Tea at Trianon: Herb Whisperer

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, January 30, 2012

Herb Whisperer

How to grow an urban garden.

Seattle's Amy Pennington once oversaw the office of acclaimed chef-restaurateur Tom Douglas. Now free from the nine-to-five life, she's the verdant thumb behind GoGo Green Garden, a one-woman consulting shop that helps urbanites plant their own produce. The 37-year-old teaches her clients to reap harvests in the most petite of plots—or, if need be, window boxes. In both her latest book, "Apartment Gardening," and "Dirt City," the bi-weekly column she recently started writing for the website Food52, Ms. Pennington shares her know-how with metropolitan types everywhere.

She applies the same principles of wasting nothing and maximizing space to home cooking. Visit her streamlined one-bedroom apartment, and you'll see her template for sustainable living and perfectly stocked cupboards. Potted plants populate her narrow balcony, and homemade condiments and organic grains bought in bulk fill her kitchen. (Read entire post.)

The North Coast said...: Nice post. People of all sorts are now very interested in learning how to live sustainably and comfortably in small urban spaces, and are learning permaculture and how to grow "food forests" in tiny pockets of space, as well as live comfortably while consuming far less and making use of everything they have.

Whether or not you believe that we have reached an inflection point where essential resources are depleting far faster than they can replenish themselves, or are just someone who despises waste and wants to make her scarce money go much further while enhancing the quality of life for herself or her family, the people who are practicing sustainability are inspirational.; January 30, 2012 at 7:21:00 AM EST