Welcome Back to Earthly Garden!
With this site having been in hibernation for half of the year, we decided that it is time to get this garden growing again. Before we do, my co-author and I wanted to take a few minutes to introduce ourselves since we are both new to Earthly Garden.
Since Shelly has been so kind as to allow me to start, here goes:
My name is Michael Nolan. I’ll be celebrating my 36th birthday this coming Friday, which means that I have been obsessed with gardening and all things green for just over thirty years now. It was my grandparents who instilled my love for gardening and though that passion skipped a generation on both sides (neither my mother nor my father were particularly green of thumb) I have been thankful every day for the lessons they taught me at such a young age.
While I have lived in every possible growing region in the U.S. from the Northeast to the Deep South, the Mid West and even the Pacific Northwest, I currently call Birmingham, Alabama home (which places me in Zone 7, for those of you keeping score).
Plants are an excellent metaphor for our own fragile lives as humans and the approach we take to caring for our plants does have an effect on the results. My approach to gardening involves equal parts physical and spiritual and while I’m not a typical tree-huggin’ hippy I have been accused of getting a gleam in my eye that is similar to the one that some people get when you mention Woodstock.
Heirloom plants are my passion by far. I prefer them over the synthesized and hybridized versions most commonly available, but then again I don’t mind putting the extra work into my garden whereas many people don’t have the dedication or the time that I have. With that in mind I am always open to answering questions about any plant in your garden, heirloom or not. Due to some unforeseen circumstances (i.e. I moved to another part of town mid-season), my home garden is far less plentiful than in previous years. The only edible plants I am cultivating right now are two Mortgage Lifter heirloom tomato plants and since I started them late in the season they have yet to produce any fruit but things are looking good! The Mortgage Lifter has a wonderful history and I will share that story with you in the coming days.
Thanks for joining us at Earthly Garden!
August 20th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Hi Michael and Shelly,
I am thrilled to have you here with me in the Home and Garden category. You are both talented writers and will do an excellent job with this special site. “Earthly Garden” is a fantastic title with tons of possibilities … I have to admit I wanted this blog, too! But the best man and woman won! However, if you ever decide to “grow” to three authors, please consider me. Also, if you need a guest blog, let me know.
The best to you and your new blog!