[lit-ideas] Fwd: Down on the Farm: Our Common Garden
- From: "John McCreery" <john.mccreery@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2007 10:50:32 +0900
A friend sent me this. Thought some here might be interested, too.
John
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Anthropmor@xxxxxxx <Anthropmor@xxxxxxx>
Date: Jan 29, 2007 9:58 AM
Subject: Fwd: Down on the Farm: Our Common Garden
To: jlm@xxxxxxxxxxxx
John- of interest, I think, because we haven't seen this fom
WhiteFlower Farm before.
Mike
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "White Flower Farm" <WhiteFlowerFarm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: anthropmor@xxxxxxx
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2007 05:51:59 -0500
Subject: Down on the Farm: Our Common Garden
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The Briksdal Glacier in Norway reflects blue light. Worldwide, most glaciers
are shrinking.
Dear MIK EPAVLIK,
We began thinking about this newsletter in early January, while
peering out the window at green grass and a soft, 52-degree rain. This
is the beginning of our 31st year living and working on this little
farm and we have never seen a winter like this. For decades, we
expected deep cold, sometimes with snow and sometimes not, at this
time of year. Throughout the 70s and 80s there was almost always a
week in late January when the daytime temperature failed to rise above
0 degrees Fahrenheit, but we have not touched zero on the low side for
almost 10 years. A trend that was worrying has become, for us, deeply
disturbing.
Lilac buds beginning to swell.
A global view of cloud patterns over North and South America.
Only a fool could fail to recognize that something has changed
profoundly and that the change has vast implications for all of us.
There is a difference of opinion among serious people as to whether
this change reflects the effect of mankind on his environment or is
due to known cyclical changes, such as El Nino. That uncertainty does
NOT, in our mind, constitute a reason for paralysis, since the actions
necessary to reduce man's impact are well understood, readily
implemented, and have absolutely no downside. Indeed, there is a case
to be made that a little discipline in the use of energy, raw
materials, packaging, and general consumption would be at least as
good for each of us as they might be for our common garden, the planet
Earth.
At White Flower Farm, we have always been thrifty, partly because
that's how we were brought up and partly because the economics of
farming don't leave a lot of surplus to dispose of wastefully. That
said, we too are victims of habit, complaisance, even sloth (comes
perhaps with age?) and our attention to this issue has been
incremental and largely economic in its motives. Our greenhouses now
run close to freezing (our own house is set at 62 degrees F, which
requires a sweater or a fire). We recycle where we can, run the
smallest tractor that will do the job, and use trickle irrigation
rather than overhead when possible. In our packages, we replaced
plastic peanuts with chopped newsprint many years ago and cut the
grade of cardboard to save weight and waste.
Without the usual snow cover, we can appreciate the foliage of
Heuchera 'Caramel' and Hellebores in our
display beds.
A Winter Heath in bloom after a snow squall at the farm.
Beautiful fall and winter coloring of the ground cover, Sedum 'Angelina'.
Still, we can do more, perhaps much more. As a small family-owned
business, we can't buy in the engineering resources available to large
corporations nor do we have the capital to make investments in
"alternative" energy where the returns are conjectural at best. But we
do have one unique resource and that is our connection with you, our
many friends and customers and readers who we know, from long
association, are smart, involved, resourceful, and creative; in short,
exactly the sort of allies one would want to collaborate with in a
project of this kind. Accordingly we are hereby launching a new
undertaking that we have named Our Common Garden. Here's how it works.
In the "About Us" line at the bottom of each page on our Web site,
whiteflowerfarm.com, you will find a link to click called OUR COMMON
GARDEN. It will take you directly to a page where we will post our own
efforts to minimize energy use, material waste, human inefficiency and
all the other practices that draw on the resources of the planet. In
addition, you may wish to send ideas and comments for our review to
commongarden@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Our collective energy and
intelligence might make a real difference. The savings we achieve at
the nursery will, as always be plowed back into better plants, better
service, and better information on which you may draw to your heart's
delight.
A Cultural Treasure
Winter is long (or used to be) in Litchfield and we are, after all,
only two hours from Manhattan. Trips to the city are usually motivated
by an event, rather than a meal or a purchase, and one of our
favorites, over many years, is the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Through
a shared interest in Amaryllis, we have come to know Mr. Taylor
slightly and he is every bit the creative and independent gent one
would expect. His work is different from Alvin Ailey, different from
the City Ballet, and for us, combines all the stately beauty of the
medium with a freshness and life that makes every performance an
epiphany. In a casual conversation, Mr. Taylor asked whether we would
be willing to share our enthusiasm with our local friends, and we
promptly agreed. Click here to receive a 25% discount on selected
tickets for March performances. Worth a trip.
The Paul Taylor dancers combine classic grace and formality with
original themes and movements to make their
own special magic.
Sincerely,
P.S. Would glorious photos of plants brighten your day? Click here to
view our Spring 2007 catalogue online.
White Flower Farm
P.O. Box 50
Litchfield, CT 06759
1-800-503-9624
(c)2007 White Flower Farm, Inc.
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--
John McCreery
The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN
Tel. +81-45-314-9324
http://www.wordworks.jp/
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