A garden is so forward-looking that it resembles sometimes a family or a business enterprise. I’ve even heard someone liken it to a crystal ball, making it surely unique. Seeds are literally prophetic: tiny crystal balls. Within 12 to 18 months, you’ll have exactly what was foretold. This makes gardeners a strong surviving force—we call […]
“Taste and see that the Lord is good.” -Psalm 34/35 When I visited rural Pakistan in 2003, I noticed that there were very few overweight people. On the contrary, most were skinny, including the elderly. At first I thought I was seeing the effects of poverty. Then I learned from NGO officials that the average […]
Solomon was a great king, but not a gardener. It turns out that, after all, there is an infinitude of new things under the sun. This is the essence of innovation and evolution, and the antithesis of tradition and the status quo. Thus, Darwin was, perhaps, the truest of all prophets. While I’ll never stand […]
Folks have asked, “How can I mix annuals, perennials, vegetables and herbs together in one space?” The answer depends on your zone, the time of year you wish to enjoy your garden and the particular plants you prefer. The secret is spacing things out so you can reach in and harvest the vegetables and herbs […]
Three years ago this spring I wrote an op/ed piece for the New York Times (my third) about the then raging “natives versus exotics” controversy. They called it “Border Wars” and it contained a typo (8,000 versus 12,000 years ago for the recession of the last glaciers, due to my confusion over BC and AD). […]
Thanks one and all for the thoughtful feedback about Space Genie. It was meant to be light-hearted. Please understand I shall not post readers’ mean-spirited attacks or dyspeptic rants. Sorry if I slightly missed the mark. I appreciate “true believers” and understand your passions. Maybe I’m a bit the same way. I was attempting humor, […]
My predecessor David Burpee opined toward the end of his life that he regretted only that he would not live to breed the plants of other planets with earth’s. Odd, but then he was a genius born in 1893 who was interviewing a newspaper reporter in the late 60s, still a hot time in the […]
“Nice place to live, but I wouldn’t want to visit”, I muttered to myself last week as I wove around Manhattan. My midtown hotel was practically empty and the traffic light for mid-December—a terrible season for retailers. In the hotel bar guests stared glumly at each other, mostly Brits and Europeans. The waitress said, “A […]
The Great Financial Meltdown of 2008 has left investors and politicians stupefied, collectively scratching their heads in the absence of real explanations or solutions. Pundits sagely call for greater “transparency,” so investors, regulators and the public might better assess an offering’s underlying value. What we really want is VISIBILITY. Wall Street’s savvy insiders basically couldn’t […]
The folks working at Heronswood Nursery include these excellent employees headquartered at Fordhook Farm in Doylestown, PA. On this 60-acre estate, we have planted over 10 acres of rare cultivars, including much of what we offer on-line and in the Heronswood Catalog. Also, these are the folks you will meet at our upcoming 2009 Open […]
