All the Dirt on Gardening

Yesterday I went to Springdale/Fayetteville Arkansas to hear Gerald Klingaman speak. The title of his talk was The Quest for a Sustainable Garden. (After 31 years as professor of horticulture, he now is the volunteer exec director of the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks.) When presenting his basic premise, Klingaman referred to his 80-20 rule for sustainable gardening: 80% of the garden should be plants that can take care of themselves for the most part, leaving the other 20% for your pet plants that are higher maintenance. I couldn't help but think that if one had a garden well established with those 80% plants, one could take a year off of gardening altogether. Maybe one could spend a year traveling and reading instead of being a servant to one's garden. Hmmmm. Back when I taught management and quality classes, we called that the Pareto Principle. For example 80% of problems come from 20% of customers, 80% of profit comes from 20% of products, and 80% of productivity comes from...

Have you met Felder Rushing yet? Here's a link to his website. Rushing spoke on Saturday at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks. He entertained us with his presented topic, Slow Gardening: Less Input and More Rewards. Before the event and during the break everyone took advantage of the home cooked treats. The Flower, Garden and Nature Society of Northwest Arkansas organized the event and put on a very impressive brunch for the 100 plant lovers who attended. Lynn Rogers, garden writer for several NW Arkansas publications, and a friend of Rushing, introduced him. Gail Pianalto, the co-chair of BGOzark's programs committee, spoke about the many great events at BGOZARK . Pianalto was awarded the 2008 Garden Crusader Award for Education. Gardener's Supply Company created the award to recognize individuals like Gail, who make a difference in their community through their passion for gardening. Any child or adult who has been in Gail's presence understands why she deserves ...