A few weeks ago Karen Attiah, a Washington Post columnist, wrote of a phenomenon I had not much thought of, what she terms “herbicidal men”—guys who destroy women’s plants either out of incompetence or malice. Now, the incompetence part doesn’t surprise me. We’ve probably all encountered garden workers, either professional or amateur, who have indiscriminately hacked away at trees and shrubs and called it “pruning.” I have a friend who is still seething over her curbside flowering cherry trees that city workers completely butchered. But that was idiocy, not malice.
I can report that herbicidal men are QUITE COMMON and I'm glad it is being called out and has a name for it - my next-door neighbor is the poster-child of this phenomenon -- and yes, the police have been called and a restraining order filed - just waiting to catch him on camera.
I can report that herbicidal men are QUITE COMMON and I'm glad it is being called out and has a name for it - my next-door neighbor is the poster-child of this phenomenon -- and yes, the police have been called and a restraining order filed - just waiting to catch him on camera.
Claire, I love your new Substack newsletter. And thanks for the lovely shoutout for The Gardenangelists podcast!