Monday’s Muse

A very few of my garden books
A very few of my garden books

“Now, thank God, everything is finished; perhaps there are still things to be done; there at the back the soil is like lead, and I rather wanted to transplant this centaurea, but peace be with you; the snow has already fallen. . . . Well then make a fire in my room; let the garden sleep under its iderdown of snow. It is good to think of other things as well; the table is full of books which we have not read, let’s do that; . . .”

Karel Capek in The Gardener’s Year: The Gardener’s December.

I am so late with my Monday Report that I have decided to be a little early for my Muse Day post.  On the actual December 1 you can visit Sweet Home and Garden Chicago where Carolyn gail hosts Muse Day and see which of the other muses are abroad.

I’ve shown only a few of my garden books in my husband’s and my shared office. Needless to say there are many others, in the Great Room and piled next to my bed. I am ready for this reading season. Now that I am ‘retired’ I don’t have to rush out in the morning and I treasure my early morning reading, especially when I have lit the fire, and the wind cannot chill me.

Helping me celebrate my second blogoversary on December 6, Storey Publishing and Liquid Fence are offering gifts to the winner of my lottery.  Leave a comment about a favorite book, or seed starting tip, and I might choose your name to win Nan Ondra’s book, The Perennial Care Manual which will become a favorite read, as well as two packages of CowPots, made of composted cow manure. 24 in all. The lottery will close at midnight on December 5, and I hope I will have many names entered.  Good luck to all.

This Post Has 15 Comments

  1. Happy Muse Day and nearly your Blogoversary too. I love Nan’s book, and I reviewed it for OK Gardening Examiner a while back. Nan is a true help in the gardening arena, and she has such a good eye. As you can see, I don’t need the book, but I love the idea. Celebration is in order.~~Dee

  2. admin

    Thanks for joining the celebration. Ask a friend to comment! I’ve gotten lots of traffic, but few comments. Quel mysteriux.

  3. JP

    A giveaway – I knew I smelled something:) Most of my go-to books involve northern winter gardening practices. Of course I’m deeply interested in everything that Eliot Coleman has to say in Four Season Gardening & the Winter Harvest Handbook. I also find Anna Edey’s Solviva to be one of the most inspirational gardening books written. I spend a lot of time with Solar Gardening by Leandre & Gretchen Poisson; I borrowed my copy from the library this Summer and thankfully spilled a cup of tea on it, so now it’s all mine!

  4. admin

    JP – Thanks for the advice about pinging. I’ll have to check that. And for the comments about good books. I’m a big Eliot Coleman fan myself, but the other books you mention are new to me. Many thanks.

  5. nickie

    Thanks for dropping me a comment and congrats on the 2 years! I’m adding you to my list of blogs to read this winter. 🙂

  6. AnneB

    Congratulations on your Blogoversary! I wish I’d known about your blog for all of its life, but I have certainly been enjoying it recently. I don’t have a favorite gardening tip, but I do have the name of a book to share. It’s “Dear Mr. Jefferson: Letters from a Nantucket Gardener”, by Laura Simon. Simon writes to Thomas Jefferson, who of course was a passionate gardener himself, with details of her horticultural life. It’s years since I read the book, but I still remember the description of a dinner of eggs fresh from the hen house, which she poached, I think, and slid on top of just-pulled asparagus that she roasted in the oven — it filled me with envy! Lovely book.

  7. NancyB

    Happy Blog Birthday, Pat! One of my favorite books is The Well-Tended Perennial Garden, by Tracy DiSabato-Aust. That’s after Elsa Bakalar’s book, of course, A Garden of One’s Own. And there’s always, Thalassa Cruso, Making Things Grow Outdoors, an old favorite.

  8. admin

    nickie – Thanks for visiting. I love to think about many girls in the garden.
    AnneB- I’m glad you found me, and I just acquired a copy of Dear Mr. Jefferson which I am enjoying tremendously. Thanks for the suggestion.

  9. admin

    NancyB – Elsa’s book must always be on our list of favorite books.
    Pat

  10. Lisa at Greenbow

    I don’t really need the book but I want to congratulate you on your blogaversary. I like to see other peoples bookshelves. It is such fun. I would love to browse through your books and choose a few to read. I am at a point where I don’t keep books I don’t think I will read again and again. I have such a small house to try to cram in all I think is necessary. tee hee.

  11. Kathy

    My house too overunneth with books! I will never be a Kindle person; I enjoy the smell and feel of the real thing too much! Being an avid herb gardener, my favorite tome is Rodale’s The Herb Book, but I will read any gardening book on any topic that I can get my hands on!

  12. Kimberly

    Congrats on your bloaversary! So glad I found out about your blog!!

  13. Ramble on Rose

    Happy Blogoversary! I have a seed-starting tip: check on the germination time before starting seeds of different plants in one tray of cells. I had coleus seeds and Canadian columbine seeds in the same tray of plastic cells, and the coleus germinated well before the columbines, so I had to remove the covering to keep the coleus from rotting in the humidity. Of course, this resulted in a over a week of fretting about the columbine seeds not getting sufficient moisture with the cover off. Happily, they sprouted in 14 days and were just fine, but I could have saved myself the unnecessary stress and hassle.

  14. admin

    Kimberly – I’m glad you found us too.
    Ramble – You have given us a good reminder. I’m impressed with your seed-starting.
    Pat

  15. Jennifer Tidwell

    Happy Blogoversary! I’ve been garden blogging on and off for the last 5 years and I don’t see any end in sight.

    I just picked up a copy of “Wildflowers of Mississippi” on sale and I’ve had a chance to sit down and flip through it. It is full of really good info about the “region” I live in, a short section on the history of the state’s native plant life.

Leave a Reply