Piet Oudolf’s Enhanced Nature

May 13, 2013

...kers confusing plantings for weeds. Kelly and I also debated how much this book can be used to understand small residential spaces–I found the ideas helpful, but most of the photographs are of large public gardens. And the plant lists are of no help for those of us in Mediterranean or tropical climates. Oudolf’s garden in Hummelo, the Netherlands. Conclusion But these are minor criticisms–Planting is provocative and practical, with far ranging imp...

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The Gathering Storm

Mr. Homegrown

January 11, 2025

Thoughtstylings

3 Comments

...end, gone. The burger place we ate at last Saturday, gone. The place I did book tour lectures at, likely, gone. Historic churches, gone. The Theosophical Library, with 15,000 rare books, gone. To have walked around just last weekend to go to that art opening, shop at a nursery and visit the Christmas Tree Lane model railroad with some friends and then see many of these places vanish off the map just days later is unthinkable. https://youtu.be/RaCm...

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Paleo Grift

Mr. Homegrown

June 2, 2021

Thoughtstylings

6 Comments

...Northwestern University who was on to discuss his review of James Suzman’s book Work: A Deep History, From the Stone Age to the Age of Robots. Suzman’s book, popular with the tech bro set, focuses on the Bushmen or San people of the Kalahari Desert, made famous by the 1980s movie The Gods Must Be Crazy (which I’ve never understood the appeal of, frankly). Suzman, relying on bad research, makes the claim that the San work 15 hours a week. In realit...

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Reject Modernity Embrace Post-Capitalism

Mr. Homegrown

July 4, 2022

Thoughtstylings

10 Comments

...ear readers sake, I suffered through a few chapters of Chip Gaines’ latest book in an attempt to find some sort of philosophical basis for this madness. It was all about how much he WORKS and then he WORKS SOME MORE and then WORKS EVEN MORE. Chip’s book reminded me of what Mark Fisher had to say in Ghosts of My Life, Capital demands that we always look busy, even if there’s no work to do. If neoliberalism’s magical voluntarism is to be believed, t...

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Get Off Your Ass and Plant a Survival Garden!

Mr. Homegrown

July 14, 2006

Gardening, Vegetable Gardening

...the specifics of Los Angeles’ unique Mediterranean climate. Most gardening books and the information on the back of seed packets are written for schmucks in the northeast who have to deal with things like cold weather. This is why you need a copy of our So-Cal homegirl Pat Welsh’s Southern California Gardening Guide which deals with more than just vegetables. Looking like an extra from the gardening club scene in the Manchurian Candidate, Pat Wels...

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