Among the earliest visitors to their gardens each year are Americans of Irish extraction. Undeterred by the blustery wind and cold, shovels in hand, they are observing the proud tradition of planting potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day. Many Americans know how the failure of the potato crop between 1845 and 1852 caused mass starvation and […]
Sometimes everything falls into perfect harmony. Like a safecracker opening a massive vault, the management of America’s best and largest flower show pulled off a huge score, as much a tribute to departing president Jane Pepper as to the maturing skills of the recently appointed Sam Lemheney, the show’s director. And perhaps it augers well […]
This coming Sunday, February 28th, I shall give a speech at 11:30 A.M. at the Philadelphia Flower Show. Since this year’s theme is “Passport To The World”, we decided to focus on plant collecting. My talk is about one hour long, including a question and answer session. I shall speak off these “talking points”, so […]
The dog didn’t seem to be cold. I wasn’t either, but it was no warmer than —15°F. It was a clear, still night; we had gone out for a walk before bed and nothing much seemed to be moving. The only sound I was aware of was the brittle, dry snow crunching beneath our feet. […]
