Goddamn it. The bastards have closed Heronswood. Corporate-giant Burpee has closed the beloved Northwest-Washington nursery after purchasing it six years ago. Burpee’s president George Ball says, “We tried for six years and it just wasn’t profitable.” I’m sorry, but how did Dan Hinkley manage for the first 14 years while sliding deeper and deeper into […]
Raving and Whining
Garden aesthetics
So I bought this raised bed kit from Lee Valley Tools for my roof-top veggie garden. I was hoping that it would look as passable as it does in the above photos, but, when I got it home and assembled it, it looked like I had nicked a curbside recycling bin. In short: it’s ugly. […]
Rain, rain, go away!
Listening to the radio on the way into work today, I heard that Vancouver hasn’t had a day without rain since December 15! Of course, that includes every time we’ve had a drop of rain, even if that was the only drop that day. But still, it feels like it’s been raining forever. And the […]
LED overload
Remember when, in the early 2000s, “extreme” became the lazy marketer’s solution to naming new products and we were suddenly bombarded with extreme fruit juices, extreme razors and even extreme shower heads? Tack the word “extreme” onto any lame product and suddenly – it’s cool! That’s how I’m feeling about LED technology these days. Yes, […]
Annual Annihilation
Upon arriving at work this morning, I was incensed to see the landscapers ripping out the annuals from the beds at the main entrance. Those hapless marigolds. Those wretched salvia. Snuffed out in their (late) prime. “Totally unprovoked,” I cried. “I mean, we haven’t even had our first frost!” My carpool buddy was, at this […]