One of the country's foremost experts on herbs, Art teaches horticulture at Delaware State University in Dover. There he analyzes the essential oils in herbs and tries to figure out why and how they affect us. His inquisitive nature accounts for many plants, some comely and some weird, that you find in his garden. For example, Art grows greater celandine (Chelidonium majus) not because of its lovely yellow flowers, but because he discovered that the juice in its stems cures warts. He also cultivates Paraguayan sweet herb (Stevia rebaudiana) because its leaves contain a compound up to 300 times sweeter than sugar without any calories or threat of cavities.

photo: In the front yard where lawn once ruled, now a cottage garden reigns. The assembled plants include yucca, old roses, reseeding poppies, lavenders, and a rosy pink mat of caraway thyme (Thymus herba-barona).