Category Archives: Miracles of Nature

Unexpected results or events not fully understood.

Nana Beach Plum: It Lives in a Farmerless Field

Any species of fruit as it is found in ‘nature’ can be cultivated. Two years ago, I grew a wild tomato from the Everglades that produced a tomato the size of a pea. It tasted like a tomato but was … Continue reading

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Random: Distribution of Plants Within an Orderly Structure

Random is Not That Random. We tend to think of forests as random sets of plants in a structured organized way. Things are not in rows. It is a mixed forest. We might think, “oh this is much more desirable … Continue reading

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Flexibility and Stability: Integrating Opposite Values With the Wild Apple

When you grow an apple from seed (which I highly recommend) you will see the extremities of what is possible in terms of what the apple will look and taste like. If a crabapple tree is nearby, then there is … Continue reading

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You and Your Sandcherry Empire

Have you ever gone for a hike and discovered some interesting fruit along a trail somewhere? It’s a common experience. Such is the case for Prunus pumila or sandcherry found on the dunes of the Great Lakes. The trails that … Continue reading

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Small Potato in a Big Universe

I’ve always been fascinated by the potato plant. Every year on vacation while driving to the upper peninsula in Michigan with my family we took a route that happened to be surrounded by potatoes in full flower on both sides … Continue reading

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Asparagii of Unknown Origins

For many years I was on the hunt for wild asparagus seeds for my nursery. I needed asparagii but only from seed. Not far from my nursery was a real life asparagus nursery which was 100 percent clonal. The asparagus … Continue reading

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The Jerusalem Artichoke Goes the Distance

It’s a root. It’s a tuber. It’s Super Sunflower. One of the great joys of growing plants is when you find a unique plant with characteristics in what would be considered impossible odds from a sea of uniformity. Because it’s … Continue reading

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The Inbetweeners

Hybrid American Chestnuts: Castanea dentata x mollissima When I first started my nursery, I was always trying to find new seed sources to grow trees. A lot of my early sources were people known to me by reading Organic Gardening … Continue reading

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Returning to the Wild is Not That Wild

The above image is my ongoing wild potato release program for the feral potato. I’m trying to create a mini-potato oasis in the middle of a field. Eventually you have to let them go back to the wild. As you … Continue reading

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Hip to Be: Wild Roses and Their Fruits

“Hip to be or not to be. That is the question.” Philosopher Rosa Pomeifera The idea of cultivating roses for their fruit is a funny thing. If you think about it, uncultivated wild roses often produce hips in great numbers. … Continue reading

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