In My Library
Many of you are avid readers, like me, you are probably interested in what other people have on their bookshelves. While I was looking for a book the other day, the thought hit me that you might be interested in seeing what books I have gracing the shelves in my home.
This will be a series, every now and then I’ll feature a few of the books on my shelf and tell you about them, where I got them, if I love them, etc. First off, here’s a section of my gardening books (yes my books are categorized by topic).
We’ll kick it off with Perennial Combinations which transitioned from my mom’s library to mine about 10 years ago. She purchased this book about 20 years ago when they built a new home. It’s a fantastic resource, especially if you’re planning on expanding your gardens. Inside you’ll find many stunning combinations of perennials that work together, they’re even categorized by zone and soil type. You don’t have to worry whether all the plants will do well together, if they’re grouped in this book they will. This book was a valuable resource when I gardened in Ohio, it gave me so many great ideas of plant combinations for all the soil zones in my garden: clay, sandy, dry, etc. If you enjoy perennials or have problem areas in your garden, this is a valuable book to have in your library!
This companion planting book also came to me by way of my mom. I’m not sure if it alway works in every garden, but it can’t hurt! Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening is a fascinating read and will give you some great ideas on companion planting options for you garden.
If you want to learn more about companion planting but don’t want the in depth read of the book above, Soil Mates is the book for you. In this sweet little book, you’ll find companion planting simplified and portrayed beautifully. This book would be especially fitting for that younger gardener in your life, they’ll be drawn in with the beautiful layout and captivated by the writing.
I won’t talk too in depth about Companion Planting: Successful Gardening the Organic Way, since I have a blog post dedicated to this book. If permaculture is something you’re interested in, this book is for you. Gertrude Franck was way ahead of her time. The garden planting philosophy she puts forth in this book is fascinating. This spring I might plant a garden using her unique methods because I think she was on to something!
Elements of Garden Design is the book for you if design is as important as plants in your garden. This book leans towards garden geekery, but in a very understandable way. I love Joe’s writing style, so this was the garden design book I chose when I wanted to read up on the subject. It’s on my reread list as I plan out the overall design to my new garden. If you struggle with design and want to understand more about it, this is the book for you! You’ll find a lot of valuable information in this book.
I found this obscure old gardening book while reading Onward and Upward in the Garden. There’s not much I can say about it, as I haven’t read it yet. Paperback Swap was the source of this book, so I didn’t pay a dime for it. One of these nights I’ll have time to crack it open and see if it’s good.
If you’ve been reading here long, you know I’m an advocate of soil building. I believe that gardeners grow soil and not plants. Start with the Soil is the book for you if you’d like to learn more about building the soil in your garden. Even with it’s slim size, it’s packed with tons of information. I was lucky enough to score this book for a few dollars at a used bookstore in Virginia on our way to visit Monticello.
Classic cottage gardens are among the things I love, especially those that include vegetables, herbs and fruit. Naturally, I LOVE Cottage Garden (DK Living). This book made it’s way into my library many years ago, in fact it was one of the first books I purchased when I fell in love with edible gardening. There’s something captivating about traditional cottage gardens. This book is filled with beautiful imaged and wonderful ideas on how to make your garden like the stunning cottage gardens of England. I love pulling this book out on cold winter evenings and dreaming of my future cottage garden!
My favorite garden book of all time is Living Seasonally: The Kitchen Garden and the Table at North Hill by Joe Eck & Wayne Winterrowd. Naturally their other books also hold places of honor on my bookshelf and Our Life in Gardens is among them. This is a small book filled with short chapters, perfect for a few minutes of peaceful reading before bed. If you love the personal side of gardening you will certainly enjoy this book.
There’s a look into a small portion of books in my library. Stay tuned, I’ll keep adding to this series whenever I have time.
Have you read any of the books mentioned above? Any recommendations on books I should add to my library?
The Series:
In My Library – part 1
In My Library – part 2
In My Library – Part 3
In My Library – Birding Books
In My Library: the Edible Garden Edition
If you do want to purchase any of these books or anything else from Amazon, use my Amazon Link, I’ll earn a few pennies to help pay for my now outrageous hosting bill for this blog!
Share this:
Shifting My Sights
With most of my seed orders in, I’m now shifting my sights on setting up my seed starting area. Originally, I planned on putting it up in the garage, but the ducks are currently residing in the space I was planning on using. Our new basement has a double door with big windows, so I’m thinking that will be the perfect spot to set up my stuff.
All of the potting supplies have been carried down from the garage, it’s like Christmas looking through them. I’m not quite sure when I’ll be starting things, generally I have my onions started by now, I may wait until closer to the end of January for those. The celery will be started as soon as possible, I’m just waiting on a few supplies from my local Agway to mix up my seed starting mix. There will also be few pots of lettuce and herbs seeded to get me through the rest of winter. I can hardly wait to get going!
Have you started any seeds yet?
I’m in the process of writing an ebook about Seed Starting, stay tuned for that.
Share this:
Welcome
When we decided to move to Maine all of our friends and family started talking about coming to visit. They all said, “I hear Maine is wonderful, I can’t wait to visit you.” When we lived in Ohio, we rarely had a visitor, but we also had a very small house and no guest room. Now we have 2 guest rooms — and they’re being used!
I set them both up a couple days before Christmas when we found out my parents were coming up for a visit. There was no time to paint, but I did clean them well and tried to make them as homey as possible. New flannel sheets were ordered, along with electric mattress pads, furniture was moved in that was stored in the garage and fabric panels hung over the windows.
I’m really glad I got them set up when I did, another friend come visit this week so they’ve been used a lot already. They’re nothing too exciting, just a collection of random things, but they’re comfortable. I am planning on making quilts for the beds and painting the walls, I just have to find the time to do that, which may not be until next winter! Having guests is more about conversation and visiting than it is about the decor of the guest room anyways.
Do you have frequent guests in your home?
Share this:
Bloom Where You’re Planted
Remember those tiny citrus trees I got when I went to Monticello way back in 2010? Last fall the little lime tree bloomed like crazy, but none of the blooms set fruit. That’s not really uncommon for the first bloom of a fruit tree. Now it’s blooming again.
There are only a handful of blooms and it’s inside in our office. I also noticed the other day that the variegated lemon is blooming as well. It resides in our bedroom window.
The smell of these blooms is way too much for me, so I’ll be moving the tree out into the landing for a while. It probably won’t set fruit, but I’m excited because these beautiful trees are finally reaching maturity. I’m fairly certain that next fall/winter I will have finally see fruit!
Do you have any houseplants that produce fruit/food?
Share this:
It’s Good to be Back
This weekend we finally got my stove in! I’ve proclaimed my love of this stove before, I sing its praises all the time. Anyone who knows me well, has heard me talk about my stove.
Having this beauty back in the kitchen is like having my right arm back again. It’s familiar, comfortable, and I know it’s nuances. With this stove I’m back in business, not that I wasn’t cooking before, I’m just a really happy cook now! Not to mention, it feels a little more like home around here with one of my favorite things back in use!
What’s your favorite home appliance?
