SUCCESS AND FAILURE IN HORTICULTURE

I STILL HAVE the first letter written to a local newspaper in the the now baptized
Caguas Country, more ridiculous an idea is hard to find. I denounced the tree topping of some FICUS that had been killed slowly by machete, illiterate, peasants in huge ladders to make to poor trees look like an ice cream cone. The year was 1969.

It was published in 'La Semana', now in the brink of bankrutpcy. Almost two decades later I got the chance/trip to work there as a translator, editor, proof reader, something not evident
here at all times. Things change, my view about writing, editing and all that that is
considered proper is pretty much like a hogs fart. If you can say it better go ahead,
just prettty please with sugar on top, in your own voice.

Do not be a satellite. Be all you can be, in my classical situation a sun. I do not read,
wait for others to write to react. I set the trend. Correctly or incorrectly as you will
see in brief.

The insular, national stupidity wraps all human endeavor in Puerto Rico. I just decided to pick a small token, perhaps the most relevant since we could not survive
without water, air, food. Once in a while I may have made a mistake in form, but not in substance or essential matters as I will demonstrate. If you comment on the first please mention the reference, I will be the judge, of your production.

When stating clearly without any possible rebbuttal the stupidity of planting trees
of humongous proportions with the intention of using them as HEDGES, some criminal environmental company into wasting water in irrigation, polluting our air, water and soil in the planting of grass for sale in rolls/squares, wrote a dissertation about the beauty, pedigree, impressive architecture, monumental quality of the FICUS FAMILY.

When making a couple of comments in some neck of the woods unknown TJ Ranch,
known in his house about the excessive amount of turf shown in the picture of this
resort in the middle of nowhere, someone writes another dissertation defending what no one in their right mind will attempt.

Unless one/you cut the grass with a push mower, or have cattle of any type eating it,
mowing it, you are polluting the environment and wasting water in the process. I do
not care about aesthetics in this regard. NO matter what you write/think/say, it is
backwards to pollute with all the noise involved. Unless used to practice sports there is no need for turf, and even in this context it could be substituted by artificial ones..

If you own a resort, the quiet of surrounding areas should be a good point for sale. Do
not be a jerk please. Just imagine: TJ RANCH, here we do not pollute air, water, soil,
lawn mowing, our cattle does it for us. Or, For the absoulute pleasure of our customers, we have decided to let our grass grow as in
prairies and meadows. Our gardens in turn have been restored, designed accordingly,
for your ear/eyes/nose pleasure. ENJOY!

Developed countries such as USA, CANADA are moving in this direction. It is forbidden to use ALL polluting machines used for landscape management during most hours. The use of fertilizers, herbicides, and such strictly supervised. There is a regulation in many counties demanding to post a sign to ALL neighbors in a specific range, informing date and hours of any herbicide, insecticide spraying 48 hours or less in some instances, to keep pets, children safe. One advantage of such policy is that anyone involved in landscape management is liable for the damages caused by him/her or employees.

Bonus for plant collectors:

Yesterday was stroll designated day.. We saw the usual, uneven sidewalks with craters , roads, garbage in the gutters, sidewalks, alleyways, roofs, abandoned trucks, grass growing as tumble weed in some cowboy/girl abandoned ghost town, in our case with people and cars as residents. You realize if you got this far, what impossible
dream I am engaged into, pretty much like shooting at the windmills with a small UZI.

The discovery of a new plant made the trip enjoyable: Hedera helix growing in the cracks of a wall in the
alleyway of the Santurce Medical Mall. This species is more fond of template climates,
such as in the Ivy League of the northeast USA. One thing I know, I have never seen
it before anywhere, not even in nurseries.. So long...wait...

Everyone judges according to their frame of reference. When polluting with herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, fertilizers as repeated a hundred times, wasting water from acquifiers to irrigate grass, making a buck here and there,
feeding with minimun salary imported/native hicks, some poor devils may think of themselves as a success, FINE. But not in this parts...

ALL RECENT PHOTOS BY TITO COLLAZO, Graphic Artist, espiral@onelinkpr.net
NOTE: His art work, has nothing to do with views expressed now or in the past. Nor
it implies his agreement with any of them.