Dinner with Four of the Horticultural Heroes Featured in my New Book

My new book is coming out  — Heroes of Horticulture: Americans Who Transformed the Landscape.  The manuscript is now at the publisher — David R. Godine — and should be out by year end or early in 2018.   How amazing to have dinner with four out of the 18 Heroes profiled in my book — or 22% of my book — in one night.   Pierre Bennerup and his lovely wife Cheryl invited us all to dinner  —-  Dan Hinkley, Darrell Probst, Darrell’s  delightful wife, Joanne Holtje, George Schoellkopf, my husband Charlie and me.  What a special time we all had. 

I love this picture of Dan Hinkley pulling Pierre Bennerup’s ear — much to Darrell’s amusement. These three – Dan, Pierre and Darrell — have been on countless plant finding trips. often in each other’s company so they can clown around.

 

George, creator of Hollister House Garden, has been a long time friend of Pierre’s.  George is my neighbor just two miles down the same road in Connecticut and we are both long time beneficiaries of marvelous plants from Pierre’s Sunny Border Nurseries.  I had not met Darrell’s wife, Joanne before. She  is a talented artist so she and Charlie had a lot to talk about.  Cheryl Bennerup, a knowledgeable plants person herself , is a superb cook using fresh produce from her garden.   Many laughs among good friends with delicious food and fine wine.  What could be better?!