Gardening for most of us is a hobby that goes beyond the simple act of digging holes and sticking plants in the ground. For me, it was the stress and getaway from the pressures of real life that sucked me in and got me hooked. In the twelve years I have considered gardening a hobby, I have always looked at it as my version of escape without a real vacation. It was valium, the Enterprise’s holdodeck, and yoga all rolled into one without the chemical dependency, technology challenges, and impossible contortions all rolled into one.

But now it looks like real life is breaking down the doors of my sanctuary and the troubles of the financial markets will impact horticulture and gardening in ways never seen in most of our lifetimes. (more…)