When Art Tucker begins talking about plants, it's like a dam has broken. Torrents of facts, maelstroms of science, and tsunamis of obscure foreign phrases rush from his mouth in a deluge of words that's often too quick to follow. The man just knows so much. And the sprawling garden that surrounds his house is a living, blooming library of his gardening knowledge.

photo: Surrounded by Oriental arborvitae, Art and his cat, Chloe, bask in their notoriety.