We now know that if the crops fail, it was not caused by demons. Centuries of scientific dialogue has made a difference.
Plant diseases, drought, desolation, despair were recurrent catastrophes during the ages - and the ancient remedies: supplications to supernatural spirits or gods.
I love the little garden in the back of my family's brownstone in Brooklyn. Digging out there in the dirt is a joy for me, although by the time August rolls around and my roses have black spot, I need the break winter provides.
I'm not a gardener. I don't have the consistency for gardening, and I have barely enough for an orchard. I don't embarrass myself. You have to be there tending and weeding. With orchards, you can go through negligent periods and recover.
I have raised beds, perennial beds, cut flower beds. I have an island on a pond that's just covered in peonies. I have an herb garden, tons of vegetables, raspberries. I have everything. I'm a green guy.
The average gardener probably knows little about what is going on in his or her garden.
I thought I'd love to be a gardener because I grew up with a vegetable garden and I love being close to the Earth and growing things. At my home in L.A., I have a great garden and I grow all kinds of things. I even have a worm farm! The worms help create organic compost out of kitchen scraps.
I also like to garden. I grow things, vegetables, flowers... I particularly like orchids. I raise orchids.
Gardening is easy. Stick it in the ground the right way up and most plants will grow perfectly well.
Of plants tomatoes seemed the most human, eager and fragile and prone to rot.
Most of the time pests and disease are just nature's way of telling the farmer he's doing something wrong.
I think I just want to garden - or kill some plants, in my case.
I once tried to raise two tomato plants, and they died in spite of the fact I fertilized them every morning. Duh.
Because I am really interested in gardening, I do really interesting plants, not even always flowers. And because I have grown them, I really know them like friends. I paint everything from exotic orchids to rosehips growing wild in a hedge. They just have to speak to me.
