-
A Meal for a Common Man / Eating Above Your Pay Grade
Last week my wife and I had the great fun of staying at one of the world’s most luxurious hotels. We were clearly living well above our pay grade. The proprietors specialize in treating folks well. I knew we were in for a treat when a staff member (unbidden) brought to our room a plate…
-
Make us something like the low green moss
When I lived out in the country, I cut a short trail through the woods that were behind my home, a little stretch of about twenty yards. There was some dapple shade and it was there I’d planned to plant wild azaleas, a few camellias, and who knows what else…plants that would be happy living…
-
Strike Three and the Crape Myrtle is out!
‘Strike two!” says the umpire. Our favorite batter is at the plate, faithfully doing his best. But the pitcher seems to be in control of the situation. No balls. Two strikes. Ugh! The horticultural nemesis of the crape myrtle is on the mound and seems to have the situation well in hand. Fastballs, curve balls,…
-
Corn is legendary in Texas.
Nacogdoches unveiled a new sculpture of a Texas Revolutionary solider yesterday in our downtown’s historic district. The sculpture is in honor of the men from Nacogdoches who fought in the Texas Revolutionary war with Mexico. It reminded me afresh of the legend of San Jacinto corn. When important events transpire, wonderful stories grow like…
-
“A Greek Chorus”
For the last couple of weeks we have been considering the harbingers and heralds of spring, plants which foretell, predict, and prophesy springs soon rival. These are plants that bloom in late winter, well in advance of spring, but tell us that its arrival is just at the door. This week let’s consider a…
-
Camellia from the Plaza Principal in Nacogdoches, Texas
Made with a Leica M (type 240) / 135mm f/4 Tele-Elmar 1971
-
“Heralds of Spring”
Spirea and the reds of the quince are breathtaking. Ah, springtime! Ah, springtime! Early blooming plants are heralding its soon arrival. I’m not for sure that we have had our last frost, but the warm days of spring are surely ahead. They say only fools predict Texas weather, but you know gardeners are hopeful…
-
Harbingers of Spring
Up North, they look to large rodents (the nefarious groundhog) to predict the weather, but we in the civilized South have some very elegant trees that serve the purpose. Have you seen the ‘saucer’ magnolias blooming around town? The Saucer magnolia (M. x soulangiana) will often predict a change of weather. In the near term,…
-
Horticultural Delectables
Is there a beloved culinary recipe at your house that the whole family values but takes a significant investment of time and money to create? Yet, you make that investment year after year because, once achieved, the family rallies around it as an army rallies around a beloved general. Annually, each winter my…