In life you meet certain individuals. People who truly are living the purpose for which they were put on this Earth. They're rare. You know them when you see them. The sort of people who'd be the exact same person no matter what. If no one was paying them money. If no one was paying them attention. Someone with knowledge, an infectious passion for what they do and the life they live that you instantly want to pick up your things and follow along.
I've only met a few people like that who I can think of in my life. My present boss is one. I was introduced to another at last night's class: Carol Reese.
Carol is a Research Horticulture Specialist at the University of Tennessee's Ag Research and Education Center in Jackson. From her official UT bio:
To this I'd add that Carol is a unique mix of storyteller, country-dweller, hippie, comedian, farm-raised, well-educated, immensely-relatable, and all around entertaining. It's as if Jeff Foxworthy was hybridized with Monty Don.
Here's a joke she shared:
There are all kinds of different "types" of gardeners, but the "march to the beat of your own drummer" gardeners are the kind I really enjoy and seem to respond to. The kind who aren't afraid to think outside the borders, to question conventional wisdom, and do gardening their own way. That's really what I hope to take away from this whole experience: a foundational knowledge which will help me "grow good" and give me the tools to experiment and learn from there.
With folks like Carol as an influence, I think I'm set up for success.
More from Carol: a list of Google search results
Some pot-stirring blog posts on Garden Rant
I've only met a few people like that who I can think of in my life. My present boss is one. I was introduced to another at last night's class: Carol Reese.
Carol is a Research Horticulture Specialist at the University of Tennessee's Ag Research and Education Center in Jackson. From her official UT bio:
She is a nationally-known speaker, blending equal parts gardening knowledge, homespun wisdom and humor. Carol is the gardening and nature columnist for the Jackson Sun, as well as a contributor to Horticulture Magazine and Tennessee Home and Farm. She has a B.S. and M.S. in Horticulture from Mississippi State University and attributes her love of horticulture to being raised on a farm by generations of plant nuts.
To this I'd add that Carol is a unique mix of storyteller, country-dweller, hippie, comedian, farm-raised, well-educated, immensely-relatable, and all around entertaining. It's as if Jeff Foxworthy was hybridized with Monty Don.
Here's a joke she shared:
(Showing a picture of a mangled tree trunk) "Here's a picture of what my ex-husband did to one of my prized Japanese maples, hitting it the lawn mower. So I went into his wood shop and smashed something he'd been working on for several months. 'Now you know how it feels!' A friend asked me, 'Carol, you think mulch could have saved your marriage?' No but it could have saved that tree!"Throughout the night, on and on, laugh after laugh, we learned about our intended topic (woody perennials), but really we learned more about having a passion for plants, celebrating variety, and designing to please our eye and not what anyone else is after.
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| Bottle art collection at the UT Gardens, Jackson |
With folks like Carol as an influence, I think I'm set up for success.
More from Carol: a list of Google search results
Some pot-stirring blog posts on Garden Rant
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