BLOG.JESSIEKEITH.COM: 125 Year Old Scythe Reborn

Working Mom's Garden Blog
Gardening with kids is messy but gratifying. This blog is largely about gardening with limited time and
two kids in tow while fighting to cultivate an unreasonably large garden. Short cuts are essential, weeds par for the course, and mud a given.

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In 1995, Jessie became a Master Gardener, accepted a job as a landscape designer and had a farmer's market booth selling garden flowers. The following year she attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana where she graduated with honors in 1999 with a BS in Public Horticulture. At Purdue, she worked for two years as garden intern at The Purdue University Horticulture Gardens and was mentored by Dr. Harrison Flint and Dr. Michael Dana. She also served as undergraduate teacher’s assistant in woody and herbaceous plant identification and introductory horticulture classes.

In 1999, she accepted a yearlong position as the curatorial intern at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA under the tutelage of celebrated curator and author, Dr. Tomasz Anisko. Graduate school at Michigan State University followed. There she studied systematic botany and completed her MS degree in the winter of 2003. Shortly after graduation, she accepted an internship at The American Gardener magazine, the journal of The American Horticultural Society, where she received guidance from editor-in-chief, David Ellis, and distinguished scientist and horticulturist, Dr. H. Marc Cathey.

Jessie taught horticulture for two years at Williamson Free School in Media, Pennsylvania before pursuing a career in garden writing and plant photography. She began to work as content editor for Learn2grow.com in 2007 and has written articles for publications such as The Old House Journal, The Green Scene, What’s Up! Annapolis? and The Herbarist. She most recently served as one-time horticultural editor for Wilder Quarterly.

Today, Jessie lives in Wilmington, Delaware with her husband Knut, daughters Franziska and Gabriella, two geriatric cats, and thousands of garden plants.

BLOG.JESSIEKEITH.COM: 125 Year Old Scythe Reborn

125 Year Old Scythe Reborn

My paternal grandparents had a beautiful old scythe that hung on their wall for as long as I can remember. The artful old tool was passed down to me when my grandparents passed several years back. I've yet to display it because I have nightmarish visions of my small children trying to pull it down from the wall, so I've kept it safely bundled in the garage out of sight and mind.

This spring we needed a scythe to cut back a green manure crop on our veggie plot, so the circa 1875 scythe was put in use for the first time in likely 80 years or more. A little sharpening and oiling quickly brought it back to fine working order.