skip to main |
skip to sidebar
All the real snow seems to be in Chicago though there is white stuff covering the ground here. Tons before we arrived which melted and turned to ice the day we arrived. Sun out from 9 am to 3 pm. Fires mesmerize & food is heavily calorie laden. Swedes we´ve spoken to are happy about Obama.
Pennisetum purpureum 'Prince'
With today's temperature ranging between 4 & 12 degrees F,
nostalgia for warmer times beckons. Above, in October, see a cool new
grass that I plant to use as an annual in our zone 5. It was sent to trial by
Athens Select (which highlights plants that tolerate heat & humidity). Well,
I certainly put it though the ringer, but not as expected. My garden's all
shade (nasty overgrown still-full-of-leaves Bradford Pear on the city parkway),
dogs wander & pee at whim and I am in my clients' gardens...This new cultivar
is a zone 7 - 11 perennial and wants lots of sun. But even pushing it as much as I did,
I was delighted by both its firm architecture (purple stems to entice Karl Blossfeld)
and the way the leaves diffuse the light like stained glass. As long as I don't
expect it to be tall & bloom, I am very happy. And plan to use it again.
Well, actually here is Rosa on the Malibu pier the
morning of the Earthways Board Meeting in early
November. Far From Botany Bay is the title of her
latest book, an inspiring historical novel, set in England,
Australia & Timor during the 18th C. True to form
(for Rosa), the protagonist, Mary Broad, is a woman of
amazing spirit and action: the only "convict" (her hanging
commuted to being sent to the penal colony for
stealing a cloak) to escape Australia. By boat. Don't
read this before bed or you will be up nights as the
dramatic plot compels page turning. But the real pay
off is in the character development towards the end of
the story. After suffering horrors and humiliations beyond
imagining, Mary has humanity enough for self-reflection.
A timely role-model as global collapse occurs daily. This
edition is a lovely object to hold (still important for a
reader like myself who loves the physicality of books)
published by the Canadian literary press: Oolichan Books.
What a perfect escape during these dark, winter months!
