Green Deane’s Bio, and Oliver, Too

Green Deane and Tinkerbell, 1964

If you have any comments or suggestions please send them to GreenDeane@gmail.com. The B&W picture is from a Christmas long ago. That’s Tinkerbell on my shoulders. On the home page in the garden, I’m holding Sammie, short for Tsamiko, a Greek dance. Below left, I’m playing bar room piano someplace.To the lower right, in the white fur lab coat with the look of scientific curiosity, is my current research assistant and food quality expert, Oliver Whitecat. He also doubles as my laptop.

At the piano

I’m a life-long bachelor — there’s still hope for me yet! — with a degree in music and graduate studies in communications. In short, I’m paid to play and write. I’m the author of many articles and two books.  Odd facts: I don’t own or watch television, and I am, through one grandparent, a descendant of a Salem witch — Susanna North Martin — and a member of the Mayflower Society. I am not a vegetarian, a common assumption. On the Greek side, my family is from south of Sparta.

Ollie as a kitten

Hobbies include gardening, cooking, collecting cast iron cookware, dancing, canoeing, public speaking, kayaking, cast netting, fishing, biking, and hiking in Greece when ever possible, and of course foraging for wild foods and other unusual edibles. I’ve planted over 12 dozen different kinds of edible plants — cultivated and wild —on my small suburban lot in Central Florida and I maintain a year-round 20’ by 20’ garden. On my cul-de-sac I am the only one without a lawn of decapitated grass, much to my neighbors’ collective horror… I think of it as green diversity. I am a not an editor. If you see a typo or something else wrong, please let me know.

And Oliver Ragamuffin Whitecat… Ollie… was found as a six week old kitten heading up the on ramp of Interstate Four in Orlando. Turns out he is a red point Siamese, or so the vet says. He and Couscous keep me company. She’s a pre-owned walk in, showed up emaciated one day, discovered food and indoor facilities and never left.

Green Deane’s Garden

{ 4 comments… add one }
  • Joanna April 23, 2012, 4:37 pm

    Well… since you said to let you know about typos, “Hobbies include gardening, cooking, collection cast iron cookware,” it should be “collecting”.. just caught my eye, I have no skill for editing. “I am the only one without a lawn of decapitated grass” Hah! made me laugh.. My husband and I live in a duplex.. and it seems that our neighbors think we do many strange things.. Like feeding our children bits and pieces of lawn.. or making jam from violets.. ;p

    Reply
  • Marilyn October 19, 2013, 3:40 pm

    Lovely garden. How do you, er, keep the weeds out? Is that sand? Is that PVC? My brother lives in the islands and his entire yard – the whole half acre- is filled with hardly a blade of grass. He did something similar except he used chain link instead of PVC and grew a gamut of vining vegetables and fruits. In between he planted the beds.

    Reply
  • Kathy August 22, 2019, 5:41 pm

    Greetings from Tampa. (Happy to learn you are not a vegan, by the way.) Although I share your distain for decapitated monoculture lawns, as an ancient city-dweller I’ve had to compromise. I generally let nature dictate what stays while maintaining sufficient numbers of decapitated weeds to keep code enforcement folks at bay. Love your videos. Please keep them coming.

    Reply
  • Lia March 12, 2022, 12:56 pm

    I read some of your material after searching “are unripe mulberries toxic”. We eat the mulberries from our farm every year and I was curious what all the fuss was about. Thanks for the information! Fun fact: I am Greek- American too and my father’s side was specifically from Mani as well. What an unusual little corner of the world to find someone else from!

    Reply

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