Lessons from Grass Puppets & Youngsters
The stories we’ll tell….and a brief history of Indonesian shadow puppet theater called Wayang Kulit. . Geoff and I lead a troop of young adventurers down the sand road. We are family friends, unrelated adults, “fun uncles” hoping to inspire wonder in the three young siblings who trail behind. Not so long ago, we all sat…
Read MorePandemic Distraction — Wandering In the Nursery Fields on Sunday Morning
Standing barefoot in the field trying to click. The slick phone screen can’t feel my fingers through potting soil and worm parts.
Read MoreVirus Prevention on a Lily Farm. It’s a Community Thing.
Imagine endless rows of fields of corn on a modern farm. Now let the rows turn into endless pink flowers. Sounds pretty right? On our little farm, which specializes in one type of lily, we could grow that way. But like the small farms that sustained and built this country, here, diversity is key. Diversity…
Read MoreGhost in the Crinum Field —- A Massive Bulb Stimulates Weird Thoughts While the Garden Crew Works
I see things nobody else does. Snapshots, little fictional scenarios flash through my head. Does that happen to you? Today when we were digging the biggest of big bulbs, Crinum ‘Fiesta’, it happened. Leaning on shovels next to me, two nice fella’s who I thought would never have a black thought like the one I pushed…
Read MoreAxis Point A Story of Garden Design from Concept to Installation by Sam Thorp Engler
It all started with a new house and an empty yard. A clean slate if you will. A canvas that would soon prove to introduce a dream garden that ultimately ties this lonely brick home into a fluent mixture of architecture and landscape. A mid century-modern masterpiece. I have had the pleasure of working on…
Read MoreCountry-style Cut Flowers — What? You’ve Never Heard of Chicken Feet Flowers?
A cut flower stem that last for weeks without water.
Read More25 Years Ago Riverbanks Botanical Garden Opened — I Was Mad in the Photo!
Which mean 27 years ago, I left my adopted home of Seattle to move back to Columbia, South Carolina. It was culture shock to be sure! Columbia was still pretty much a small town with a lot of Bible Belt ways. An amazing group of people established a vision, political support to establish a new…
Read MorePlectranthus fruticosus ‘Purple Martin’
Neon purple flowers for late summer through fall. I named this plant for horticulturist Jim Martin and of course for my favorite birds.
Read MoreStone Cold
I sat down at the bar at Hunter Gather alone. It’s warm and dark, the kind of place strangers talk. A few other farmers, craftsmen, tradesmen types were always there at 4 p.m. One time I was telling some guy a story. I’d explained how my farm is an hour out of town and that…
Read MoreA Mist of Tiny Leaves and All the Greens of Spring
Call it acid green or April-fresh or lime-jello-fake-green. This time of year spring greens catch my eye and soul to remind me that the life force is too strong to contain. Ryegrass or dandelion leaves, those dreaded yellow-green catkins pushing out pollen, that powerful color fades as spring turns into summer. Heat makes most leaves…
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