This month marks twenty years since Paul F. Otto passed away. Paul is still remembered by many in the industry today. This was written by Paul in the early 1980’s as a background piece for a Perry High
Sundays are generally a day of quiet uninterrupted industry and appreciation here at our wholesale nursery. But on this Sunday, I was approached early-on by my Wife, generally not a good sign, with a woman in
The Kohankie nursery dynasty began in 1856 when Henry and Julius, sons of a Prussian immigrant, came to Lake County. Of seven brothers in that family, five would become horticulturists. Henry worked at Storrs
For fifty two days we’ve been held culinary hostage by the availability of zucchini from our nursery garden. In the beginning it was tremendously exciting! We conspired on all kinds of recipes featuring our wonderfully fresh and productive
Our first pick-able Zucchinis from our nursery garden arrived on July 1. We fought over them. Who would get them! What size is appropriate? I prefer the small zucchinis less than 8” long.
We hear the term ‘Globalism’ bandied about. Some people blame ‘globalism’ for the loss of American manufacturing jobs (and I think they’re right!). Others ascribe to ‘globalism’ tremendous savings for the American consumer through the availability of cheaper
Jesse Storrs was the visionary who began our Lake County nursery industry in 1854, partnering a few years later with JJ Harrison to form the world-famous Storrs & Harrison Nursery. His three sons went off to the Civil
Summer is the season of student-workers at Gilsons. We’ve tried many different employment strategies over the years…1). ‘Keep the money in the family’ (that didn’t work because there wasn’t enough family or money, 2). local
In 1796 General Moses Cleaveland led a survey party along the southern shore of Lake Erie to chart the areas from the Pennsylvania line to the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. They traveled by long-boats, perhaps to avoid the
Ask any tree-hugger what a native plant is and they will reply…a plant that was indigenous to North America prior to the arrival of Europeans…generally considered to be about 1750.
The Historic Nursery Region of Lake County is three to seven miles deep and about twenty miles long, extending from Mentor to Madison. Once covered by glacial lakes there are three sand/gravel ridges that
One of the finest hardy geraniums in our estimation is Geranium sanguinium ‘John Elsley’. Refined and dignified, like its namesake, it provides great color now through midsummer…bright pink with a hint of purple. The
Michael Horvath was a landscape architect who immigrated from Hungary to New York and eventually to Cleveland where he became the City Forester in 1903. In that role he designed Wade Park and Rockefeller Park, among others. These two parks
Today I was invited by Paul Palagyi, Director, Lake Metroparks, to speak at the dedication of ‘Lake Erie Bluffs’ at the end of Lane Road and Blackmore Road in Perry Township. Other speakers included Congressman David Joyce, FrankPolivka, Lake Metroparks
Kris and I have been talking a lot about pollinators to anyone who will listen. Yesterday that resulted in an interview with local NPR…a story about bats! They do not function as pollinators around here (they do in the SW
A lot of my musings in the past year have been in the form of blog posts for Lake County Visitors Bureau and, more recently, Lake County Historical Society.
Last spring I received a troubling email from John Pogacnik, long-time biologist with Lake Metroparks. John lives at the Lakeshore Reservation in North Perry, overlooking Lake Erie. He asked if I had noticed a problem with our local beech trees
In late-October I participated in an Immigration Reform Fly-in to Washington DC with six hundred representatives of business, law enforcement and clergy. I traveled with Bob Lyons, never an easy experience, and eight others from Ohio. We listened to speakers,
