In the middle of writing a non-fiction book on the history of the world’s religions, I despair about finishing before it’s too late. Writing a book requires much more careful thought than I imagined. As much heat as light: preparation, outline, sources, sentence and paragraph structure, etc. It’s true that a plan is crucial. Also, […]
By Lois Burpee “How did you, the wife of David Burpee, become interested in vegetables?” is a question frequently asked me—as though I had become a traitor to my husband and his passion for flowers. I am expected to be a flower expert, especially of marigolds, not vegetables. “I just did” is hardly a satisfactory […]
I served as President of The American Horticultural Society for four years, 1990 to 1993. For the first half of its existence the AHS headquartered in a series of offices in DC, including a second floor walk up over a Chinese restaurant. When I joined in 1989, it occupied River Farm, a spectacular 27-acre estate […]
As house prices and new construction fall, the homebuyer has not only more choices, but tougher economic decisions to make due to tighter credit. Lenders are narrowing their focus on high-worth clients. Middle class buyers face declining wages, workforce reductions and a pre-recession economy of $4.00/gallon gas and climbing food prices. If they’re vacating a […]
We held the July 12 Open House at Heronswood’s new gardens in Doylestown, PA, welcoming over 430 people from across the northeast and mid-Atlantic states. We conducted seven garden tours, sold over a thousand rare plants and gave away a young hydrangea to the first 250 guests. It was a great day, though very hot. […]
What can you say about a garden that you visited once and loved? That it was beautiful? That the extent of the exotic and the unusual was beyond that of any other private garden you’ve seen? That it was so magically and artistically arranged in its setting that anyone easily could be swept up in its spell? That once you entered it, you didn’t want to leave?
I am in the…
Among the earliest gardeners in America are the Irish who traditionally plant potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day, often in the cold and blowing wind. Many Americans know that the failure of the potato crop caused an exodus of Irish natives to the United States. The subsequent contributions of the Irish Americans and their descendents range […]
Abraham Lincoln had a modest library, befitting his focused outlook and humble origins. He possessed some law books, since he passed the bar exam by reading and memorizing all he could get his hands on. He famously never set foot in college, much less law school. (Today most states prohibit this; in fact, I don’t […]
My dad hated “throwing money at problems”, yet he was as guilty as most folks in business, and even more of us in our personal lives. Money easily seduces its owners into madness. Its abuse leaves long and terrible hangovers. Always better to “work the problem”.
Just as mythological as the silver bullet of money is the magical power of technology. Money does nothing more than buy
The Sunday Star, Easton Md, Sunday, February 10, 2008. As an estimated 40 million US gardeners select their seeds to sow for fall harvest, the nation’s voters choose their candidates for November’s presidential election. Resonant horticultural metaphors are not coincidental, but spring from the roots of civilization. Gardens illustrate the processes of democratic governments, from the […]
