Paul Schnare's gardening column enriched our lives

After years of providing gardening tips to Southeast Missourian readers, Paul Schnare, also known as Dr. Grow, has decided to end his regular newspaper column.

While his column dates back to the mid-1990s, Schnare wrote that his connection with the newspaper goes back 60 years.

"By the way, I started working for the Southeast Missourian about 60 years ago," Schnare wrote in his final column. "I started out as a paperboy when I was 11. I could fold a paper, then toss it and hit the front door of the homeowner who was a Southeast Missourian subscriber, while I was riding my bike."

Schnare and his wife, Marilyn, have owned and operated Sunny Hill Gardens and Florist since 1992. You can read more about his love for gardening in a story that appears in the January edition of TBY -- which also appears with this editorial on semissourian.com.

There's good news, however, for gardening enthusiasts. Although Schnare won't be writing a new column each month, most of his previous musings can be found on semissourian.com. Even the one about bag worms, which continues to be a popular topic even years after it was originally published. And we'll continue to provide new gardening content to readers in our Good Times section.

In his final column, Schnare thanked readers for the blessing they have been to him over the years. But we'd like to offer our own words of gratitude to a beloved individual in this community: Thanks, Paul, for sharing your love of gardening with us. You, sir, have been a blessing to us.