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Links to Diva’s Books and Articles |
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My Mother’s Garden A Collection About Love, Flowers and Family (Chamberlain Bros., a division of Penguin Group, April 2005)
Garden Diva joins Penelope Hobhouse, Barbara Kingsolver, Frances Hodgson Burnett and other writers in celebrating mothers, children and gardening. Diva’s essay, “Stardust Tomatoes in the Kitchen Window” tells the story of how her grandmother used gardening to entertain and nurture. Read an excerpt below: It was the day before the first hard freeze was expected in the fall of 1948 when Gram emptied her garden and introduced me to the growing power of stardust. My Dad, an Army Air Corp pilot, was stationed in occupied Germany after World War II. And, my Mom and I were living temporarily with her parents at the family farm, on the Red River north of Paris, Texas. My world was filled with hard-working adults who lived by the natural rhythm of crop and livestock cycles. They had little time to entertain an inquisitive four-year-old. The only playmates I had were two cats and an ornery rooster who squawked and tried to peck me every time I ventured beyond the back door. Gram realized how isolated I was and used her gardening skills to make my world brighter. That fall day, she stripped all the tomato vines of their green fruit in the garden behind the two-story house where Mom, Gram and her father were all born and raised. The quarter-acre plot had fed four generations and still produced all the vegetables we ate. She made putting the garden to bed an adventure, enlisting my help to find all the green tomatoes remaining on plants. Gram wrapped each pale green globe in newspaper and placed them in boxes to be stored in the pantry for ripening. My job was to rip newspaper sheets in quarters and hand them to her. Soon I was covered in ink smudges and had leaves in my pigtails from crawling under the vines to find the last hidden tomatoes. “There are enough tomatoes in the boxes to take us through January.” Gram announced as we finished. “But it will be June until we see another fresh one—unless I plant kitchen tomatoes.” Purchase the book at Amazon.com or buy an autographed copy from the Diva. Email her for details. |
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Easy-Care Landscaping (Harris Publications, April 2005) On newsstands everywhere
The SIP (special interest publication) explores low-maintenance, sustainable landscaping from every angle. Garden Diva is the editor. She wrote the articles and took 40 percent of the photos. The magazine includes fast landscape solutions, how to build a flower bed in minutes, the best no-care roses for yards, what to know when you buy plants and more. There’s a special section on saving time and money, too. |
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Read Some of Diva’s Articles on the Net
“Ten Laws to Vex Any Homeowner,” in the Old Farmer’s Almanac’s Homeowner’s Companion.
“From Farms to Five Stars,” in Mother Earth News.
“Build Fertile Soil,” in Mother Earth News.
“Gardening is Sharing,” was originally written for National Gardening Month 2004.
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