Too Cold to Garden? Snuggle Up (and Win) a Good Book!

It's 27 degrees in South Carolina. I'm not complaining. Many northern gardening friends are posting chill-inducing negative numbers and fabulous photos of snow-covered paths. (Those posts provide excellent reminders of why I moved south. The days of lake effect snow and sub-zero wind chill are not days I care to relive.) Still, 27 degrees is brutal for us southern belles. Although there's a box in the garage filled with my infamous end-of-season clearance bulbs awaiting their home in the garden, I'm not venturing out into the bitter tundra until it warms a bit.

Like maybe March.

When the temperatures plummet, what's a gardener to do? Why, we embrace the next best thing, of course.

We read about gardening.

With the holidays upon us, I asked a few of my lovely garden writer friends to share their favorite gardening books. My request is a bit selfish, truthfully. While my hoard of books overflows from the bookshelves onto the floor, I'm always on the lookout for the next great gardening book—or one that I missed. Christmas is coming, after all, and I'm hoping Santa might put a few of these titles under the tree.

I've been a good girl. Really. (Well, except for that massive bulb purchase.)

More importantly, though, I'm giving you a gift!

Not only will you have a terrific list to help stock your own gardening library or to hand to Santa when you sit on his lap, but you also have the chance to win YOUR CHOICE of TWO of our experts' favorite books! Hooray for free books!

Plus, you have multiple chances to win. For each action below, you'll receive one entry:


1. Leave a comment on this post, telling me your favorite book—gardening or otherwise. (Please include an e-mail so I can contact you if you win.)

2. Follow Growing Days.

3. Like my Facebook page, Garden Delights.

4. Follow me on Twitter.

5. Follow me on Pinterest.


Five chances! TWO books—one for a gift, one to keep! Or, keep them both if you'd prefer. The choice is yours.

Please enter by midnight EST on Friday night, December 20, 2013. My little elf, Mikey, will pull the winning name from our Magic Santa Hat. We're old school like that, but it will be fair, I promise. I'll announce the winner on Monday.

And now, for your reading pleasure...

Favorite Gardening Books

“My very favorite garden book of all time is The Backyard Parables by Margaret Roach. That will be the one that I take with me to the 'deserted island.' It has just the right amount of challenge and camaraderie. If I read it five times, I'd get something new from it every time.

“Another favorite is The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers by Josh Kilmer-Purcell. It was just pure entertainment, and I didn't want it to end.

"Interesting, isn't it, that they both have a Martha Stewart connection?

“My third favorite has to be a recent read, The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert. It satisfied the plant nerd in me, and the style of writing was just 'period' enough that it held my interest without frustrating me. I thought it was a beautifully crafted historic novel. I read it in record time.”


~ Kylee Baumle, co-author of Indoor Plant Decor: The Design Stylebook for Houseplants

Author of the blog, Our Little Acre

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"This is a perennial favorite of mine: Yard Full of Sun: The Story of a Gardener's Obsession that Got a Little Out of Control by Scott Calhoun.

"Talented plantsman, designer, and writer Scott Calhoun tells with humor and charm the story of how he created an Arizona desert garden for his family in Tucson, Arizona. Great ideas for those of us in more arid climates than are usually featured in garden books."


~ Pam Penick, author of Lawn Gone! Low-Maintenance, Attractive, Sustainable Alternatives for Your Yard

Author of the blog Digging, Austin garden designer.

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“I loved Elizabeth Lawrence's books [A Garden of One's Own, Two Gardeners, A Southern Garden, and more.] I'm presently reading Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life: The Plants and Places that Inspired the Classic Children's Tales by Marta McDowell. I'm loving it, too.

“I also love Sunflower Houses, Sharon Lovejoy's wonderful book on gardening with children. Her other books are also wonderful, but that one holds a special place in my heart.

“I loved Garden Anywhere by Alys Fowler. I also loved The Beautiful Edible Garden by Stefani Bittner and Leslie Bennett.

“Plus, I don't know these people, but I liked their book, Gardening for Geeks by Christy Wilhelmi, founder of Gardenerd.com. As for greenhouses, I like Paradise Under Glass by Ruth Kassinger.”


~ Dee Nash, author of The 20/30 Something Garden Guide: A No-Fuss, Down and Dirty, Gardening 101 for Anyone Who Wants to Grow Stuff (Available February 2014)

Author of the blog Red Dirt Ramblings

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“Lois Trigg Chaplin's Southern Gardener's Book of Lists. I have two copies, one for home and one for work! My other favorite, of course, is Container Gardening for All Seasons by Barbara Wise.”


~ Barbara Wise, author of Container Gardening for All Seasons: Enjoy Year-Round Color with 101 Designs

Author of the blog bwisegardening

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“American Horticulture Society A to Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. My first BIG reference book to learn about plants.

“Remarkable Trees of Virginia by Nancy R. Hugo and Robert Llewellyn. Love my trees!!!!

“Pam Harper, garden author, lived down a couple miles from me in Seaford. Time Tested Plants: Thirty Years in a Four-Season Garden. She had the best garden...one to drool over.

“Margot Rochester's Down to Earth: Practical Thoughts for Passionate Gardeners. A Greenville gardener whose down to earth gardening habits are a good read for a gardener in our area.

“And for my wormies, a book I didn't think I would read through. I thought it would be a reference, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, plan on reading it again: Amy Stewart's The Earth Moved. I will be doing a talk on vermicomposting to a garden club.”


~Janet Ledebuhr, Master Gardener

Author of the blog, The Queen of Seaford

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“I keep a dog-eared copy of The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Edward C. Smith in my storage box out by my garden. It really helps me to plan my garden layout every season.

“I also love the story, French Dirt: The Story of a Garden in the South of France by Richard Goodman. It just speaks to me about the discovery of gardening and community. Love it!"


~ Carolyn Binder, freelance writer and author of the blog Cowlick Cottage Farm

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“Hardly a day goes by that I don’t find another must-have book, classic or brand new, on every topic under the sun (or shade). But one that grounded me as a new gardener and that I revisit often is Scott Ogden’s Gardening Success with Difficult Soils.

“In poetic and conversational prose, Scott expertly connects us to the garden’s backbone: soil. It’s not a scary dissertation; rather, it’s a revelation about the essential relationship between soil, plants, and wildlife.

“Also, I recommend his many others books, including those in collaboration with wife Lauren Odgen Springer, like the remarkable Plant-Driven Design. And Lauren Springer’s beautifully written The Undaunted Garden boosts my knowledge, energy, and creativity.

“When I want an escape from it all, I curl up in bed with popcorn and mystery garden novels by my dear friend Susan Wittig Albert and newcomer Rosemary Harris. Rosemary strikes a close chord, since in real life and in her novels, she was a TV producer who cancelled her ratings to go dig in gardens!”


~ Linda Lehmusvirta, Producer, Central Texas Gardener

Web: www.klru.org/ctg
Blog: www.klru.org/ctg/blog

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“One of my fave garden books—dog-eared, well-worn after handling with garden-gloved hands and stained with coffee cup circles, is Fallscaping by Stephanie Cohen and Nancy Ondra, with photos by Rob Cardillo. I believe in gardening for four-seasons and often find that many of my clients and readers give up after a hot summer. This book is good inspiration to keep you gardening through the first frost.

“Anything by Tovah Martin. Both the New Terrarium and Unexpected Houseplant are perused often. Tovah has a unique eye for style, one that agrees with my sensibilities.

“And just because it is so ADORABLE, I love Radical Prunings by Bonnie Thomas Abbott. Read closely for her innuendoes...she is the master of them.”


~ Helen Yoest, author of Gardening with Confidence—50 Ways to Add Style for Personal Creativity and Plants with Benefits—An Uninhibited Guide to the Aphrodisiac Herbs, Fruits, Flowers & Veggies in Your Garden. (Available January 2014)

Author of the blog, Gardening with Confidence

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“Gardening did not come naturally to me. I could kill a plant at one glance. I decided to start a garden after the birth of my third child. We needed access to better vegetables, and a home vegetable garden was our first choice. Reading the backs of seed packages would make my head spin when I was first learning how to garden.

“One of the books that helped build my gardening foundation was Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. His step-by-step descriptions of laying out and spacing the garden made complete sense for my overwhelmed brain. It was a great reference guide for starting out, complete with grid layouts, garden organization, and vegetable growing tips.

“Now that I’ve been gardening for a few years, I still use the square foot gardening method (but with adjustments to our gardening style and needs). This method works well for my wanna-be orderly, keep-everything-in-its-place brain.”
~ Mia Nichols, author of the blog Modern Mia Gardening

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"My favorite gardening book is Amanda Thomsen's Kiss My Aster: A Graphic Guide to Creating a Fantastic Yard Totally Tailored to You. Because for all the talk in the industry about reaching out and cultivating new audiences and gardeners, hers is precisely the kind of thing that would have struck my fancy as a young new homeowner. (As it happened, I had a green-thumb mom and eventually a next door neighbor who was both a graphics designer and wonderful gardener.)"

~ Pamela Price, author, journalist, and blogger Red White & Grew  

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"My favorite book is Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy. I am going to hear him speak in the mid-winter, our Master Gardeners and the local Wildflower Association is sponsoring him to come...can't wait. I have become enamored with native plants in the past few years, and his book really helped me see more reasons why they're so good. I was 'going native' prior to reading his book, but it solidified it for me. Plus, I became an Audubon at Home Ambassador with our MG group, and we read his book there, as well."

~ Jan Doble, author of the blog, Thanks for Today

Thank you to Kylee, Pam, Barbara, Janet, Carolyn, Linda, Helen, Mia, Pamela, and Jan for your fabulous recommendations! UPDATE: Enormous apologies to Pamela and Jan for my carelessness in leaving out their reviews in the original post. I'm SO sorry!

Now remember--you can't win if you don't play! Good luck!



XOXO ~

Julie

The Super Cheap, Ultra Quick, Done-in-Five-Minutes Gift. (Plus Prizes!)

'Tis the season to be stressed, fa la la la la, la la la...

...la.

When did it become de facto to play Christmas music the day after Halloween? Personally, I boycott the stations that are Decking the Halls and Jingling the Bells. I need to celebrate the  holidays sequentially, with a day or two of rest in between. I don't have the fortitude to wake at 3 a.m. November 26 to shop after spending two marathon days in the kitchen prepping, cooking, feasting, and cleaning.  Many people finish their Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving, while I'm just beginning to figure out where Santa could possibly leave toys in our crazy cluttered house. (For those friends who are done with their Christmas shopping...I may need to rethink our friendship.)

Don't get me wrong. I love Christmas. I adore twinkling lights and the kids' excitement. I relish Christmas programs and enjoy holiday music. Nine-year-olds singing Christmas carols in their fancy clothes just makes me weepy. Christmas trees need to be real--and big--and covered with homemade ornaments and sentimentality. I will never understand the "decorator" Christmas tree. Never.
 
I love the holidays, but I love them one holiday at a time...in proper order. For those of you like me, who don't have your shopping done, cards mailed, and baking complete, I'm sharing a gift.

The no fail, perfect gift—that costs $5.

Best of all—you will spend a total of five minutes making this gift. Actually, I spent five minutes making five of these gifts while in my PJs and drinking Diet Coke. To me, that beats battling crowds at the mall any day.

Need a teacher present? Check.
Hostess gift? Got it.
Neighbor thank you? Easy.
Back up present for that friend who shows up unexpectedly with a gift? Ta Da!

The best part of this gift is—it isn't fattening. It can suit men or women. It's inexpensive but doesn't look cheap. It's festive but also appropriate for individuals who don't celebrate Christmas. It has a personal, homemade touch—but is great for those of us who are craft-challenged.

Paperwhites.

It's ridiculously simple. In fact, it's so simple that I'm a little embarrassed to share instructions with you—particularly if you are one of my friends who've received this gift in the past. Still—I know how time-pressed and money-challenged most of us are in December. A gift of paperwhites is easy and inexpensive. Plus really—who doesn't like receiving flowers? (Unless, of course, you have terrible allergies.)

You'll want to start your bulbs over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, so that they have enough time to grow and flower. Paperwhites are one of the few bulbs that don't require a chilling period prior to bloom, which makes them ideal for forcing.

What you'll need:

Container(s) without drainage holes. I like using clear glass vases or bowls, because the roots add visual interest.

 Pebbles.

Paperwhite bulbs (available online, at nurseries, and also at big box stores.)
  
Water.

Ribbon.

How to Force Paperwhites
Select a container. Add pebbles to the container—approximately two-to-three inches deep.

Position bulbs on top of pebbles, with the pointed side up. Make sure the bottom of the bulb makes contact with the surface of the pebbles.

Add water to the container, just covering the stones. Do not submerse the bulbs in water—only the bottom of the bulbs should touch the water, or the bulbs may rot.

Place container in a sunny window, and check water level every few days. Add water as needed.

As the paperwhites grow, you may find that the stems lean and fall over. Take a piece of decorative ribbon or raffia, and tie it around the stems of the paperwhites to keep them upright. Not only is the ribbon practical, but it adds a festive touch to your gift. 

When the paperwhites bloom, move them out of direct sun to extend blooming time.

Most importantly—don't forget to start a few paperwhites for your holiday decorating. We all need some flowers during the holidays, so spoil yourself, too! You can afford to grow a few for yourself. Here's the cost of the supplies I used:

Glass container: $2.99 (Remember--you can use any container without drainage holes, so be creative. You might save money by finding some gorgeous, interesting containers around the house or at yard sales.)
Bulbs: $4.98 for seven bulbs (I typically use three bulbs per container--so $2.13 per gift)
Stones: $2.99 per bag (enough for eight containers--$0.43 per gift)


Ummm...whoops. My gifts actually total $5.49 each. Which rounds down to $5. Right? Sorry.

To make up for my poor math skills, I'm giving away a set of paperwhite bulbs—six bulbs to the winner. You can either make two gifts or you can grow two containers of paperwhites to decorate your house. Just answer the question below, and you'll be entered for a chance to win the bulbs. Please make sure to include your e-mail so that I can contact you! (Winner will be selected randomly and announced on Friday.)

Here's the question:

What is the best holiday gift you ever received?

Happy indoor growing!

XO ~

Julie

Holiday recap.

Well. That was a pretty long food coma, huh?

I'm slowly re-emerging from post-holiday lethargy. I know—you thought the Adolfs had gone off the green wagon. You thought we couldn't handle the pressure of forgoing Christmas traditions that involve non-LED lights. You thought we'd cave and let Santa bring crappy plastic toys that will soon litter the landfill. You assumed we couldn't handle the pressure of a non-battery-driven, non-electronic Christmas.

You're right.

Yes, I failed miserably at the greening of our holidays. I knew I would. I hate to say it, but I know how I am at Christmas time. I am a holiday fanatic. I love the lights, I love aimlessly driving around, looking at decorations. I'm the first to suggest that we pile in the van (not Prius) and drive to the zoo where there are millions of energy-wasting lights. You can drive into the “Deer Forest” and feed the animals out of your car, all while wasting gas as the car idles with the heat on, doors open. I try to be good and order presents online—but then they arrive, with the non-recycled boxes, plastic, and styrofoam peanuts consuming the house. I still send the old-fashioned Christmas cards and will probably never embrace e-cards. We bake too much, indulge too much, and throw away too much. It's a glutton's dream.

So, I suppose, I've been a little ashamed to write about our family's “green-ness” after our holiday lapse. There were, however, a few things we did right:

We recycled. A LOT.

In Christmases past, I must admit to throwing away bags and bags of trash, just to get the clutter out of the way. This year, we made a very concerted effort to recycle anything and everything we could. During our present-opening frenzies, both at home and at my sister's house, we took the time to separate paper, cardboard, and plastic that could be recycled. We took bows that weren't crushed and put them away to reuse. In past years, our trash can overflowed after Christmas. In fact, our neighbors next door, in addition to their two trash cans, had at least a dozen trash bags at the street post-Christmas.

We didn't even fill one-third of a trash bag. We had a very large recycling run.

VERY large. I still have piles of boxes that need to go to recycling. But at least they're not headed for the landfill, as in Christmases past.

We turned down the heat. WAY down.

This fall, when it began getting chilly, I think I shocked Peter by my insistence to keep the thermostat down. OK, in truth, it's really not that far down. However, I'm the one who usually keeps the temperature set at 72 degrees. I'm cold. Always. When I get tired, I freeze. And, since I'm always tired, I'm always cold. Still, I was determined to keep the temp at the more environmentally friendly 68 degrees. I know, I know...it's not that great. Lots of the greenies of the world turn it way down, and there's a cult of green gurus who try not to use heat AT ALL. Have you heard about these environmental gods and goddesses who forsake heat? Good luck to those dedicated souls...but can't people die without heat?

Anyway, as a mom, I'm a little torn. Our daughter has no body fat—seriously, the child is a stick. We do feed her, I promise. So, while trying to maintain my stance on our lowered thermostat, I've encouraged the kids to add layers. Personally, sleeping in my old Bradley University sweatshirt is not winning points with Peter, but hey—it's warm, I love it. Still...there are times, especially in the morning, when I'm trying to get Kristen out of bed...and it's cold. Darn cold. And I wonder why I can't get that child up and moving in the mornings? There are some mornings she puts her coat on over her PJs. It's kind of pitiful.

Someone, who will remain nameless, has been known to sneak the thermostat up a degree on really cold nights. Huh. I thought I married a tough Swiss man.

Garden Delights is going e-commerce—and I'm committed to running a very green business.

Yes, there's never a dull moment at our house. My heirloom plant business is expanding, with the website going live very soon! Now, it's one thing to grow heirloom plants sustainably and sell them locally at the Farmer's Market. It's quite another challenge to run an e-commerce business, shipping plants across the country, while utilizing only green materials for sustainable growing and packaging. Still...I've found some great vendors, terrific green packaging options, and even some ways to offset the environmental impact of the transportation involved in shipping. Stay tuned...I'll be reporting on my attempts to start the business and keep its green mantra, while continuing to get our family back on track to reducing our environmental impact.

So, friends, Happy New Year—a little late! Did you make any interesting resolutions this year regarding the environment? Want to share them here? Maybe we can help each other be more accountable and meet our goals. (Oh...and besides being better to the environment, I also plan to drop 20 lbs. And exercise every day. And not set unattainble goals. HA.)

Here's to 2010!