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Friday, August 21, 2009

Vacation time

I'm headed out on vacation. Whew! It's about time. Yes, it is - time to attack that stack of books on the bedside table, including "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan, which I've been inching through for months, and "The Brother Gardeners," Andrea Wulf's excellent tale of 18th century naturalists, and two others culled from a large pile on my desk: "A Culinary Traveller in Tuscany" by Beth Elon (no explanation needed) and "The Gardener's Bedside Reader," a compendium of essays on my favorite subject. I'll also, of course, be out in the garden, which to judge from this picture is looking mighty fine. Don't be fooled. As I talk to other gardeners, I realize that I've been hit especially hard this year by rain-related funguses and wilts. A friend is dropping off fall-crop seedlings this weekend, which I'll put in the ground immediately, in hopes that I can somehow redeem this disastrous season. It is fun to see this hardy hibiscus rebound from a terrible fungus attack earlier in the summer. May it be an omen of what the last couple of weeks will be. Back in two weeks - with energy and ideas. Reading the paper you won't know I'm gone 'cause I've been working extra hard. Makes vacation even more essential and desirable.

That's the plan. Happy end of summer!
Posted by virginia smith @ 4:16 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
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About Virginia A. Smith
Ginny Smith, a Philadelphia native, worked as a reporter at newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Ohio – with six short months at the end of the Bulletin tossed in – before returning to Philadelphia in 1985 to join the Inquirer. Her favorite beats here have included Center City, roving around Pennsylvania (and getting paid for it!) and alternative medicine. She’s also been City Editor and Pennsylvania Editor. Ginny has been happily writing – and learning - about gardening fulltime since 2006. She’s won two silver medals of achievement from the national Garden Writers Association and in 2011, Bartram’s Garden honored her with its Green Exemplar award for her stories about “the region’s deeply rooted horticultural history, cultural attractions and bountiful gardens.”
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