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Re: New Thread--Who Inspired You
What Lois said about her mother advising her not to get a degree in English
Literature and "you can't make a living doing that," resonated with me. I
was told the same, and that if I wanted to pursue a writing career, to be
sure to "marry well."
But I can't help it. I'm in love with words. I speak Spanish for the joy of
it (with my gardener, who is from Guatemala), savoring how Spanish is a
simpler, cleaner version of my first love, which is such an
Anglo-Saxon/Greek/Latin muddled mix. Those of you who share my passion will
likely enjoy http://www.freerice.com/, a website that enables you to flex
your vocabulary muscles while donating rice to the hungry (a strange but
wonderful concept that works).
As to who inspires me, in terms of nonfiction excellence, it's Diane
Ackerman ("Natural History of the Senses," etc.) I aspire to her clarity of
description, her use of metaphor, and her ability to entertain while
imparting information. Writing is a process of polishing, and hers shines
like sunbright dew...like Doug's "beauty in the morning" description of
Canadian cold and crystalline mist.
Debra
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Debra Lee Baldwin
Garden Photojournalist
Author, "Designing with Succulents"
(Timber Press, 2007)
www.debraleebaldwin.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-----Original Message-----
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Sent: Friday, January 04, 2008 8:57 AM
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: New Thread--Who Inspired You (Dan Clost)
2. Re: New Thread--Who Inspired You (loisdan@juno.com)
3. garden revival? (jo ellen meyers sharp)
4. Re: Native Plant Rescue (Gene Bush)
5. Re: garden revival? (carlobal@netzero.net)
6. Re: New Thread--Who Inspired You (Miranda Smith)
7. Re: garden revival? (Jeff Ball)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2008 22:51:29 -0500
From: "Dan Clost" <dan.clost@sympatico.ca>
Subject: Re: [GWL] New Thread--Who Inspired You
To: "Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum"
<gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <BAYC1-PASMTP08EDE7C71BC82FE7809578934C0@CEZ.ICE>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original
I'm game for this, Doreen, but nothing earth-shattering here. Have always
written stuff 'cause I have to. Although I don't do diaries and journals.
As a young school boy, I was drawn to folks who could get my imagination
going and then stand back out of the way.
Walter de la Mare, Carl Sandberg, Robert Service, John Donne, A. E. Van
Vogt, Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov, Gene Stratton-Porter, Ralph Conner.
First poetry attempt: I had a dog and his name was Shep. He was a German
Shepherd. He was always full of pep. But he got run over by a car. For some
reason, my Mom kept this one.
In my mid teens, Steinbeck's and Hemmingway's command of the language
impressed me to no end. (and Doreen, Doc in Cannery Row was the main
character for an Eng. 101 essay.) I would write up humorous accounts of
events that friends shared and pass it on to them Now, I'll read just about
anything- fascinated with trying to learn new stuff; westerns and Sci-fi for
mindless distractions.
btw most recently read newest western- Shadow Box Canyon by Tom Ogren.
These days, I write a little bit of poetry and haiku for fun.
btw(2), have had some very nice off-list conversations with other GWL
poets/esses and writers (writeresses?)
Garden writing? A reporter friend said his newspaper needed a stringer for
the local speedway- 1/3 mile clay oval, late models and the sprints- and I
said "No". So he asked if I would write a gardening column.
Why did he ask me? I had written a letter to the editor assaulting one of
their opinions and they liked my style. As Kilgore Trout would say, "So it
goes."
Dan
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2008 05:40:01 -0500
From: loisdan@juno.com
Subject: Re: [GWL] New Thread--Who Inspired You
To: gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
Cc: gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
Message-ID: <20080104.054001.3888.0.loisdan@juno.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Now to the creative side. Who or what inspired you to write, speak
> or perform? From where did the spark or epiphany come?
I cannot remember a time when I wasn't reading (or writing) --- I still
have my two very different copies of "A Child's Garden of Verses" and my
favorite, "Bunny Blue." By the age of eight, I was attempting to write my
first screenplay --- a murder mystery. In high school, my 10th grade
English teacher sent home a note summoning my mother to a conference to
discuss what punishment I deserved for plagiarising my report --- high
praise from Mrs. Sutton; I knew right then I could really write. My
poetry-writing phase lasted through college. My unpublished collection is
still close at hand, though for my eyes only.
My speaking career began in 11th grade, when I at last stood up in front
of my peers to give an oral book report and burst into tears. Four years
later, I got my first real job in college --- delivering lectures in a
Planetarium. (It occurred to me that, perhaps I had a death wish). My
inspiration was my boss, a student five years my senior, who explained to
me that, so long as I knew one fact more than my audience, they would
consider me an expert. I had been studying astronomy since I was 12 and
had taken special summer courses at the Hayden Planetarium in Manhattan.
I knew plenty of facts.
While I longed for the glamorous world of publishing, Mom explained that
a degree in English would be worthless in the world of work. I graduated
with a degree in Geology instead (I did love it). But I never worked as a
geologist.
It's a long and twisted tale, but I've spent my entire life writing and
speaking: Planetarium lectures, radio shows, technical manuals,
newsletters, a newspaper column, teaching advertising and marketing
classes, cable TV, commercials, billboards, annual reports, grants, sales
and technical presentations, and now garden writing for magazines, my
blog, and when I find a publisher, my book.
My inspiration? Mom said, "You can't make a living doing that."
Lois J. de Vries
Visit http://loisdevries.blogspot.com
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2008 06:30:52 -0500
From: jo ellen meyers sharp <hoosiergardener@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: [GWL] garden revival?
To: Dan Clost <dan.clost@sympatico.ca>, Garden Writers -- GWL -- The
Garden Writers Forum <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <a0624080ac3a3c92acf9a@[68.77.90.137]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" ; format="flowed"
The landscape architects say the garden will be revived in 2008
Landscape Architects Identify Outdoor Design Trends For 2008
Demand up for great rooms and energy efficient landscapes
Washington, DC, January 3, 2008 -No longer
content with just the outdoor kitchen, homeowners
will add entire great rooms outdoors this year
according to a survey of leading members of the
American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).
On the commercial side, clients will focus on low
maintenance landscapes, stormwater runoff, and
earning LEED? certification.
Conducted in December, the informal poll asked
leading landscape architects about the top
residential and commercial trends for 2008. On
the residential side, outdoor kitchens and fire
pits continue to be popular requests. However,
more and more homeowners are asking for outdoor
"great rooms" incorporating the living room,
dining room, and kitchen for family gatherings
and outdoor entertaining.
"Homeowners are reconnecting with their outdoor
space, often in creative and imaginative ways,"
said Perry Howard, FASLA, President of ASLA.
"It's no surprise that people want to take
elements that work so well inside their home and
recreate them outside."
Additionally, landscape architects anticipate a
revival of the garden. Lawn maintenance
costs-especially irrigation-will lead homeowners
to consider water-saving features and less of the
traditional grass lawn. Instead, gardens will
increase in prominence while incorporating more
native and drought-resistant plants. These same
features can also make a home's landscape
significantly more sustainable.
Cost mitigation will be a major consideration
among commercial clients this year as well.
Low-maintenance landscapes that utilize native
and drought-resistant plants and other techniques
to lower irrigation costs will increase in 2008.
Building owners will also use more porous paving
and bioswales to manage stormwater runoff. All of
these elements fit into another trend for 2008:
more commercial clients obtaining certifications
from green rating systems, such as the U. S.
Green Building Council's LEED? metrics.
"More and more landscape architects see a demand
for incorporating and quantifying sustainable
design-especially on the commercial side," Perry
added. "This is one reason we are creating the
Sustainable Sites Initiative, which will give
clients and designers the tools and best
practices for designing energy efficient,
environmentally friendly landscapes." Sustainable
Sites is a partnership between ASLA, the Lady
Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the U.S.
Botanic Garden to create a green rating system
for sustainable landscape design in all types of
projects.
In addition to sustainable design, commercial
clients will incorporate more gardens, walking
paths, or other methods for people to relax and
enjoy the outdoor environment. More of these
spaces will utilize the existing natural features
and vegetation as well.
About ASLA
Founded in 1899, ASLA is the national
professional association for landscape
architects, representing more than 18,200 members
in 48 professional chapters and 68 student
chapters. Landscape architecture is a
comprehensive discipline of land analysis,
planning, design, management, preservation, and
rehabilitation. ASLA promotes the landscape
architecture profession and advances the practice
through advocacy, education, communication, and
fellowship. Members of the Society use their
"ASLA" suffix after their names to denote
membership and their commitment to the highest
ethical standards of the profession. Learn more
about landscape architecture online at
www.asla.org.
jems
--
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
Garden writer, speaker, author, photographer
Region III Director Garden Writers Association
Phone: (317) 251.3261
Fax: (317) 251.8545
E-mail: hoosiergardener@sbcglobal.net
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2008 08:27:30 -0500
From: "Gene Bush" <genebush@netsurfusa.net>
Subject: Re: [GWL] Native Plant Rescue
To: "Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum"
<gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <086801c84ed5$8e955110$0201a8c0@munchkin>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original
Hello Carolyn,
I have seen this book mentioned elsewhere and the title came up at
dinner here over the holidays with guests. Has anyone read the chapter on
"Why Can't Insect Eat Alien Plants"? Pretty broad statement at face value.
Obviously insects DO eat alien plants, pollinate and feed. So, is he saying
they cannot or is he stating the consequences of the behavior? Inquiring
minds and all that....
Gene E. Bush
Munchkin Nursery & Gardens, llc
www.munchkinnursery.com
genebush@munchkinnursery.com
Zone 6/5 Southern Indiana
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carolyn Ulrich" <cultivated@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: [GWL] Native Plant Rescue
> Continuing this thread, I'd like to recommend the new book by Douglas
> Tallamy of Univ of Delaware--Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants
> Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens (Timber), especially the chapter "Why
> Can't Insect Eat Alien Plants?" It's all about pollination. Habitat
> loss is scary stuff.
> Carolyn Ulrich
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2008 14:00:36 GMT
From: "carlobal@netzero.net" <carlobal@netzero.net>
Subject: Re: [GWL] garden revival?
To: gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
Message-ID: <20080104.090036.834.0@webmail12.vgs.untd.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Great information JEMS...but you just violated someone's copyright (unless
you wrote it, or it's "reprinted with the permission of...").
We should be even more careful than the average bear about the wholesale
copying of articles, etc. Because we are writers, we should be held to a
higher standard of care regarding these things...
Carlo A. Balistrieri
The Gardens at Turtle Point
Tuxedo Park, NY 10987
Zone 6 (845.351.2049)
Visit: www.botanicalgardening.com
_____________________________________________________________
Handyman Franchises. Click Here.
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hSKh14XhlKZaQBiaGDdH6OrIy/
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2008 09:41:50 -0500
From: "Miranda Smith" <mirandaconstance@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [GWL] New Thread--Who Inspired You
To: "Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum"
<gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID:
<cfec61e30801040641k31801c63lf84bf88d4dd088d9@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
On Jan 4, 2008 5:40 AM, <loisdan@juno.com> wrote:
> Now to the creative side. Who or what inspired you to write, speak
> > or perform? From where did the spark or epiphany come?
>
> I feel a bit odd, responding to this, because I do more lurking than
contributing on the list. However...
Like everyone else who has responded, I am a life-long reader and writer. My
first influences range from E. Nesbitt (*The Story of the **Amulet, The Five
Children and It, The Enchanted Castle*), T.H. White (*Mistress Masham's
Repose*), to Dr. Seuss's *To Think that I saw it on Mulberry Street*. By the
time I was ten, I was devouring what are now referred to as classics in
American and British literature and was an avid reader of "Fantasy and
Science Fiction," "Amazing" and other pulps of that ilk. (My dad was a
science fiction reader and sometime writer, so the magazines were always
around.) But it was T.H. White's physical description of Maria's governess
that inspired me with the wish to portray reality with such clarity that it
became "more real than real." --At the time, that was the phrase I used to
describe what I thought of as good writing.
I wrote plays from the time I was in elementary school and enlisted my
brother and whomever else I could find to put them on--we got good at
playing multiple roles and doing very quick costuming changes, and I wrote
with those limitations in mind--foreshadowing being able to write under
publishers' limitations, maybe. I also wrote my share of poetry and stories
and started god knows how many novels before the age of 16. I won the a
prize from Scholastic for a story when I was in the 4th grade. At the age of
15, I was accepted as an apprentice with an equity summer stock company and
fully believed that I would become a stage actress. And...life intervened in
various ways that I won't go on about. Ten years later, I was living in
Canada, unmarried, and pregnant. Obviously, theatre was no longer a good
option--not much was, as a matter of fact. So I walked down the road and
talked to John Harrison, the manager of Mylora Farms. He was an organic
produce farmer who had converted in 1936. We hit it off--my mother ran a
small nursery and never "went chemical," so I knew the techniques and was
already a competent grower--I had been her right hand for many years and had
absorbed the skills. John hired me to help him teach farming skills to
people who wanted to "go back to the land" but who had never been there in
the first place--this was 1971. So I began my career as a horticultural
teacher and farmer in that way. I didn't even think about writing more than
grant proposals and research reports until I was pregnant for the second
time, in 1979, and was forbidden to lift bales of peatmoss or carry crates
of squash. Forced to sit down, I put my greenhouse course into book form. It
took a few years to get it published, but in 1984, Rodale took it. Since
then, I've written horticultural and agricultural books on and off and have,
in the last few years, broadened to editing a fairly wide range of
nonfiction books. I feel the impulse to write fiction stirring again, too,
so it could be that I expand again in the next couple of years.
Miranda
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2008 10:30:59 -0500
From: Jeff Ball <jeffball@usol.com>
Subject: Re: [GWL] garden revival?
To: Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum
<gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <7D7B3226-D1FF-4391-A332-CDFDAE5D463A@usol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; delsp=yes;
format=flowed
I don't consider paying $25,000 for someone else to install a "great
room" and make it low maintenance to be gardening. I've never
considered the landscape architect a proponent of gardening. My
experience has been that they don't know a lot about plants and their
designs over the years for middle class homes are pretty prosaic and
even boring.
Our sense is that typical homeowners are moving away from gardening
as such and moving to decorate their property with big containers and
lots of annuals - not as traditional garden. The comprehensive
vegetable garden I fear is an unusual occurence these days. I get
the uncomfortable feeling that if a person did not experience eating
fresh from the garden as a child, he or she is less likely to want to
even try kohl rabi, Swiss chard, and eggplant. My reason for
vegetable gardening is to have lots of diverse taste treats and high
quality flavor; neither being much of a priority to anyone over 30,
in my view.
With almost half of the people in this country not cooking or
learning to cook, they eat out many times a week. If half the
population eats fast food for more than half of their meals, the
vegetable garden will not be attractive. What a bummer.
So maybe gardening is not thriving but I think caring for some
plants, any plants, is still a popular activity and will continue to
be so.
So endeth the rant for today.
Jeff Ball
jeffball@usol.com
810-724-8581
Check out my daily blog at www.gardeneryardener.blogspot.com
Check out my extensive web site at www.yardener.com
On Jan 4, 2008, at 6:30 AM, jo ellen meyers sharp wrote:
The landscape architects say the garden will be revived in 2008
Landscape Architects Identify Outdoor Design Trends For 2008
Demand up for great rooms and energy efficient landscapes
Washington, DC, January 3, 2008 -No longer
content with just the outdoor kitchen, homeowners
will add entire great rooms outdoors this year
according to a survey of leading members of the
American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).
On the commercial side, clients will focus on low
maintenance landscapes, stormwater runoff, and
earning LEED? certification.
Conducted in December, the informal poll asked
leading landscape architects about the top
residential and commercial trends for 2008. On
the residential side, outdoor kitchens and fire
pits continue to be popular requests. However,
more and more homeowners are asking for outdoor
"great rooms" incorporating the living room,
dining room, and kitchen for family gatherings
and outdoor entertaining.
"Homeowners are reconnecting with their outdoor
space, often in creative and imaginative ways,"
said Perry Howard, FASLA, President of ASLA.
"It's no surprise that people want to take
elements that work so well inside their home and
recreate them outside."
Additionally, landscape architects anticipate a
revival of the garden. Lawn maintenance
costs-especially irrigation-will lead homeowners
to consider water-saving features and less of the
traditional grass lawn. Instead, gardens will
increase in prominence while incorporating more
native and drought-resistant plants. These same
features can also make a home's landscape
significantly more sustainable.
Cost mitigation will be a major consideration
among commercial clients this year as well.
Low-maintenance landscapes that utilize native
and drought-resistant plants and other techniques
to lower irrigation costs will increase in 2008.
Building owners will also use more porous paving
and bioswales to manage stormwater runoff. All of
these elements fit into another trend for 2008:
more commercial clients obtaining certifications
from green rating systems, such as the U. S.
Green Building Council's LEED? metrics.
"More and more landscape architects see a demand
for incorporating and quantifying sustainable
design-especially on the commercial side," Perry
added. "This is one reason we are creating the
Sustainable Sites Initiative, which will give
clients and designers the tools and best
practices for designing energy efficient,
environmentally friendly landscapes." Sustainable
Sites is a partnership between ASLA, the Lady
Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the U.S.
Botanic Garden to create a green rating system
for sustainable landscape design in all types of
projects.
In addition to sustainable design, commercial
clients will incorporate more gardens, walking
paths, or other methods for people to relax and
enjoy the outdoor environment. More of these
spaces will utilize the existing natural features
and vegetation as well.
About ASLA
Founded in 1899, ASLA is the national
professional association for landscape
architects, representing more than 18,200 members
in 48 professional chapters and 68 student
chapters. Landscape architecture is a
comprehensive discipline of land analysis,
planning, design, management, preservation, and
rehabilitation. ASLA promotes the landscape
architecture profession and advances the practice
through advocacy, education, communication, and
fellowship. Members of the Society use their
"ASLA" suffix after their names to denote
membership and their commitment to the highest
ethical standards of the profession. Learn more
about landscape architecture online at
www.asla.org.
jems
--
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
Garden writer, speaker, author, photographer
Region III Director Garden Writers Association
Phone: (317) 251.3261
Fax: (317) 251.8545
E-mail: hoosiergardener@sbcglobal.net
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------------------------------
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End of gardenwriters Digest, Vol 60, Issue 15
*********************************************
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