The Month is November and We Have so Much to Look Forward to
It is Fall, so it must be Anemone time – ‘Honorine Jobert’ For more info - Anemones on You Tube
We Always Have Something
to Look Forward to:
I am sometimes accused of being a Pollyanna, refusing to be depressed about events out of my control and trying to be positive about those I do. We always have a choice; we can constantly look over our shoulders at what might be chasing us or we can look forward to what is ahead. The trouble with the former is that you will eventually trip, with the latter, you will be occasionally disappointed.
During the Time of the Beast, Covid-19 has been chasing us all. I make light when I suggest that we must keep zigging while it is zagging, but in truth it has not been all that difficult to remain standing. It is much easier to wear a mask around strangers, and to distance than to look over my shoulder at those who don’t. It is disappointing when others do not care enough about others to do the same. While I can’t control their behavior, I can easily walk away.
So many of us have had family members and friends affected by The Beast, I have had frightening times with my granddaughter and devastating moments when I have lost a colleague. Other friends have had their own moments of fear and loss. For me, I simply walk outside to my garden. My small garden is my church and the trees and plants are my congregation. I think about my bulbs emerging in the spring and I know the leaves that are turning golden in the fall will return next spring. I also know that when I once again visit friends and present them with a bouquet of flowers, they will smile.
On A Personal Note….
We voted!! This may not sound like much of an accomplishment to most of you; I assume you have been doing so for years. However, Susan and I have been “green carders” in this country for many years. Three years ago, we became US citizens (our story of the naturalization process is for another day) and we did this so we could vote. You can’t complain if you don’t vote.
Enough of this, time for the good stuff.
I asked a few colleagues for recommendations of “things they could not work or garden without”. Apparently, Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming and birthdays and anniversaries never stop, so here are a few suggestions to make others smile. Click the image to take to you shopping links.
Adapting to a New Normal
Who would have thought that this old guy would embrace social media? I don’t go anywhere near Facebook or Twitter for opinions or to find out what people had for lunch. However, since I can’t go anywhere, I have shared by garden and other venues through Facebook Live – eleven times! I will be doing one more about foliage plants, walking around one of my favorite garden centers, The Family Tree Loganville, GA on Sunday, Nov 8, at 10 am. What a ball we have been having – if you haven’t been able to join me, you can find them all on my website. Between my Walkabouts and the British Baking Show, you may be binging for a little while.
Instagram, me?? Absolutely – join me with “Tales from the Garden” (stories about plants and their names) and “Back to School with Dr A”, where I provide five-minute thoughts about the science of gardening and horticulture. No tests involved.
Who Knew:
The fourth edition of the big book on perennials (Herbaceous Perennial Plants) has been out for a couple of months and sales and reviews are quite robust – thank you. When I initially discussed details with the publisher, he did not want to publish any hard-cover books, only softback. He did not feel that people would pay the extra dollars. I talked him into it, telling him that people I know want to refer this book for many years, and they want it to be tough, solid and long lasting.
Who knew (well, actually I did), that hard cover copies are outselling soft bound by approximately 10:1. The bad news is that they are going quickly, if you want hardbound, order soon.
And lastly, I must take off my Pollyanna glasses: I have lost a good friend and outstanding colleague to Covid-19 recently. For the people in the greenhouse industry, Dr. David Koranski was a rock star. He was one of the pioneers of everything and anything to do with plug production of annuals, perennials and vegetables. His research at Iowa State University on the interaction of light, water and nutrition on the growing of plugs opened the flood gates to efficient production in this country and abroad. If you have produced or bought an annual, perennial or any plant started in a greenhouse in the last 30 years, you have benefitted from Dr. Koranski’s work.
My friend Scott Swift runs a highly successful greenhouse concern in Iowa. Dr Koranski served as his professor and advisor first at the University and later at Swift Greenhouses. Scott too was energized and benefitted from David’s work and writes, “Dave would visit our greenhouse and basically be our consultant for free, because we could not afford it. He recommended we drop all of our houseplants and pot crops and focus on growing annuals and perennials from plugs. Dave saw the “Plug” as the future method of production! This is exactly what we did!”
Scott goes on to say that Dave mentored the business, his staff and his family for over 35 years - and anybody who knew Dave realizes he did the same with anyone who needed him. “We are extremely grateful for all the contributions Dr. Dave made our business, we may not have continued if it wasn’t for him.”
As for me, I take my hat off and raise my face to the light David brought. Every one of us reading this today benefited from his legacy. Damn you, Covid!
The Future is Bright:
What’s left to say? Life is good, we are indeed fortunate to we doing what we do. Stay smart in these times.
See you in church, with glasses on.
Online Courses
You can find out all about the online courses I teach on my website. Click the button below to find out more.
YouTube
Book Store
If you are interested in looking at the books I have written, check them out here. Click the button below for all my great reads.