Necessity is the mother of affection. That’s the executive summary of my journey from disdain to delight about gardening in raised beds. Now the bottom line: Raised beds are better. More vegetables and flowers, less strenuous, more robust all around. The beds look nicer, too. Hardscrabble, puny ground led me to this epiphany. The 27-acre…

By Norman Winter From Tribune News Service Swallowtails were early at The Garden Guy’s house this year. Thank goodness I had Superbena verbenas in full bloom. It is as if they had been given the task of announcing the arrival of spring and the butterfly season. On March 22, I photographed an eastern tiger swallowtail…

The Australian Worker’s Union (AWU) will appear before the Fair Work Commission today to push for a guaranteed minimum wage for fruit and vegetable pickers. At present, the minimum rate of pay for casual farm work is $25.41 per hour (US$19.02). However, the AWU says farms can “dodge” the minimum rate through piece-rate arrangements, where…