill. What Goes Around…

Before I went, I thought that working in Haiti might be depressing.  But it wasn’t.  I felt connected to my daddy– like I was living life off the land, the way he grew up– and that was amazing. The biggest day of connection involved an old style sugar cane press.  We stopped on a little…

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Adapting Family Farms for a New Ecomony

I met about 150 women yesterday at a collective meeting of all the garden clubs around Concord, NC. The day was a filled with real plant lovers.  Not only did they buy up a ton of crinum bulbs but more importantly, this group  of women have collectively raised and distributed over $50,000 in the past…

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Frog Eyes & Sand Pears

I’m bracing myself for a cold, wet day at Goodness Grows nursery. Plant shopping is fun until the day turns bad. But the show must go on as the next 4 days of planting depend on today’s shopping — wet feet and all. One plant on my list is Tradescantia; which I learned as spiderwort.…

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Peckerwood!

Tom and I spent an amazing 24 hours with an old friend, John Fairey, outside of Houston.   John’s been there, gardening in the same place since the early 70s, but he says he’s still a South Carolinian. He named his garden after the fictional Beauregard Plantation in Auntie Mame  (or if he needs a sweeter…

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Momma and Her Machete

How many people do you know who still have machete skills? And how many use them in everyday gardening? When I was writing my book, the Timber Press editor laughed when I wrote half a chapter on this noble tool. Of course, my Momma knows how to use one, and to make the best slaw…

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How to Propagate Bamboo from Cuttings

How many things can you use bamboo for?  If you live on a farm, eat Chinese food, walk on alternative floors, wear eco-friendly fabrics, then you know the list never ends. I know a bunch of native-plant-nazis are going to call me out on it, but in my new book, I promote proper bamboo planting.…

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No Better High

I got credit and joy but all I did was to deliver the good news.  A few pictures and an update and Yvrose face was shinning with pride.   Her homeland, her country, the place of peaceful memories— like being put up on a mule to walk the farm roads was looking good.  I can only…

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