I sometimes go catatonic while standing over an appealing plant I haven’t seen before. Looking like Mr. Pitiful, shoulders slumped, my eyes are fixed on the prize in front of me. I am silently pleading mercy. Gardeners will often rescue me if they’ve got enough time and plants to spare, especially if there is…
Well, guess who came to visit? Yep, it’s Marianne. Thinking about making trouble. We had lunch, a good gossip, and then a quick garden tour. And we went to see my latest brilliant idea: What’s the point of wonky posts, I hear you ask? Hm, well, – I have begun to think about how dodgy…
I’d planned a leisurely morning. A bit of gentle pottering around in my own garden, then out later to deal with something at a garden I look after. My phone buzzed: fellow Ranter Marianne was in my area, should we meet up? Wildside We visited Wildside, a small but interesting garden near the romantically named…
LIME TREE MARIA IS THE WINNER! Thanks for playing. As I noted, I will be compiling many of these wonderful comments/tree stories into a tree post. Longtime Rant readers know the name of Amy Stewart as one of this blog’s original founders. But I have to assume many reading this know Stewart even better for…
A year ago, my daughter and I drove to Vancouver and made the rounds. Molly lives in Bellingham, Washington, near the Canadian border. The first stop was the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden for a walk around; the second stop was Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside for my introduction to the healing powers of auricular…
Summer self-loathing was triggered weeks ago by kinked hoses and endless swearing. The heat and drought were beating me down. Crabgrass and broadleaf plantains couldn’t care less. Ariel, in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, was right. “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” It’s not unusual to feel a garden’s burden by mid-late Summer in…
What else did I like in the Pacific Northwest other than hydrangeas? Not sure anyone here has been holding their breath about it. Let’s be honest: Nobody wants to hear other people’s travel stories. Next thing you know, I might be inviting you to my slide presentation. And really great trips are the ones people…
I’ve been on a very fortunate streak of seeing many fabulous gardens over the past several years, but in early September I visited the display garden at Bustani Plant Farm in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and, weeks later, I find myself still thinking about it. Upon first impression, I was struck by its dedication to color. You…
You’re either meant to be a gardener or you’re not. Gardening as a career is hard work and it’s quite often a thankless task. Society doesn’t value gardeners; introduce yourself as a gardener and so often see people fight the urge to commiserate with you and tell you that things will work out better in…
Join me next Friday at the 6th Annual PLANTPOP Film Festival, celebrating the work of “incredible commissioned filmmakers. They represent the coolest plant people near them and come from cities, states, and countries all over the world.” Several of the commissioned filmmakers will be in attendance, including two from Europe! (Yes, I hope to find…
End of content
End of content