Thomas Edison—1847-1931—was an American original, who held 1,093 U.S. patents and invented devices that changed life for just about everyone. From the first practical electric light bulb to the stock ticker, Edison was a genius at coming up with new ideas, but, unlike many genius/inventors, he was also adept at setting up manufacturing processes and … Read more
All around me I hear the steady drone of leaf blowers as landscaping crews remove last fall’s leaves. Occasionally they are interrupted by the honks of geese flying north. It must be spring. In my garden the same spring processes are taking place, albeit more slowly and quietly. I like it that way. As the … Read more
Last fall, while most gardeners were putting in tulip bulbs, the spring-flowering shrubs were quietly going about the annual business of producing the buds from which long-awaited flowers will begin sprouting about a month from now. While we shivered through the winter thinking that the snow-covered branches were asleep, they were, in fact, readying themselves … Read more
Around St. Patrick’s Day I like to dip into Thomas Cahill’s wonderful book, How the Irish Saved Civilization. The title is lofty, but the book is very accessible and focuses on how Irish monks helped preserve great works of Classical learning as civilization traveled the path of time from the Roman era to the medieval … Read more
I am partial to toads. Greenish-brown and warty, they perform useful functions in the garden, including consumption of troublesome plant pests. Despite those virtues, they are usually exempted from the good press lavished on their relatives, the frogs. This probably happens because frogs, with their smooth skins and slender profiles are considered the most glamorous … Read more
