by George Ball Your Honor, I’d like to make a few preliminary remarks to provide context and perspective on the case before the court. As a third generation seedsman, I have agreed to pro bono representation of perhaps the most hated and maligned vegetable of all time. Like walking on our legs from one destination […]
by George Ball The 4th of July is the sparkliest, most jubilant and expansive of all our holidays, secular or religious—a celebration shared by families, neighbors, communities and the entire nation. On earth, there are picnics in parks and gardens; in the heavens, flower-like fireworks. Perched between them, spangled on a million blankets are gaggles […]
by George Ball At our upcoming, June 22 and 23, Fordhook Farm Open Days, we shall both examine and celebrate happiness, and all that flowers, shrubs and ornamental trees do to bring it into being. We shall have speakers, tours and demonstrations of happiness in the gardens. “Huh?”, I hear someone asking, and understandably so. […]
What’s the difference between a house and a home? We all know the answer instinctively: articulating it is trickier. The architect Le Corbusier famously—and chillingly—described the house as “a machine for living in.” But “home,” surely, is not about mechanics. But when we are at home, where are we? First the house. Built to shelter […]
We Baby Boomers may not be called the “greatest generation”—that’s you, Mom and Dad!—but we certainly are the biggest. A veritable demographic juggernaut, the generation of Americans born between 1946 and 1964 is proceeding into post-middle age. On January 1st, 2011, the oldest Baby Boomers celebrated their 65th birthday. On every day since, and every […]
At this time of year, just as my thoughts turn to Easter, I think of gardening, and as soon as I think of gardening, I’m reminded of Easter, and then I’m back to gardening, and then back to Easter, and so forth. If my toing and froing sounds like spring fever, well, it is. After […]
Metaphors bloom all around us as Spring approaches. It occurs to me how frequently gardening and agricultural images spring up in the language of business. Just the other day I read a headline on the Wall Street Journal site that Berkshire Hathaway and partners will “Plow $4 Billion into Copper Mines.” Keep your hand on […]
Most of the country has had a mild winter this year. This often means more insects and pests during the growing season. Maybe as a harbinger, a brown marmorated stink bug has been seen already at Fordhook Farm, home of W. Atlee Burpee. I think that we in temperate climates (most of North America) are […]
If you’re like most people, you missed the release in late January of the USDA’s new plant hardiness zone map. You probably didn’t even know an update was in the works. This new version replaces the 1990 release, and that one replaced the 1965 and 1960 releases. The plant hardiness zone map is probably most […]
Long before the ancestors of modern flowering plants diverged from their ancestors, ancient plants developed means that allowed them to tell time by the Sun, to sense the lengths of day and night. This told them when to grow and when to flower and when to rest. At that time, the climate was much warmer, […]
