PANAYOTI KELAIDIS is a lifelong Colorado gardener who has worked at Denver Botanic Gardens for more than 40 years. Known for his expertise in rock gardening and alpine plants, he is a longtime member of the North American Rock Garden Society. This interview took place during a society conference at Cornell University in June 2022.
SCOTT BEUERLEIN: Tell me a little bit about how you got started in horticulture.
PANAYOTI KELAIDIS: I have to kind of blame my parents, because they were very keen vegetable gardeners. It was maybe a thousand square feet and they grew a lot of things that you couldn't buy in grocery stores back then, Greek greens especially. I remember thinking it was really weird that they were out there all the time. We lived in Boulder, Colorado, which is a nice town, but our house was ornamentally threadbare and I thought that we could have a nicer yard, so I wanted to grow some flowers.
But what really did it for me was my brother-in-law, Allan Taylor, who married my sister when I was eight years old. He was a passionate gardener. And because he was an Anglo and my parents were these foreigners they were chubby and short with accents and he was tall and spoke English natively-and so I idolized him because he was kind of like a second father in a way because, you know, my real parents weren’t quite good enough for me back then.
Esta historia es de la edición September - October 2022 de Horticulture.
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Esta historia es de la edición September - October 2022 de Horticulture.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
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Around the World With Herbs
Looking beyond familiar mediterranean favorites, we can find flavor in the tropics
RIBWORT PLANTAIN
Before you call it a weed, consider its many talents
JARED BARNES - Propagating gardeners
JARED BARNES is an award-winning professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. He also hosts The Plantastic Podcast and publishes a weekly e-newsletter called plant ed, both of which can be found at his website, https://www.meristemhorticulture.com. At home, he gardens with wife Karen and daughter Magnolia.
FILMS WITH FLOWERS
Relax with an uplifting garden-themed movie
TOTAL TOMATO GROWING GUIDE
Niki Jabbour's advice for making the most of this grow-at-home favorite
HANGDOG NO MORE
I'M A CURIOUS and impetuous guy. Good at thinking but terrible at remembering. And dammit if I'm not impatient.
LOOKING AHEAD
A colorful, fruitful summer follows winter's well-used days
NEW PLANTS
Pollinator Favorites
PLANTS from PIECES
ALL ABOUT PROPAGATION BY STEM, LEAF & ROOT CUTTINGS
FULL SUN FOLIAGE
IT'S A BIT MORE CHALLENGING THAN IN THE SHADE, BUT WE CAN FIND DELIGHTFUL LEAVES TO EMBELLISH SUNNY SPACES