WPI Wire, Vol. In the dead of winter, when most of us can only dream of spring, Larry Hindle '78 is at work in his warm, humid greenhouse, getting the rhododendrons to bloom. That's right, rhododendrons in winter - and azaleas and roses, too. But the process of forcing plants to bloom ahead of schedule begins in mid-December. Increased moisture and warmth can fool flowering plants into into thinking it's mid-May, Hindle explains, taking time out to chat during one of January's blizzards.
Roses are particularly tricky to force, because they require extra daylight as well.
His hope was to drum up business for his retail nursery and to plant some ideas in the minds of potential clients of his custom landscape design service. Hindle made the transition from structural engineer to nurseryman gradually, starting with a few night courses at the University of Rhode Island get to his feet wet. His former hobby is now his profession. The close friends I made there have remained my closest friends. We keep in touch and get together with our families as oft en as time allows.