Background
Thalassa Cruso was born on January 7, 1909 in London, United Kingdom. She was the daughter of Henry Cruso and Mildred Cruso.
Thalassa Cruso was born on January 7, 1909 in London, United Kingdom. She was the daughter of Henry Cruso and Mildred Cruso.
In 1931, Thalassa graduated from London School of Economics.
In 1938, Cruso started to work at British Consulate-General in Boston. In the 1960s, she worked at WGBH-Television in Boston as the host of the educational series "Making Things Grow", which featured tips on plants. Some time later, Thalassa hosted "Making Things Work", a series about household advice.
In addition to her broadcasting career, in the early 1970s, she wrote a gardening column for The Boston Globe for 22 years.
Thalassa also served as an assistant keeper of the costume collection at the London Museum and later directed an excavation at Bredon Hill, an Iron Age fort in Worcestershire.
Cruso's work led to frequent appearances on the "Tonight" show, where she taught Johnny Carson how to compost eggshells in a closet. As a result of her celebrity, she became an unofficial custodian of the public horticultural trust.
Quotations:
"People stop me on the street and ask what to do with their African violets."
"The sense of smell can be extraordinarily evocative, bringing back pictures as sharp as photographs of scenes that had left the conscious mind."
"Scents bring memories, and many memories bring nostalgic pleasure. We would be wise to plan for this when we plant a garden."
"Every year it seems to me I hear complaints about spring. It is either "late" or "unusually cold", "abnormally dry" or "fantastically wet", for no one is ever willing to admit that there is no such thing as a normal spring."
"I have always found thick woods a little intimidating, for they are so secret and enclosed. You may seem alone but you are not, for there are always eyes watching you. All the wildlife of the woods, the insects, birds, and animals, are well aware of your presence no matter how softly you may tread, and they follow your every move although you cannot see them."
In 1935, Thalassa Cruso married Hugh O'Neill Hencken, an archeologist. The couple had three daughters — Ala Reid, Sophia Stone and Thalassa Scholl.