I’ve just turned sixty, and I’ve developed an unexpected sensitivity. I wish I could say that I am now able to detect cosmic messages in twigs fallen on the lawn. Wouldn’t that be fun? No, although somewhat mystifying, this is a sensitivity to certain phrases about age. When I say, “I’ve just turned sixty,” to […]
My sister and I ended many summer afternoons in the 1970s green from the knees of our jeans down, sweaty, and reeking of gas and exhaust. As servants of the Great American Lawn, we regularly mowed ours, the elderly Miss Howard’s next door, our grandma’s, and once in a while, our great Aunt Flora’s. It
Our Green Wasteland: The Great American Lawn Read More »
Song of Songs, #1, Spring The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. . . . My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers
Seduced by Trees: Sharon Carvell’s Life and Art Read More »
When my son, Leo, left for college, I restored my backyard pond. Suddenly, I had the time to focus on landscaping. More than that, replacing the 20 year old pond was a not-so-subtle way of expressing that in some respects I was back to where I’d been before the birth of my only child. A
Reflections on a Pond Read More »
Fifty Shades of Green, a book by Sandra Knauf, is a feminist/gardener response to that other book. It’s a wonderfully entertaining anthology of twelve naughty gardening stories with strong female protagonists. The talented authors of these tales hail from across the U.S. and Britain—and most are genuine hands-in-the-dirt gardeners. US Represented caught up with Sandra to
Fifty Shades in the Garden—an Interview with Sandra Knauf Read More »
Many people are familiar with the “one straw revolution” proposed by Japanese rice farmer Masanobu Fukuoka, but what about the simple, revolutionary powerhouse that is the seed? Seeds have often been referred to metaphorically when discussing revolutions, new movements, new beginnings, social change, spiritual awakenings. It only makes sense that the first thing to emerge
The Seed, the Radicle, and the Revolution Read More »