Well, yesterday was the first book signing for Growing… Let me be the first to tell you that these events do not fit comfortably on my psyche. A stack of books, an invariably wobbly table and a goofy grin (see above) combine to create extreme self consciousness and shifting awkwardness on my part. But I love to talk about gardening with people and the moment folks started asking me questions about their gardens I relaxed and had fun. Thanks (I think) to my friend David for snapping that goofy grin and many, many thanks to Debra, Mary and David for the beautiful garden bouquet you see in the picture beside me.
I find wherever I go and whoever I meet, once people find out what I do for a living, people always have questions about a plant, a bug, or something horticultural; I’ve spent entire plane trips dispensing garden advice. Having a gardener in the family is as handy as having a doctor in the house – but not as profitable. After the signing I came home and worked in my garden all afternoon, comfortably back in my own skin.
I’ll climb back into clean clothes and venture out again next weekend when I’ll be signing books at Emerald City Gardens beginning at noon on Sunday, May3rd. Come on out and visit; the advice is free!
The following is an excerpt from an email that arrived in my in box this morning; I guess you could say it’s the first “review”:
Growing Your Own Vegetables is a timely update to one part of Carla Emery’s original Encyclopedia of Country Living Guide from the early ’70s, and a companion volume on harvesting and preserving will be out later this summer. Impeccable zeitgeist for sure, and the book has an appealing layout with useful lists and practical tidbits for everyone from absolute beginners to experienced not-so-know-it-alls like myself – even a handy appendix on succession planting. This is an engaging read whatever page you open it to, the kind of book that’s destined to get dog-eared and scruffy with frequent use by dirty hands. That’s the highest praise I can give a gardening book, really.
from Jay at Emerald City Gardens
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Congrats on the book and I LOVE the cheesy grin. It’s cheesy, but I think its genuine; you love what you do! I certainly feel that sense of accomplishment after I’ve answered someone’s gardening/plant question (if I knew the answer, of course!).
Now, to find me doctor….hehe
R