Garden Picture Book

Recently, a representative from Blurb contacted me and asked me if I would be interested in trying and reviewing the book making service. Since 2012 was the 7th anniversary of the MrBrownThumb I decided to give it a try and make a garden picture book.

Radical Gardening and #OccupyGardens

Once while riding in a car I saw a ‘Keep Your Laws Off My Body” bumper sticker and inside my head I shouted back “Keep Your Politics Out Of My Garden!” I surprised myself because in my youth I’d been anything but apolitical. I’d participated in rallies, marches, protests, voter registration drives and volunteered on a political campaign before I was old enough to vote myself.  Perhaps I was burnt-out on politics after being immersed in it at an early age. The last place I thought politics belonged was in the garden.

Recently I came across a mention of the book Radical Gardening: Politics, Idealism & Rebellion in the Garden by George McKay. Intrigued by the title and cover I sent off a request to the publisher for a review copy which they granted me. After reading this book I’ve come to the realization that my opinion that gardening should be free of the political is myopic to say the least. Gardens and the gardened landscapes are deeply rooted (ugh) in the political. George McKay uses historical examples to illustrate an "intimate relationship between politics, social change and landscape or garden" many of which mirror those taking place today.

What Would Luther Burbank Do?

The Smithsonian Institution maintains an online collection of vintage seed catalogs of about 10,000 seed and nursery catalogs dating from 1830s in their archives. Many of the catalogs were part of the Burpee Collection donated to the Horticulture Services Division by Mrs. David Burpee in 1982. The impressive collection maintained by The Smithsonian includes seed catalogs from Burpee its competitors and smaller companies like those of Miss C.H. Lippincott.

Vintage seed catalog examples from the Smithsonian Libraries.

The Art of Instruction, Plant and Animal Anatomy Prints

Wall charts were first introduced in primary schools and would quickly find their way into high schools and universities. These wall charts became important teaching aids as populations increased and the numbers of students increased with it making circulating picture books, loose engravings and biological specimens impractical. According to Katrien Van der Schueren, author of The Art of Instruction, these educational wall charts originated in Germany around 1820. During the decade between 1990 and 1890 German printers alone published more than twenty thousand distinct charts that were sold and distributed around the world.

Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars

Do grandparents need a book to help them create memories with their grandchildren? That’s the first thing I thought of when I received my review copy of the book, Toad Cottages &  Shooting Stars by Sharon Lovejoy. The book is written by a grandmother for grandmothers. So why is a 30 something guy reviewing the book? Simple, this book is awesome! There's lots of useful tips and ideas in this book for creating budding naturalists.

Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire is the debut novel by Margot Berwin. It centers on, Lila, a 30-something advertising copywriter who finds herself starting over after a divorce. Like many who find themselves beginning anew she figures that her NYC apartment could use a houseplant, of course. Gardeners, houseplant growers in particular, will appreciate this light and fun read. If you find yourself predicating what will happen next it is not because the plotline is trite. It's because we (houseplant growers) have all been there before. We know that houseplants are gateway plants and they always come with dealers. Unscrupulous plant dealers. They are charming and full of information and they're willing to sell you plants that are more expensive after giving you a taste.

Bulb by Anna Pavord, Chicago Flower and Garden Show & new Succulents

Grow Your Own Drugs And Great Grub

Grow Your Own Drugs and Grow Great Grub: Good garden books for beginner gardeners.
Ever since I first visited the medicinal plant garden in Chicago I've wanted to create a garden where I could grow many herbs, annuals and perennials that are used in alternative medicines. The idea of being able to create all-natural remedies from ingredients I'd grow and harvest right in my own garden really appeals to the urban homesteader inside me. It is a shame that with every successive generation we move further and further away from growing pharmacies in our gardens like our ancestors did, heck our grandparents did.

Grow Your Own Eat Your Own by Bob Flowerdew -Garden Book Review

A few days after Bulb by Anna Pavord arrived in the mail for me to review I got a copy of Grow Your Own Eat Your Own by Bob Flowerdew. While flipping through the pages I was charmed by the photography, design of the book and food styling for the recipes. Yes, I judge books by their cover and the whole look of the book is a bit of a shock for someone accustomed to the antiseptic (in a good way) design of books and magazines by Martha Stewart or Organic Gardening magazine. While they contain good information and are aesthetically pleasing, it sometimes bothers me to see hand models with perfectly manicured fingernails and oxford shirts in gardening publications. Where was I? Oh, yes.

I Love Weeds

"There are no weeds in nature, just as there are no peasants. Civilization and cultivation have created both."
-Lawrence J. Crockett

With the days getting longer and warmer I decided to look through a book I picked up at a thrift store this winter. I like haunting the bookshelves at thrift stores because you can find all kinds of books but my favorites to come across are gardening books. Sometimes they're new but mostly they're older books. This book for example was once in the collection of a J. M Janoski and was printed the year I was born. It's in really good condition and I bought it for forty cents.