From The Desk Of Bill Varga
“Right isn’t always popular and popular isn’t always right” or so the saying goes. At a U.N.L.A. convention and trade show some 20 years ago, I was hunted down by Preston Cox and Kent Miller following a lecture by a colleague of mine from Utah State University. The passionate lecture on Utah Native Plants seemed to suggest an immediate need to change from current plant choices to almost singly using intermountain native plants. Oops! Yes, we need to take immediate steps to address restraint in overwatering. Plant choice helps but isn’t the most productive way to achieve our overall goal. For instance, the southeast European native ‘Aubrieta’ has been grown at Perennial Favorites since our beginnings 30 years ago. It is a moderately long-lived plant, water efficient to boot, and hot and dry is what this 3-4” spring bloomer prefers! For 2022, we are featuring the Audrey Series, a vigorous, large flowered, longer blooming Rockcress in shades of blue and purple and the Axcent Series of compact, heat resistant plants in red, purple, lilac, and violet eye. We live in a hot and dry climate. We can choose popular and right and put water savings in the bank to boot! We carry a large selection of intermountain natives to blend with the older stand-bys like Aubrieta. Go water efficient. Get popular!!
A DRUNK MAN REPORTED MISSING IN TURKEY JOINED HIS OWN SEARCH PARTY FOR HOURS
When Beyhan Mutlu disappeared, his wife was rightfully distraught. The 50-year-old Turkish man had last been seen by his friends on Sept. 28, 2021. They had all gone out together and spent the night drinking in the province of Bursa in northwest Turkey before Mutlu vanished into thin air – only to reemerge helping out in his own search party.
In a real-life scenario worthy of Charlie Chaplin’s finest films Mutlu had wandered off alone after his night out and slept in a cabin in the woods. And when his wife and friends couldn’t reach him for hours, they called the police and formed a search party.
It was only after Mutlu woke up and began to find his way home that he stumbled upon a group of civilians in the woods who had volunteered to help police look for him. Unaware of their endeavor, he began quietly following the herd and keeping pace – becoming utterly confused when they began shouting his name. “I told them I was Beyhan Mutlu, but they continued to search,” he said.
Only after his drinking buddies arrived and confirmed that Mutlu was who they were looking for that police and volunteers realized what had happened. Fortunately, rescue officials found the incident more humorous than aggravating – and gave Mutlu a ride home.
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