How Mush room is left?

Trainwrecker Neolentinus lepideus

 Everyone has moments in their life where things shift a bit. As I gingerly look to "retirement"* from an extraordinarily wonderful job of 46 years and peer at the time (a year? a decade if I'm lucky) left for me, I wonder how I will craft that last chapter. My work life set a high bar. I hope to exceed it in my last chapter(s),,,stay tuned!

I am the first to admit I've been a lucky dog--working at Denver Botanic Gardens has been a blessing allowing me to far exceed anything I imagined as a youngster: the phenomenal opportunity to craft gardens that have been visited and loved by millions of visitors...to have grown tens of thousands of TAXA (let's not even count individual plants) that I have grown personally. If you don't believe that astronomical number, I am happy to email you my database of over 10,000 taxa I've planted in my home garden over the last 34 years**). And I probably grew at LEAST that many at Eudora and my previous homes...and let's not even begin to count the massive numbers I grew when actively gardening over several decades at DBG: tens of thousands of taxa--surely a dream come true for a desperate, devoted, possibly demented plant nerd. And let's not even talk about the 318 presentations beyond the Denver area (Symposia, lectures, trade shows) in 155 cities, nor the dozens of expeditions and explorations around the world. Nor the thousands of people I met on those travels, or the tens of thousands I've interacted with (staff, volunteers, visitors) locally and beyond in the course of my career. These are a few statistics I have actually tracked albeit in desultory fashion. Let me not dwell on these things--that probably will annoy some readers as much as they delight my perhaps overly robust ego...

What DOESN'T stroke my ego are my regrets...I am unfortunately not a Catholic and cannot confess these to a priest in a box to absolve myself--I have done a few dastardly deeds I recall vividly and blush for. Fortunately no homicides, and probably nothing felony-worthy--but juicy enough I will have to wait till I'm even OLDER and more decrepit to confess in a blog post.

I suppose there are a few Buddhists or just generally superior people out there who don't harbor regrets: but you'd have to be a frickin' saint not to have a few.  I am now going to itemize just a few of mine here:

1) I regret I went on strike as a 3 year old and refused to speak Greek for five years. As a consequence my first language is not really fluent (I speak Greek like a provincial, illiterate, slightly mentally challenged person prone to Malaprops and lacunae).

2) I regret I didn't pursue an advanced degree. My three siblings got M.A.'s and M.S.'s and my brothers-in-law were illustrious Ph.D.'s. 

3) I regret I never learned Russian (although I have no problem reading Cyrillic and know hundreds--maybe thousands of words and know shitloads (sorry--the word is appropriate) about Mother Russia. I love Russian Literature, Art, food and music. I detest Putin and Stalin--and worry that I may never see light glint on the tower of the Peter and Paul fortress--or see children selling bouquets of yellow ladyslippers as my beloved younger sister Eleni did once on the Trans-Siberian railroad. Quod vide an old post.

4) I regret I will never be able to call myself a birder, a lepidopterologist, a herpetologist or mycologist. These are four areas I have only dabbled in. I will not have time to pursue any of these seriously. I'm 76 and more than a half more year old. And I have other fish to fry. Add Ichthyologist to that list, come to think of it.

5) I am burdened (happily so) with over 5000 books in my libraries at home. I really need to weed some out--since I have two huge bookcases at work I will have to bring back to my over book-cased house. I have read a large proportion of these--let's say half. A thousand aren't really for reading (they're more reference and dip into books),  but that leaves between 1 to 2 thousand books I own but haven't read properly. The Japanese have a name for this: tsundoku (積ん読). It's not a derogatory word incidentally: I love lots of things about Japan and this is a great example. Did I mention I was just in Japan? Which is where I photographed the mushroom I-Naturalist identified as "Trainwrecker"...a wonderful name. To save you time, I looked it up: it's called that because it is saprophytic on wood--and can even colonize wood treated with creosote (i.e., rotting train logs so that the rails can therefore sag and can possibly cause a train wreck--I'll bet it's actually happened).

Yes--I particularly regret not knowing more about fungi.  

I attach two more pictures of mushrooms I have not yet vetted on I-Naturalist. They will remain a mystery for me, and you can wonder about my next 5,341,030 regrets I didn't have time to enumerate here...sometimes you have to get a grip!

Photographed in a planer box at bus stop after climbing Iwatayama Monkey Park in Arishahama, Kyoto

Saihoji moss garden in Kyoto

* The "official" announcement of my retirement will be this coming Tuesday. My last day as a paid staff member of Denver Botanic Gardens will be New Year's Eve. I will continue my association with the Gardens as Curator Emeritus, however. My lifestyle will not be altering too dramatically: for instance I have lecture tours planned for Oregon in February, British Columbia and Seattle in March, the Czech Republic in May as well as tours to Spain and Portugal in April, Germany and Austria in July, Australia in September with South Africa looming a year from February and China a year from next June. No moss shall gather on THIS old rolling stone!

**I am curious how many plant nerds will follow up on this rash promise. The email you can utilize is displayed in the "about me" box to the upper right here. It's an Excel file--but pretty straight forward. I would LOVE to peruse comparable lists by equally demented fellow plant nerds: I don't think many are as systematically consistently crazy as me though: please let me know if you are. And share YOUR database with me: it could lead to some wonderful trades!

Kokedera (Kyoto Moss Garden) doesn't need words!

 

On Thursday, November 4 I was lucky to join a dozen and more fellow travelers from the Denver and Dallas area to spend the morning at the UNESCO World Heritage moss garden of the Saiho-ji Temple in Kyoto. There are over 1000 shrines and temples in Kyoto--many of which would have been devastated during WWII had not Henry Stimson, Secretary of War at that time once honeymooned there before the war and consequently commanded that Kyoto be spared allied bombs. What if he'd honeymooned in Nagasaki? What greater illustration of the insanity of civilization than this bizarre factoid. The photos were meant to be sequential: that didn't happen. But hopefully you can get a taste of the extraordinary impact this garden had on myself (and I suspect any sensible or sentient being who visits). 

It's about time crime quit paying! Botany RULES!

 

                                                                    Joey Santore

If you don't recognize this ruggedly handsome dude you are either 1) not botanically inclined 2) immune to doom scrolling or perhaps 3) living under a rock. EVERYONE I know knows about him,  and once even fussy budgets (I suppose I'm one) leap over (or past) the uber-urban accent, the tats, the f-bombs you find yourself with one of the most lucid, honest and powerful minds on the Internet. Joey goes everywhere! The Philippines, Tennessee, Ecuador, New Caledonia, South Africa: you name it! and especially the hot spots of Texas. Wherever he goes he produces flawless videos highlighting stunning ecological relationships, morphological wonders and the most remarkable plants (and people) on the planet. Watching Joey's videos for a few months should qualify you for at least a Master's degree in Botany.

But what I admire even more than his botanical prowess is his unstinting stand for Nature. No one, and I mean NO ONE on the planet says it like Joey does. To listen to him rip into tawdry, conventional horticulture is pure pleasure! The invective pours out like maple syrup on a pancake. He slices and dices lawn worship, shreds stupid landscaping and just generally slaps back the stupidities of civilization as vigorously as bulldozers plow up the last remnants of some rare prairie. He is Mother Nature's knight in jeans and sweatshirts.

If you know Joey, skip to the last sentence. But if you don't here's one of the countless onramps onto Joey's vast Internet empire: Crime pays but Botany doesn't.

You have to promise me one thing: if you listen to five of his shorts in a row and don't agree with me, just email me here: you'll win a special red baseball cap made in China.

            Joey's DBG talk is SOLD OUT! There is still space available for his Tuesday evening, August 19 talk at High Dive (in the Golden Triangle, Denver) Click here to sign up:

 Crime pays but botany doesn't.

Denver, CLICK HERE and get one of the very last places left for Joey's talk.  (Last time I checked there were only 15 out of nearly 300 spots left.)

 

Chris Moritz: landscape architect extraordinaire!

Cas and Chris Moritz

Early in my career I'd heard a lot about Chris Moritz: the premier landscape designer of the Denver area in the last half of the 20th Century. He'd grown up in Germany prior to moving to Denver where he worked with the firm of Saco DeBoer before going out on his own. I shall never forget when an elegant European gentleman came up to me after my presentation at the very first Montana Green Industry trade show and said "you likely don't know who I am: I worked in Denver for many years. My name is Chris Moritz". I'd heard he'd moved to the Flathead Lake area--and was thrilled to find myself face to face with a horticultural legend! By the way, Cas has been a wonderful friend as well: their marriage and partnership is truly enviable. 

The photos that follow were all taken in the late afternoon of June 24 when I had the immense pleasure of having dinner with Chris and his wonderful wife Cas in Columbia Falls, Every corner of their garden had some extraordinary vignettes--this one tucked on the north side of his house where most visitors never go: that's a colossal giant Polygonum (Persicaria) polymorphum---higher than the eaves!

I was impressed at how well Lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia) does in Montana...

And a perfectly sited plant of Blue Avena Grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) a plant Chris brought back from Europe--did I mention that he worked with the renowned Karl Foerster? He popularized this grass in our region through his designs.

A few glimpses of the incredibly elegant indoors, full of unique designs...

I love the way the garden and home flow into one another.

I was truly amazed at the extent of this garden and the variety of floral design: everything was in perfect health, and it seemed to be in peak bloom---although when I looked around I saw evidence that there had been an earlier sweep of spring color and lots of late summer and autumn flowers on the way!

Here is the gentleman himself: although we'd only become friends after he'd moved to Montana, our yearly visits have been an enormous delight for me.

Geranium ibericum

I'm guessing on the I.D.: this is one of the boldest of blue flowered geraniums in my book.

These pansies appeared to have become perennials in one part of the garden, carpeting the ground among the roses! The climate is so benign around Flathead Lakes--never too hot or cold! and the plants show it...

Crassula ovata

Some wonderful tender specimens, like this Jade Plant, that obviously move indoors and out.

The garden art was sparse, but very elegant!

Helleborus niger

It would be wonderful to see these Christmas roses in their peak bloom!

Briza media

Wonderful grasses, like this quaking grass, tucked here and there...

Aruncus dioicus

Chris has made the most stunning mass planting of Goatsbeard ever...you'll see several views of this wonderful plant in the Rose Family.

Several substantial Ponderosa pines provide shade and a note of grandeur to the lawn...

A salvia I did not recognize (Harrumph!) complementing the coral bells...

Wonderful edging of Heuchera sanguinea...

There were dozens of lilies along one woodland path--these were the first to open. 

I love the way the different textures combine..Hosta and daylily and geranium all so distinct.

I'm pretty sure this is a Geranium x cantabrigense cultivar--Chris had an enormous sweep of this planted...

There were several areas with tables at different points of the garden--you can tell this is a garden that is lived in!

The last of the German iris to bloom: our tall bearded iris were badly damaged by late frost this year!

Very happy Coral bells....

Many fine shrubs provide backdrop to the garden--Cornus, Viburnum and Physocarpus to name a few...

We end with the Goatsbeard, lawn and scarlet geraniums--as bold and elegant a planting as I've seen. I was so impressed with this garden, entirely weed free and everything so fresh and clean: Chris thanked me when I told him that, and sighed: "I wish you could have seen our LAST garden--much larger!".apparently he had downsized! Looked pretty grand to me......

I can only imagine!

If you've made it this far, you are in for a real treat! Chris has recorded a series of chats about his remarkable life and work. Click here to watch them...Incidentally, Chris donated his lifetime accumulation of landscape plans to Denver Botanic Gardens' Helen Fowler Library, where they are to be preserved in the Gardens' archives.