October 2007

Believe it. Thanks to a tip from Ellis Hollow, I've just discovered the Cornell Mushroom Blog. Although a group effort, it appears to be masterminded by Kathie Hodge, assistant professor of mycology. To give you a sample of their subtle humor, here's an excerpt from their about page: Fungi get a lot of bad press. [...]

Having written about arcane gardening topics myself (colchicums, anyone?), I understand the challenge of writing to an audience that is unfamiliar with the jargon and techniques of one's subject, an audience with no emotional investment in the topic at hand. Giant pumpkins are brobdingnagian in size. Their growth rate is astonishing. But neither fact could [...]

This photo has nothing to do with the post below. Just thought I'd share the view from my porch today. It's probably at its peak right now and will be gone within a week.Just learned from Jessica Walliser that on tomorrow’s edition of ‘The Organic Gardeners’ they will be talking about ColdClimateGardening.com. Every week they [...]

I'm starting a new website to explain blogging and related technical matters in plain English. It's called Blogging Art and Practice. There are some things about blogging that involve technical skill or know-how. I call those practices. I strive to use the best practices, to make my blog easier for people to read, for search [...]

Unseasonably warm autumn Thanks to our unseasonably warm autumn, many of September's flowers are still lingering around. We just had our first frost on Saturday morning (13 Oct 30.4F;-0.8C) and the leaves haven't really turned color yet, and usually by now they are almost all off the trees. Cut back and came back I had [...]

Chapter 1 of my Great Adventure First stop on my great adventure was Austin and environs, where I went to visit my friend Cynthia, whom I hadn't seen in 15 years. Cynthia very kindly chauffeured me to the gardens of three of the many Austin bloggers, but she insisted that we take them a dozen [...]

Readers of this blog know I tend to get absorbed in the details of garden projects. But somehow the making of compost has been immune to such obsessions. To my mind, compost just happens. I don't really give it much thought. It might occur to me in the spring that the piles should really be [...]

Yes, I'm back from Austin and Oklahoma, busy catching up on my life and thinking about all the people I met, gardens I visited, and things I learned. I received a lot of favorable comments about my presentation and even a few requests to help people for hire--blog coaching. But I really think my fellow [...]