The leaves cover secrets

ZesterDaily articles

2010-01-25T21:46:00.000-08:00

http://zesterdaily.com/cooking/366-frugal-family-tradition

http://www.zesterdaily.com/planting/354-growing-gorgeous-greens

Bees are a buzzing in the Valley O!

2009-10-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago (Oct 4th to be exact) I got delivery of my bees from Kirk Anderson of The Backwards Bee group. They have settled in beautifully and are busy making new comb in the frames either side of the frames they arrived with. It is fascinating to observe them up close. Very clean creatures they defecate in flight and remove the dead bees with haste, unceremoniously dumping them off the edge of the landing area into the murky depths below. Its not easy to be a bee....

Shesez

2009-09-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

Lovely healthy eating blog by my friend Linda Koones

http://www.shesez.com/

We had a little chat about how to ripen green tomatoes. One other tip I forgot to mention was: Pull entire plant up , shake off soil and hang upside down from the garage rafters. Tomatoes will ripen soon afterwards.

John

Writing for Zester Daily

2009-09-15T00:57:00.000-07:00

I will be writing for this wonderful new site called ZesterDaily.com. Check it out at

http://www.zesterdaily.com/john-lyons-home-page

Enjoy!

John

The High Line Park- a new jewel in the Manhattan firmament

2009-09-08T21:34:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to New York I was determined to see the new High Line Park on the west side of Manhattan having just caught the end of a report on NPR About the park while stuck in traffic on the 405. My son and I had a lovely morning wandering Central Park and then jumped on the subway getting off at 23rd st for the trek west to 10th ave.

The park currently runs from 20th st to Gansvoort St in the meatpacking district. The Park is owned by the City of New York and is administered by the not for profit conservancy Friends of the High Line. The High Line is the name of an elevated train line that ran from the west village to 34th and carried dangerous freight 30ft above 10th ave. 25 years ago it was closed and stayed idle and abandoned until moves were afoot to demolish the railway. A few local community activists mobilized and led a campaign to keep the structure intact. In 2002 the city of New York formally backed the plan to develop a public park on the site and it opened in June.

The simplicity of the design is oddly beguiling. The train track is left intact in large sections with a walkway of concrete meandering down the center between an array of plantings (210 plant varieties in all). Simple slatted wooded benches line the walkways and in one section there are large wide sun chairs where New Yorkers relax, read the paper and catch some sunshine. Beautiful public restrooms and elevators make for a really pleasant visitor experience.

Grasses and native flowers intermingle with sage , heuchera and sedum. No mechanical irrigation is installed and the plant choices were chosen with drought tolerance in mind. New trees are currently hand watered by the gardening staff and perhaps in time they too will be able to survive with seasonal rainfall. Seeds were collected from the wild flowers and grasses that grew in the abandoned space before the restoration began. They were grown out at a Nursery and replanted . The overall effect is stunning. A wild tapestry of colour and texture that catches the slightest breeze.

I was so taken by the beauty of it all that I stopped various strangers telling them how wonderful it all was. They were quietly amused I dare say.

It will be fascinating to see how this new creation will grow and mature. Very attentive staff weed and water taking care to keep the wildness under check but not allowing the landscape to look too manicured, This new treasure is a thoroughly modern Park and a model of how one can transform a relatively mundane space into a magical natural and green elevated mini beltway.

Two recently completed gardens

2009-09-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

Perennial beds and benificial insect attracting plants

2009-06-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos of a garden I designed with a perennial cutting flower bed that has lots of beneficial insect attracting flowers. These insects readily take care of most of the pests that attack the summer crops.

Raised Boxes at The Woven Garden

2009-05-18T14:44:00.001-07:00

The Woven Garden is pleased to offer organic raised planting boxes (made from handcrafted untreated redwood) in 2 sizes.

4 x 4 x 11" $159. With planting soil add $99

8 x 4x 11" $289. With planting soil add $149

Also a beautiful rollaway planting box ideal for apartment dwellers, seniors or gardeners with disabilities.

2x 4 x 18" $289. With planting soil add $75

Also, please see the enclosed planting menu if you would like your raised box fully planted out. All the plant offerings are interchangeable. Prices vary from $75 - $100 per box.

Call 323 793 3139 for orders and more details.

--
John Lyons

www.thewovengarden.com

Virginia Robinson Tour

2009-05-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

We had the Virginia Robinson 5 Estate Tour today. Long day. At least 300 people came through my vegetable garden during the day. Time to relax.

Sunset Magazine Online Blog Covers my LA Garden Show Entry

2009-05-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

http://freshdirt.sunset.com/2009/05/the-most-interesting-installation-at-the-recent-la-garden-show.html

More pics from the LA Garden Show

2009-05-05T22:54:00.001-07:00

LA Garden Show opens tonight

2009-05-01T00:36:00.000-07:00

The garden show opened tonight and it was a really beautiful evening. Perfect cool weather and great food and company. My design was well received , especially by other designers. This was really gratifying as I have never done a garden show design in my life. I had a great crew to help me realize the plan. I also got to meet Rosalind Creasy.....one my my all time favourite gardening people. I recommend her books all the time to my students. http://www.rosalindcreasy.com/

Started LA GArden Show design today

2009-04-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

We got started on our LA Garden Show design today. It was a little daunting as this is the first time I have ever done anything like this. Some of the designers have already been working a full week and have large amounts of their designs finished. So we need to get really cracking tomorrow! The peacocks were strutting around and not amused by our presence. They are in immaculate health because they have 130 acres to roam and feed in.

Earth Matters Gardening School will open May 29th

2009-04-23T23:07:00.000-07:00

I am opening a gardening school for urbanites in late May. Check out the website. http://www.earthmatters.biz

Daily News Article

2009-04-23T23:01:00.000-07:00

I had a food journalist visit my garden last week to do some reporting on the edible landscape. I am not sure she was quite prepared for the unusual way I garden but she did leave the place with a new way of looking at how to garden!

http://www.dailynews.com/lalife/ci_12192499

Today my foal turns 2

2009-04-12T08:16:00.000-07:00

Two years ago I delivered my first foal. He is an Irish Draught and is owned by my friend Lisa. A big strapping lad almost 16h and while he has his "moments" he is a big ole softy pants. Mama and son.

Design for Los Angels Garden Show May 1st-3rd 2009

2009-04-07T23:19:00.001-07:00

My front yard as of this week

2009-04-07T22:57:00.000-07:00

A few photos of my front yard this week. It is really in full bloom and quite chaotic with plants bumping into one another vying for space and attention!

Glorious Imperfection, the pesticide free garden.

2009-04-03T06:33:00.000-07:00

Whenever I begin a new project I put my gardening cards squarely on the potting table: I do not advocate using chemical pesticides under any circumstances in the domestic garden. They are the large, dangerous gorilla sitting on the pristine, chemically drenched, worm-free lawn. There is a paradox in our odd relationship to how we garden. We have a tendency to obsess about pests and even the use of raw manures in our compost heaps, yet we do not consider the considerable damage that toxic pesticides do to the food we grow, plant life, soil, water, insects, mammals, birds and the unseen eco system that is the average urban garden.

Why do we feel the need to be at war with our garden and its pests? Can we not live with the occasional imperfect plant or food crop, safe in the knowledge that is truly toxin free? We do have choices that are clean and safe, and will result in a domestic garden with strong, healthy plants. By letting the natural order prevail in our gardens, they will produce plants that can fend for themselves. A multi faceted approach is best.

Soil

Successful gardening begins with good soil. Healthy soil results in healthy, vigorous, pest resistant plants. We are notoriously lax in the care of our soil here in Southern California. We expect it to produce 365 days a year, expose it to intense heat and winds, we sometimes allow our gardeners to blow the soil away each week with polluting gasoline driven blowers. Yet we wonder why our plants struggle! Get the soil balanced, well composted, not over watered and mulched to assist in plant root development, good drainage and development of microbial life as well as a healthy worm population. This alone can result in preventing many pests from invading your patch. Pests would rather attack weaker plants.

To aid in the development of your soil, grow a cover crop of vetch, buckwheat, clover or Austrian field peas. These plantings serve many purposes. They act as a rotational crop which can rid the soil of in ground pests that attack specific crops. They attract beneficial insects. When dug into the soil they prove a rich diet of organic matter and nitrogen (especially the leguminous crops), and they enrich the soil with a healthy dose of microbial activity.

Companion planting

The next line of defense is companion planting. This approach is very effective in attracting an array of beneficial insects that prey upon plant pests by eating them or using them parasitically to reproduce. There are a host of lovely plants that attract the good bugs. Members of the Umbelliferae family (Fennell, Carrots Dill, Cilantro, Parsley and Queen Anne’s’ lace) with small flowers are favored by wasps, lacewings, dragonflies, ladybugs, praying mantis, hoverflies and spiders, all good bugs. Unfortunately, these insects are routinely killed by broad spectrum insecticides, which ruin the natural balance in the garden. The marigold is reputed to act as a great sensory foil for pests. The strong odor it emanates confuses certain pests, keeping nearby crops free of infestation.

Hedgerows

Grow a hedgerow. A large or small hedgerow can be a fine way to attract birds and wildlife that readily eat many harmful pests. Use California natives such as Berberis, California Wild grape, salvias, California wild roses, boysenberries or raspberries. You can allow the hedgerow to grow wild, space permitting, or keep it manageable in a smaller garden by growing it on a trellis and pruning twice a year. It will provide a safe, home to birds, lizards, butterflies and many beneficial insects, adding a rich and unusual aesthetic feature to your garden. Do not forget to have a bird bath and feeder nearby.

Organic Pesticides

Finally there are organic solutions. I have left this until last because while I do not choose to use these either they are a much better alternative to synthetic products. Just because a product is non-synthetic and labeled organic does not mean it is 100% safe or non-toxic. Some of the choices are as follows.

Pyrethins

Derived from Chrysanthemum, this is a quick acting low toxic spray that kills all insects on contact. Use only when you have a major pest attack.

BT (Bacillus thuringiensis)

Many strains of these bacteria are used in powder form to kill insects in the immature larval stage. It is very effective against Cabbage White larvae that attack brassicas.

Rotenone

A powder made from the roots of a tropical legume. Very powerful when dusted onto plants, but it is a broad spectrum and will kill honeybees. Use sparingly and only when really needed.

Neem Oil

This is made from the seeds of the Neem tree. Applied directly on the plant it impedes growth in immature pests. It is a broad spectrum insecticide so only use when a heavy infestation is present.

Diatomaceous earth

Finely ground fossilized remains of diatoms, which were a hard shelled algae. It is very effective in killing slugs and snails. Remember to not over-water around plants that are attacked by slugs and snails. They do not like dry soil.

Copper

A strip of copper can also be effective in stopping slugs and snails by delivering an electrical shock on contact.

Insecticidal Soaps

These are by far the safest pesticides, and kill on contact. Some plants can be sensitive to soaps. Avoid using them in high temperatures and in direct sunlight.

There is no need to use chemical pesticides in your garden. I would also suggest using organic methods sparingly and only in cases of really bad infestation. Your healthy garden ecosystem will be its own best defense.

Blue day and green day...red letter day.

2009-03-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Had a close call yesterday with my son. We were sitting at a light and two other vehicles decided to run into one another. We got the secondary whack from one of the cars. Both cars totaled and significant damage to my truck. Woke up today feeling really blue and decided to take to the garden for a while to recover between idiot sessions on the phone with Insurance Co. One question was "Do you think the car that struck you had damage to it before impact"? Huh? As it careened towards me at 50 miles an hour I had the sense of mind to note dents in the car before it ploughed into us!

This was a first so I hope my quota of accidents is filled for a long time to come.

Weeding beckons....

Putting in a summer garden in Montenido

2009-03-23T22:17:00.000-07:00

Montenido is one of those delightful little communities tucked away into a canyon off the road to Malibu. I put in a small summer garden for a client there today and had such a lovely time revisiting the "spent" winter garden I put in last Oct and getting all the new plants in for the next season. We are a two season gardening climate here. Montenido has its own slightly more chilly microclimate so one needs to be a tad careful about not putting in summer veg too soon.

When I was done I drove up the road to my dear friend Suze to see her lovely newly planted hillside. A grand mixture of CA and Australian native plants. The mountain backdrop to her house/garden and farm is stunning.

Note to self: When I earn a few more shillings I want to live in Montenido....

Paddy Tobin from the Co Waterford

2009-03-23T22:12:00.000-07:00

An online gardening friend Paddy Tobin from Co Waterford recently sent me this aerial photo of his splendid garden. He and his wife Mary are very keen gardeners. One is really struck by how beautifully green the landscape is in Ireland. I have not lived there for 21 years and I really had forgotten how lush it is.

Fava beans

2009-03-17T23:56:00.000-07:00

My Fava beans are heaving with semi ready pods. I could not wait anymore and shelled a few today. Boiled them rapidly for 1 min in extra salty water, plunged them into iced water and took off the inner second shell. The remaining spring green bean is delectable. A sweet and smokey complex flavour. The flowers smell great and the finished plant is a great source of nitrogen when added to the compost pile or dug into the soil directly. Fava's rule.

Potting up....

2009-03-17T23:51:00.000-07:00

I love the term potting up. It has the whiff of something elicit but it is really all quite harmless. I bought lots and lots of spring and summer vegetables and flowers in 6 packs and have potted them all up to one gallon size to hurry them along rather than growing in the earth that is still a tad cool. They can have a month in the pots and go into the ground in early April. Tomatoes by early June I think.

Earth smells

2009-01-23T23:26:00.000-08:00

Tonight I went out into my front yard at 11.15pm and sat in the middle of a recently rain soaked flower/veg bed. The earth was soft underfoot and oh the smell! Rain and earth make for a happy marriage. My yard is heaving up with moisture and wriggling things. All the plants, seeds and bulbs are growing. This will be a beautiful Spring.

Tomatoes in January

2009-01-10T15:57:00.000-08:00

I have had a very robust Roma tomato hang on into the cold weather and is loaded with green fruit. I took the plunge today and removed it from my front yard because it was crowding a Salvia Clevlandii "Winifred Gilman" and a Buddleia Davidvii "Black Knight".

Now I have a gaping hole and two plants looking shellshocked, spindly and exposed. They will fill out the space within a few weeks.

Now..what to do with a dozen green tomatoes...?

Ruth Stout on "Winter"

2009-01-10T15:52:00.000-08:00

"There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you.... In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself." -- Ruth Stout

http://www.emmitsburg.net/gardens/articles/frederick/2007/stout.htm

Garden class

2009-01-06T11:26:00.000-08:00

On Sunday last I had the loveliest experience teaching a gardening class "Composting and the Winter Kitchen Garden" to 22 very keen gardeners in Malibu.

We convened on the beautiful wide verandah of my friend Amy Pulitzers house in front of a wood burning fire and got into the finer points of composting. Then I spoke about how to set up and maintain a winter kitchen garden, something people overlook here in Southern CA where our climate lends itself readily to growing a huge array of veg right now.

Hot cider and cookies made for a really special afternoon.

Gardening in the depths of a Southern Californian winter....

2009-01-03T16:56:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those wonderful early January days in Southern California. Cool with just a hint of sun peeking through. Ideal real gardening day. By "real" I mean the kind of day you can break a sweat and not get dehydrated and in my case end up with a blinder of a headache that lasts 12 hours.

I planted a "Wonderful" Pomegranate tree today to honour the memory of John O' Donoghue who died one year ago today (See poem from Jan 1st). Arugula, red cabbage, and Quinault strawberries (an everbearing variety) were tucked into lovely friable earth. The soil in my yard is really superb right now. This took 2 years of endless applications of organic material.

The day ended with the construction of a huge new compost pile. Yards of horse manure mixed with about 20 huge bags of leaves I got for free from the local Park. When this pile heats up it will be a real doosey of a pile. Temp should easily reach 140 degrees.

Now..a hot bath to relax from 47 year old bones.

A New Year.. "A New Day"

2009-01-01T10:56:00.001-08:00

By John O'Donohue
(1954 - 2008)

No one knew the name of this day;
Born quietly from deepest night,
It hid its face in light,
Demanded nothing for itself,
Opened out to offer each of us
A field of brightness that traveled ahead,
Providing in time, ground to hold our footsteps
And the light of thought to show the way.

The mind of the day draws no attention;
It dwells within the silence with elegance
To create a space for all our words,
Drawing us to listen inward and outward.

We seldom notice how each day is a holy place
Where the eucharist of the ordinary happens,
Transforming our broken fragments
Into an eternal continuity that keeps us.

Somewhere in us a dignity presides
That is more gracious than the smallness
That fuels us with fear and force,
A dignity that trusts the form a day takes.

So at the end of this day, we give thanks
For being betrothed to the unknown
And for the secret work
Through which the mind of the day
And wisdom of the soul become one.

Zinnias pictured in the Home page

2008-11-19T17:55:00.000-08:00

I visited this farmer in rural Pawling and he had grown (on a complete whim) a small field of Zinnias. No intention of selling them but rather enjoying them all summer long and they were stunning.

John

2008-11-19T00:05:00.000-08:00

I am re-reading The Wild Braid - a poet reflects on a century in the garden.

Stanley Kunitz (see poem below) had a long and fruitful career becoming poet laureate at 96. In The Wild Braid e muses on the role gardening had in his life and how it shaped him personally and as an artist.

A really lovely book and well worth seeking.

John

2008-11-19T00:03:00.000-08:00

The Snakes of September
Stanley Kunitz 1905-2006

All summer I heard them
rustling in the shrubbery,
outracing me from tier
to tier in my garden,
a whisper among the viburnums,
a signal flashed from the hedgerow,
a shadow pulsing
in the barberry thicket.
Now that the nights are chill
and the annuals spent,
I should have thought them gone,
in a torpor of blood
slipped to the nether world
before the sickle frost.
Not so. In the deceptive balm
of noon, as if defiant of the curse
that spoiled another garden,
these two appear on show
through a narrow slit
in the dense green brocade
of a north-country spruce,
dangling head-down, entwined
in a brazen love-knot.
I put out my hand and stroke
the fine, dry grit of their skins.
After all,
we are partners in this land,
co-signers of a covenant.
At my touch the wild
braid of creation
trembles.

Digging a Pizza Slice of earth

2008-11-13T23:45:00.000-08:00

I put in a small winter Potager for my dear friend Martha Rose Shulman. Its a pizza slice of earth between two sections of her building where she lives. it is amazing how much you can grow in a small patch of earth if you amend the soil correctly and get a good depth and tilth going.

We planted fava beans "Broad Windsor" English peas "Little Marvel" and "Green Arrow", sweetpeas "Royal Family", various lettuces, mizuna, radish "French Blush", "Correnta" spinach, violas , cilantro, chard "Bright Lights", and Legion of Honour red poppies.

Gardening in Southern CA is the best.

John

Gardening as a meditation.

2008-11-11T21:44:00.000-08:00

I often think of my late mother Maura Austin Lyons (1923 - 1994) when I am knee high in weeds in a garden digging them out. She would wander in from the garden and announce as she walked through the kitchen door "I was thinking in the garden..." and proceed to tell us something that she remembered, an idea she had, a solution to a problem or simply something she had neglected to say in an earlier conversation. I now find myself doing the same thing and realize that we do our best thinking and creative problem solving while in a meditative state in our garden plots.

2008-11-10T22:40:00.000-08:00

Lathyrus odoratus 'Cupani' from my garden Spring 2008

2008-11-09T21:47:00.000-08:00

Eddies farm Pawling NY

2008-11-09T08:19:00.000-08:00

I went to vist my friends Sally and Karl in Pawling last August. One evening we went on a hayride to their friend Eddies farm. Someday I might live in Pawling...you can see why.

Los Angeles Arboretum

2008-11-07T21:41:00.000-08:00

I had one of those magical days that sort of happened by accident. I went to the Arboretum to meet Tim Phillips, the acting CEO to chat about the Los Angeles Garden Show next year and met someone who I was introduced to online who is the artist in residence. Leigh Adams is a breath of fresh air. She took me to a few of her hide outs and special installations that are a delight. The snake path that winds its way through the Australian Garden is lovely as is the garden itself. The weather was divine and after lunch I stayed 2 more hours looking at the herb garden, rose garden and the horse stables which were amazing.

Visit the Arboretum. Its a wonderful place and easy to get to. Take the 210 past Pasadena and a right exit off Baldwin, and within a 1 /4 mile you are there.

http://www.arboretum.org/

John

2008-10-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

In the garden. by Emily Dickinson

2008-10-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

My favourite poet..... bar none.

In the garden. By Emily Dickinson

A bird came down the walk:
He did not know I saw;
He bit an angle-worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw.

And then he drank a dew
From a convenient grass,
And then hopped sidewise to the wall
To let a beetle pass.

He glanced with rapid eyes
That hurried all abroad, --
They looked like frightened beads, I thought;
He stirred his velvet head

Like one in danger; cautious,
I offered him a crumb,
And he unrolled his feathers
And rowed him softer home

Than oars divide the ocean,
Too silver for a seam,
Or butterflies, off banks of noon,
Leap, plashless, as they swim.

Mulch

2008-10-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

Ah... the word mulch is music to the gardeners ear..especially here in Southern CA where we are endlessly fighting the heat , santa ana winds and a growing season that is 24/7/365 etc etc. The latter is important to remember. In other temperate climates gardens get a chance to rest under the snow for a few months but here we have a climate that allows for year round gardening. Because of this the fine art of mulching needs to be perfected and applied. Mulching is the application of a deep organic matter (compost, leaves, hay/straw, pine needles, wood chips) that serves many purposes: (1) Directly protects the surface of the soil from the harsh elements (2) Helps regulate water absorption (3) Breaks down over time and adds much needed soil conditioning to the heavy clay soils we have in Southern CA.

Today I covered most of my front yard in Pine Needles rescued from a friends house that needs a bi-annual clean up, resulting in 25 large garbage bags full...bliss! The remainder goes into the compost pile which at this stage is 5 ft high and hot as Hades, the pine needles will break down faster this way. Another option is to leave them in the bag after moistening them. Leave aside for 2 years behind a garden shed or whatever. In 2 years you will end up with a wonderful complex substance known as leaf mold that will (when dusted onto your soil) add millions of very beneficial microbes to your soil.

John

Cicoria Catalogna a Foglie Rastagliante

2008-10-27T14:10:00.000-07:00

A Bosnian friend was in Italy last year and raved about a salad called Puntarelle a la Romana that she had there. I wrote to my sister (who lives in Genova) to find out what kind of Cicoria they use and today she sent me seeds. I will plant this afternoon and let you know how they do. Italians eat many varieties of Cicoria and this will be an interesting experience in trying to replicate this recipe for my friend Mira.

http://www.agraria.org/coltivazionierbacee/cicoria_catalogna.JPG

Bye for now

John

Winning the "war on weeds.."

2008-10-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

Yes I know..one never "wins" a war but I thought given the year that is in it with politicians yapping endlessly about winning wars I may as well use the coinage too. Today was a client work free day, not by design but rather by lack of demand for my services. So I decided to continue my endless watering and digging out of my front yard (former lawn) and get the last of the Bermuda grass out. I hand water so the soil was bone dry in parts and rock hard despite endless applications of compost in the past year. I watered for hours on end and then began digging through the yard methodically coaxing the long rhizomes out from under established plants. An exercise in patience and quite meditative if you will.

My neighbours walk by and are very amused at how energetically I attack the garden. Shovels wielded with vim and vigour. It harkens back to my years on the family farm where you were expected to "keep the back down" and "make a face on yer work"...rural Irish expressions that possibly get lost in the telling.

The end result is a clean front yard with the perennials flowers and shrubs perking up as a result of the watering and getting ready to put on growth for a Spring flower display. In between I have planted my winter crops..a few brocolli here and some lettuce there. No rhyme nor reason to the design but whimsy, whimsy whimsy. The veggies really complement the colour and texture in a flower bed and at the end of the season I allow some veggies to go to seed to add a bit of drama to the landscape. Carrots and cilantro produce really lovely flower and seed heads.

I planted the island near the street in agaves, sedums and various succulents rescued from gardens down through the year.

Now time to drink some Irish tea and watch a few political shows I tivo daily to keep me apprised of the state of things.

John

2008-10-23T23:29:00.001-07:00

First Posting by the Woven Garden Man

2008-10-23T21:54:00.000-07:00

Hello

The title is by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Thanks Ralph.

This is a first for me so lets keep it short for now.

I will post some of my comings and goings day to day and occasional rants on things earth related.

I feel passionately about the need for everyone to till a piece of earth, grow some food, flowers be it in a pot on a windowsill or in a garden if they have the space for one. The quality and content of the soil itself is another passion.

More anon.

John