George Ball — he has interesting ideas and writes from an open, clear perspective.

photo via Burpee

George Ball, who bought (and as some say defiled) the (once) illustrious Heronswood Nursery, is also CEO of Burpee and is now running Burpee’s Fordhook Farm. While most of the crew over at GardenRant don’t much care for him (or his approach to business – here and here) and plenty of other folks in the gardening, blogging and business community can’t stand him, their perception of him, Burpee, etc. — I’m going to (try to) keep my nose out of all that and just say, I think he writes a great column at Heronswood Voice. It’s not self-serving, it’s not scandalous, it’s not even socio-political a la GardenRant or Michael Pollan (who, for the record, I like to read, too). George’s blog is just interesting. He writes with a voice and perspective unlike most if not all other gardeners. I’ve just begun reading it this summer, and I’d love to share some of my favorite posts with you.

• Where Have All the Flowers Gone? (for those of us who love our cutting gardens and flower blossoms no matter what the gardening trends call for)
• New Plant Frontiers (or “The New American Sun and Shade Gardens” - a discussion of plant breeding driven by consumer needs driven by the challenges of planting around new construction and HOA “guidelines”) 
• The Rose Blows (George’s call to rename the official American flower because, as beautiful as a rose is, it’s not part of our native landscape — note: this may be the most controversial of his posts, if you think in those terms)
• The Grow Grow Years (invest with confidence: invest in a garden — George’s take on the financial advantages of growing food from seed)
• Remembering Colors (how culture and memory influence a gardener and his aesthetic)

Related posts:

1. For George and for Jon
2. Really, I just want to write and garden.
3. My Gardening MeMe
4. Mouse Market Bag
5. All I want for Christmas is you.