(The following is the speech I gave to The Garden Writers Association last night at their annual convention in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Despite the familiar first sentence and a few other tropes, it’s a new piece.  Enjoy!)   2009 has been one extraordinary year in the history of American gardening. As if on cue, a […]

It is always an unusual event when you copy someone else and end up discovering that you made the original. As I mentioned last winter in “Camp Obama“, the President and First Lady might have considered breaking ground on their starter garden in private rather than in public. Maybe it’s just my innate sense of […]

For six months President Obama has been struggling to save the economy, improve international relations and craft a universal health care plan. Last year’s Wall Street meltdown stunned the nation, conjuring up images of a worldwide depression. Yet, oddly enough, there is a bright spot on the horizon, and, in the President’s case, it’s shining […]

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 […]

A hot topic recently was the First Pooch. The media roiled with speculation: what kind of dog would the President-elect’s family choose? The President-to-be told the press that the family dog would likely come from an animal shelter, adding, “It will probably be a mutt—like me.” To some, calling oneself a “mutt” smacks of self-deprecation. […]

Much has been written about a “White House garden” even to the absurd extent of tearing up the front lawn and planting vegetables and herbs—a giant kitchen garden.  Ghastly.  While I sympathize with the proponents, I disagree with their tactics, as well as over zealousness.  In short, they’re not thinking like gardeners. If they wish […]