Greenwood runs the garden center at Green's Feed and Seed on Piedmont Road. His knowledge of gardening and all things green is rivaled only by his intense devotion to an Irish monk and herbalist in the era of St. Patrick.

It all started when Greenwood purchased garden statuary that included an image of St. Fiacre, depicting a smiling Irish monk with his foot planted firmly on a shovel. Greenwood started asking about the figure, and he found answers from two sisters of the Church of the Risen Lord in Clay County who had come into Green's to buy trees.

"They sent me a little paper that told St. Fiacre's story," he said. "I had a nice increase in sales that year, and I gave St. Fiacre all of the credit."

After all, St. Fiacre is the patron saint of gardeners. (And cab drivers - but we'll get to that part in a minute.)

It seems that St. Fiacre left his native Ireland to find solace in France. A plea to the Bishop of Paris for land to cultivate ended in a deal: He was offered as much land as he could turn up in a day. Miraculously, he was able to turn up the land with only the point of his shovel, eventually creating a beautiful sanctuary that contained a hospice for travelers. (That's why the cabbies revere St. Fiacre - they delivered many weary travelers from Paris to his refuge.)

Greenwood sold all but one of the first round of statues. He kept one and put a "sold" sign on it, as he wanted the continued blessings of the saint. Meanwhile, he gave one to the sisters in Clay County for their church. He's given one to St. Christopher's Episcopal Church to honor them for their work building vegetable beds for the less fortunate on the West Side.

Now, Greenwood keeps one by the employee entrance of Green's to bring good fortune to all who work there. He has found other devotees, among them Bill Murray of Charleston. He has a statue in his garden, and he points out that many people mistakenly believe that St. Francis is the saint of gardeners. While St. Francis looks over birds and small animals, Murray is quick to point out his "longtime advocacy of St. Fiacre and his importance to a healthy garden."

Moonflowers galore

I asked about moonflowers in last week's column, and it seems the whole world knows about this flower. I got calls from Macel Shaffer, Alice Jackson, Barbara Klingler, Jerry Holstein and Alan Underwood, among others, with advice. The stories varied from caller to caller, from e-mail to e-mail. Here are two representative opinions.

J. Michael Mollohan wrote:

"What you have pictured in your article ... is not really a moonflower. The moonflower (Ipomoea alba) is a vine. See www.moonlightsys.com/themoon/flower.html for more information and a photograph.

"What your reader has is Datura inoxia, also known as thorn apple, the devil's weed, stinkweed and jimson weed. See www.tradewindsfruit.com/thorn_apple.htm. Technically jimson weed is Datura stramonium, but this plant has similar properties including a sizable proportion of neurotoxins. No part of this plant should be ingested by any living creature.

"As for care, it's an annual plant. The spiky pods are seed pods (especially high concentration of the scopolmine and belladonna in the plant). It will not do well in a pot inside for the winter. Instead, let the seed pods ripen and fall and leave them to germinate in situ until spring. Once you get it established, it will come back year after year.

"Ingestion of any part of this plant can cause hallucinations, disorientation, unconsciousness, sleeplessness, vomiting, diarrhea, blindness and death. Keep children, especially young ones who tend to put things in their mouth, away from this plant."

Another e-mail came in from Jennifer Goddard:

"While I can't give you technical details on moonflowers, such as their Latin name, they are wonderfully low-maintenance. My good friend gave me two plants as a housewarming gift 10 years ago.

"After the seed pods dry and the flowers quit blooming at first frost, I cut the stalks back to just a few inches above ground. I gather the seeds and share with friends. My moonflowers have tolerated the dry weather and are in a south-facing bed where they get sun from noon to sunset. They are highly fragrant night bloomers loved by butterflies, Luna moths and the occasional early hummingbird. With the windows open, we enjoy the scent all night. I stake my plants most summers, but not this year so slugs did a little cosmetic damage, but didn't slow the blooms. Japanese beetles seem to like the leaves, but I just knock them off into a cup of soapy water."

Reach Sara Busse at sara.bu...@wvgazette.com or 348-1249.