Human Flower Project
Miami, Florida USA
Denver, Colorado USA
Hollywood, California USA
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Plant Patents: Potted Gold?
A variegated redbud won’t make Allen Bush a mint, but if you enjoy growing ‘Alley Cat,’ please buy him a beer.
Even Le Bron James can’t pass along a patented plant
Photo: Baby Wall Decorations
By Allen Bush
My friend Mike Hayman phoned the day after “The Decision” —the LeBron James’s televised public relations disaster. LeBron and his handlers had spent the previous two weeks shopping pro basketball teams for a winning deal. Now Hayman wanted my decision. Did I want to patent Cercis candadenis ‘Alley Cat’: a variegated redbud that popped-up as a chance seedling in my back garden down near the alley? (Unless Tinker Bell sprinkled pixie dust, I can only guess that seed must have blown in on the fair winds to my little spit of land.)
“Are we talking LeBron money?” I asked Hayman. Could this be my ticket to fortune? I wondered. Mike laughed: “No, this looks like the amateur ranks.” (At least he didn’t say Bush League!)