Category: master gardener

Film Review: ‘Master Gardener’: Gardening as Metaphor for Purification and Redemption

R | 1h 51m | Drama | May 19, 2023 Writer-director Paul Schrader serves up yet another anti-hero plagued by a troubled, violent past in “Master Gardener.” Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton) is a former neo-Nazi, now in witness protection, who works as the head gardener on the enormous Southern estate of a to-the-plantation-born domineering heiress Norma Haverhill…


The Seed Whisperer of Blackberry Farm: John Coykendall Is Saving the Seeds of the Past, for the Future

Many luxury resorts have a master chef in their restaurant kitchen, but how about an on-site master gardener and seed savior? At Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee, at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, John Coykendall has filled that role since 1999. An internationally renowned horticulturalist—and a classically trained artist—Coykendall oversees four acres of…


A 3-Minute Composting Primer

Perfecting the art of composting can be tricky, but it’s essential to the health of your garden. Compost adds beneficial microbes to the soil and provides the highest nutrition for your garden plants. Composting is an essential part of organic gardening. It’s the ultimate recycling of your grass clippings, food waste, and yard waste. It also adds…