Author: Sandra Educate

“Crape Murder.” Hmmm. I’m told it was Steve Bender, the Grumpy Gardener of Southern Living Magazine, who coined that phrase and he undoubtedly thought it was catchy and clever. Well, it was. Kind of. But overuse has made it really annoying, and it’s just wrong, wrong, wrong!

Christmas is weeks past and there are still a few reminders hanging around waiting to be put away, but like dust on my furniture, they’ve been around for so long I hardly notice them. After the holidays, I just had no oomph left to do anything about either. Sigh. I’m in the Doldrums.

There’s a great movie called “The Botany of Desire.” Pretty catchy title for a documentary about plants. Originally produced by PBS, you can usually find it on Netflix, Amazon or YouTube. It’s the story of how human intervention has affected four different plants, and how those plants have affected human behavior.

There’s a new kid on the block and he’s a thug. His name is Chamberbitter (Phyllanthus urinaria), and his sole purpose is to make my life miserable. OK, yours, too. He’s also known as “gripe weed” (no wonder why there) and he comes better equipped to replicate himself than Kudzu ever dreamed.