Where’s Neil?
Neil will be making the following in-person store appearances between now and Christmas for book sales/signings and also for sales of the pens he makes as a fund-raiser for Serenity High in McKinney.
Neil will bring copies of his new Neil Sperry’s Lone Star Gardening. It’s Texas’ new go-to reference for everything horticultural. Not a revised copy of his 1991 Complete Guide to Texas Gardening, but an entirely new format and totally updated information. Twice as many photographs as the prior book, and much more user-friendly. Only $28.95 plus tax at store appearances. Not sold in bookstores or on Amazon.
For 19 years, Neil has been turning pens as a fund-raiser for Serenity High in McKinney, the nation’s only public recovery high school. All proceeds of the pen sales go to the McKinney Educational Foundation (a charitable not-for-profit) in support of Serenity High. See the list of woods below.
Because it is difficult for Neil to explain the woods from which he has turned the various pens at the same time that he’s trying to sign books, he will assign general times to each task (see below). If there is a slack in one sale, he will be happy to help with the other. He will also have family members alongside to assist.
Pens he will bring to each sale will include:
- The Treaty Oak in Austin
- The Century Oak from Texas A&M
- Battle Oak from the campus of the University of Texas
- The Old Main Oak from Baylor University
- Live oak from the TCU campus (adjacent to Amon Carter Stadium)
- Ash from the SMU campus (site of George W. Bush Library)
- Mahogany given to Neil in person by Byron Nelson from Mr. Nelson’s workshop
- Live oak from the grounds of The Alamo
- Molding from the Texas State Capitol
- Gov. James Hogg Pecan from grounds of Texas State Capitol
- 50,000-year-old Ancient Kauri from New Zealand
- Fiddleback koa from Mt. Halleakala on Maui
- 1,500-year-old Irish sinker oak from a loch
- Goose Island oak (oldest tree in Texas)
- Figured Texas mesquite
- Cottonwood burl from McKinney
- Spalted hackberry from McKinney
- Redwood burl from California Tall Trees
- Rosewood burl (Honduras and Brazil)
- Amboyna burl (Viet Nam)
and several other beautiful and historic woods.
Saturday, November 29
Calloways Nursery
423 E. Round Grove Road, Lewisville
1:30 p.m. Book sales/signings
3:00 p.m. Pen sales
Sunday, November 30
Shades of Green Nursery
7401 Coit Road, Frisco
1:30 p.m. Book sales/signings
3:00 p.m. Pen sales
Friday, December 5
North Haven Gardens
7700 North Haven Road, Dallas
5-7 p.m. Store Christmas Open House
5 p.m. Book sales/signings
6 p.m. Pen sales
Saturday, December 6
Calloways Nursery – South Arlington
4940 S. Cooper St., Arlington
2:30 p.m. Book sales, signings
4:00 p.m. Pen sales
Sunday, December 7
Calloways Nursery
2901 Long Prairie Rd.
Flower Mound
1:30 p.m. Book sales, signings
3:00 p.m. Pen sales
Saturday, December 13
Calloways Nursery
1000 Preston Road, Plano
1:30 p.m. Book sales, signings
3:00 p.m. Pen sales
Saturday, December 20
Calloways Nursery
291 E. Southlake Blvd., Southlake
1:30 p.m. Book sales, signings
3:00 p.m. Pen sales
Sunday, December 21
Shades of Green Nursery
7401 Coit Road, Frisco
1:30 p.m. Book sales, signings
3:00 p.m. Pen sales
