THE REAL DIRT ON: Francis Griscom Parsons: Mother of School Gardens
By Susan Starr. This is the last column in our series, The Real Dirt on…. In February we launch a new series, on gardening with children....
top of page
September 2023
The Real Dirt On
- Nov 1, 2018
THE REAL DIRT ON: Beatrix Potter's World Beyond Bunnies
By Susan Krzywicki. Beatrix Potter, of Peter Rabbit fame, was born in 1866 to a well-off British family. From an early age, she was...
- Oct 1, 2018
THE REAL DIRT ON: The Real Dirt on Derek Jarman
By Carol Buckley. One of the best-loved gardens in Great Britain reaches out to the English Channel seemingly at the wild edge of the...
- Sep 1, 2018
THE REAL DIRT ON: Barbara Menzies: Shunner of Flowers Stuffed in Milk Bottles
By Susan Krzywicki. Barbara Menzies and two of her friends were the impetus behind the Stinson Beach wildflower shows that ran from 1958...
- Aug 1, 2018
THE REAL DIRT ON: Edith Wharton's Pursuit of Excellence
By Carol Buckley. When one thinks of the novels of Edith Wharton—and indeed, her friend, Henry James—one thinks of Americans abroad...
- Jul 1, 2018
THE REAL DIRT ON: Canyoneers Co-Founder Helen Witham Chamlee
By Susan Krzywicki. Local naturalist Helen Witham Chamlee was one of the creators of the Canyoneers, the San Diego Natural History...
- Jun 1, 2018
THE REAL DIRT ON: Arabella Lennox-Boyd's Italian and English Sensibilities
By Carol Buckley. One of Great Britain’s foremost landscape designers for decades has been the Italian-born Hon. Lady Lennox-Boyd. Born...
- May 1, 2018
THE REAL DIRT ON: Mary Anning, or She Who Sells Seashells
By Susan Krzywicki. I am working on an exhibit for the La Jolla Historical Society about canyons in San Diego—the complex ecosystem of...
- Apr 1, 2018
THE REAL DIRT ON: Alice Eastwood: Ardent Conservationist and Explorer
By Carol Buckley. Alice Eastwood was a plucky and bright Canadian American who headed the Department of Botany at the preeminent...
- Mar 1, 2018
THE REAL DIRT ON: Calscape's Dennis Mudd
By Susan Krzywicki. Interested in native plants? Calscape, created by Dennis Mudd, is an online resource you won't want to miss. The...
- Feb 1, 2018
THE REAL DIRT ON: George Washington Carver: Educator, Botanist, and Champion for Poor Farmers
By Carol Buckley. I’ll never forget a talk about George Washington Carver given by an older student when I was in grammar school, but the...
- Jan 1, 2018
THE REAL DIRT ON: Norbert Rillieux: Engineer, Inventor, and Father of Sugar Processing
By Susan Krzywicki. Sugar production in California has a long and, excuse the pun, lumpy history. But understanding the history of sugar...
- Dec 1, 2017
THE REAL DIRT ON:Roberto Burle Marx: Brazilian Modernist Landscape Architect
By Carol Buckley. The story of landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx pivots on a paradox of colonialism. Born in 1909 in São Paulo, and...
- Nov 1, 2017
THE REAL DIRT ON: Harriet Williams Russell Strong
By Susan Krzywicki. Connections always make knowledge more fun. When I saw that Harriet Strong had been educated at Miss Mary Atkins'...
- Oct 1, 2017
THE REAL DIRT ON: Edna Walling: A Progressive Australian Landscape Designer
By Carol Buckley. One of Australia’s foremost garden designers was born in York, England, in 1895. Edna Margaret Walling began her love...
- Sep 1, 2017
THE REAL DIRT ON: Ynés Mexía: A Short (but Impressive!) Career in Botany
By Susan Krzywicki. There seems to be no end to the fascinating characters that have contributed to our state’s botanical and...
- Aug 1, 2017
THE REAL DIRT ON: Horace Mann Jr.
By Carol Buckley. Perched on a slope high above the Pacific Ocean on Kauai, 20-year-old Horace Mann Jr. collected a fern (to be named...
- Jul 1, 2017
THE REAL DIRT ON: Peter Raven, Biodiversity Maven
By Susan Krzywicki. Peter Raven is the beloved American botanist and environmentalist who has advised the Pope, run the famed Missouri...
- Jun 1, 2017
THE REAL DIRT ON: Mary Tyler Peabody Mann
By Carol Buckley. As a daughter of 19th century Massachusetts, Mary Tyler Peabody Mann, born in 1806, was exposed to the...
- May 1, 2017
THE REAL DIRT ON: Katharine Brandegee
By Susan Krzywicki. Mary Katharine (Layne) Brandegee was born in 1844 in western Tennessee and frequently moved westward with her parents...
- Apr 1, 2017
THE REAL DIRT ON: Dame Sylvia Crowe
By Carol Buckley. In these times of growing concern about land use and the need for development, the British landscape architect Dame...
- Mar 1, 2017
THE REAL DIRT ON: Ed Peterson (Consummate Native Plant Seedsman)
By Susan Krzywicki. Ed Peterson (1905-2005) was “seedsman and volunteer extraordinaire” for the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers...
- Feb 1, 2017
THE REAL DIRT ON: Sir Harry James Veitch
By Carol Buckley. Perhaps the Chelsea Flower Show’s existence owes more to one person than any other: Sir Harry James Veitch. Born in...
- Jan 1, 2017
THE REAL DIRT ON: Betty Young
By: Susan Krzywicki. Betty Young is a major figure in California native plant restoration nursery management. She’s “written the book” on...
bottom of page