Cold Climate Gardening

The subtitle of Grow Organic: Over 250 Tips and Ideas for Growing Flowers, Veggies, Lawns and More by Doug Oster and Jessica Walliser reads “for first-timers and old-timers alike,” but I think it excels at helping veteran gardeners who have been using chemical fertilizers and pesticides to make the transition to an organic approach.

Popularity: 15% [?]

A Good Book for Beginners
When I was in high school, I wanted to know more about gardening than I was able to learn. My gardening grandmother lived hundreds of miles away. The library had a set of Time-Life books on gardening that made me feel I needed a greenhouse, or at least a potting shed, before I could hope to succeed. Not only was there no internet, but there was no Fine Gardening, Garden Gate, or Martha Stewart Living. My mother would buy one bag of peat moss and a couple of six-packs of whatever flower I chose, and after that I was on my own.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Over twenty years ago I gave birth to my third child. Although at first he appeared fine, he developed problems and within hours was whisked across town to the nearest neonatal intensive care facility. We had just moved to a new neighborhood and were without most of the social connections that help so much at a time like this.

Consequently, I found myself all alone in my post-partum room, while my husband followed our baby across town. Soon a roommate joined me; she’d just had her first baby. Over the next couple of days, as I lay in bed wondering about my little boy, one visitor after another arrived by my roommate’s bedside. The chatter was animated, the laughter frequent. The stack of gifts grew higher and competed with the flower arrangements for space. My nightstand was empty, and when they asked to borrow my chair, I readily agreed.

Popularity: 20% [?]