Let’s get out our party hats and celebrate because twelve bloggers and I are growing a garden party, book launch of good fun and special prizes to launch my baby, The 20-30 Something Garden Guide: A No-Fuss, Down and Dirty, Gardening 101 for Anyone Who Wants to Grow Stuff
You didn’t know I wrote a book in my spare time? Yes, I did. It’s all so exciting and a little bit scary.
Why did I write this book? Because, I think 20-30 Somethings do want to garden. They just don’t know where to start because no one took the time to sit down and teach them. Many Millennials didn’t walk barefoot on soft garden soil or play with dump trucks in their parents’ garden. Some did, but many did not. Their only experience with gardening was planting a sunflower seed in a Dixie cup. It sprouted. They felt successful, and then they tried to come home and plant it in their yard. Instead of thriving, most of these Dixie cup sunflowers died. How do I know? I was the homeroom mom helping them plant their sunflower seed projects when their teachers thought it was a good idea. Why did these sunflowers die before they had a chance to grow and bloom? Sunflowers don’t transplant well. They want to be sown directly outside.
Millennials want the same thing, a chance to be outside, unplug and grow in rich garden soil.
If you fail enough times as a child, you’ll think gardening is mysterious and hard, but I promise, it’s just a skill like cooking, crafting or baking that must be learned.
Millennials are among my favorite people. They are the best educated group of people on the planet according to Pew Research. They’ve spent their entire lives in school. Two of my children, Ashley and Megan, are 20-30 Somethings with Brennan knocking on their door. I taught all of them how to garden. I can teach you too. You know good food when you see it, but maybe, you think gardening requires a large space, a huge quantity of time and a millionaire’s budget. It doesn’t. You don’t even need to move to the country to garden unless you want to. You just need a garden coach.
Trust me, you can grow a lot of vegetables, flowers and herbs in a few beds or even in containers on your balcony. And, it doesn’t take that much of time or money.
If you don’t have any experience, don’t worry. Gardening may look mysterious, but it’s not. The magic happens beneath the soil after you plant that seed. Picture me on the sidelines cheering for you from every page. Click through and look at the book to see if it’s right for you. I want to give you the tools to garden effectively along with the ability to slow down and ponder nature and other eternal truths. I hope by writing this book I’ll plant seeds because without gardeners like you, we won’t have nearly so much beauty in our future.
Oh, and one more thing, this book is for anyone who is a novice gardener, no matter their age. We are all 20-30 Somethings in our hearts anyway.
I’d love to go along with you on your garden journey, and I’m here to answer questions every step of the way. Please feel free to comment here or email me at nashgarden@gmail.com. You can also visit me over at my other blog, The 20-30 Something Garden Guide.
Okay, I’ve talked long enough. I want you to get to know The 20-30 Something Garden Guide through twelve of my blogger friends, and they have prizes galore for you. To enter, simply leave a comment on their individual blogs.This giveaway runs through February 23 at Midnight, and it is only open to citizens of the continental United States. We’ll announce the winners on Monday, February 24. We have twelve wonderful bloggers from all over the U.S. just waiting to hear from you. Without further ado, here they are:
Shawna Coronado’s website — a gift certificate to High Country Gardens for a Summer Dreams Garden.
Whitney Curtis at The Curtis Casa — David Austin Rose, ‘Princess Alexandra of Kent’ and Authentic Haven Brand Moo Poo Tea.
Colleen Dieter at Red Wheelbarrow Plants — Garden Girl shorts and Fiskars PowerGear 18” loppers.
Robin Haglund at Garden Mentors — Buckaroo Brand Worm Castings, a hula planter and Empire Soil Builder, from Sanctuary Soil.
Rachel Hough at The Domestic Artiste — Fiskars Tools, two sets of loppers, one is the PowerGear Lopper 32” and the other Power-Lever 28”.
Niki Jabbour at Niki Jabbour, The Year Round Veggie Gardener.
Carmen Johnston at Carmen Johnston Gardens — Garden Girl pants with knee pads and a David Austin rose, ‘The Alnwick Rose’ catalog link for ordering bare root roses.
Carol Michel at May Dreams Gardens — DeWit Tool kit and Botanical Interests Organic Heirloom Seed Bank Collection.
Pam Penick at Digging — Three small Bee Preservers, www.glassgardensnw.com.
Jenny Peterson and J. Peterson Garden Design — is giving away a two-part prize from the Seedkeeper Company, a Seedkeeper Deluxe and Burlap Girdle(s).
Genevieve Schmidt at North Coast Gardening — Annie’s Annuals gift certificate and Keira Watering Cans.
Marie Wreath at the (Not Always) Lazy W Ranch — Longfield Gardens tulips & daffodils
Hi, there. I’m a long time fan – I’m an Oklahoman abroad and I’ve enjoyed your website for years because it immediately connected me to Oklahoma, in a smart way that appealed to my gardening interests.However, I just don’t think your website redesign is a good idea. There’s no sense of place to it, and it is very, very, generic, especially with your sponsor promos. That is the crux of what I have to say. Because I respected what you did before, but not now, I’ll leave it at that.
Ellen, I’m sorry you feel that way. This was just a cyber party launch for my book, and I did my best to feature other bloggers so that they could get additional readers–a win-win for all of us. Unfortunately, in the current climate, we writers must promote our own books anyway we can to get them out to the public. Publishers don’t have the funds to do this for us anymore, not even for Stephen King. I hope you’ll come back and read again one day.
Dee, thanks for taking on the topic of getting millennials into the garden. From my time working in retail garden centers to my current work, I have grown concerned that there is a whole generation, maybe two, missing out on gardening. I worry not just for this age group, but for nurseries, garden writers, botanic gardens, landscapers, and many more. Given the state of the planet, this is about the worst possible time to have large groups of people disconnected from nature, but I don’t need to tell you that.
Thank you Les. I hope it helps. I really do. I worry for my friends in the garden industry too. I also worry for writers. If no one reads, we’re no longer needed.
I tweeted about your giveaway.
Thank you Debbie. We need all the tweets and shares we can get to get the word out there.
Congratulations Dee, hopefully a book signing at Full Circle will be soon.
Thank you Laura. I sure hope so.
I wish I had had this book about 10 years ago, when I was starting out…and no, I wasn’t a 20/30 something even then:)
Thank you Rose! Yes, it’s really for anyone starting out, and the projects get more complicated as you move through the book. So, I guess it’s not even for beginners. Even experienced gardeners could probably learn about espalier for example.
Congrats Dee!!!
Thank you so much Loree. Will you be in Portland? I haven’t checked the list yet.
Congratulations on your new book!
Congrats on the book! Looking forward to reading it!
Thank you so much Kristin. I hope you like it.
Congratulations Ms. Dee, I have your new book laying next to the bed to start on. Thanks very much
You’re so welcome Tim. I hope you like it.
What fun! By the way…you all look like you’re having so much fun in all the photos you took together on the blogs.
Thank you! We took most of those photos at conferences and several at Blogger Flings. We are having such great fun. See, we all work at our desks and in our gardens all year, and it’s great to see each other in person. Bloggers and gardeners are the best people.
Best wishes for a successful book launch. The 12 garden bloggers have offered some wonderful prizes.
Thank you so much Linda. Yes, they really did.
Congratulations and all the best with your new book, Dee! I can only the imagine the amount of time, knowledge, and energy that went into the creation of your Guide Book, Thank You! for sharing this with us:)
I look forward to reading it!
Thank you so much Jessica! It was a great experience writing this book, but I’m not ready to write another for awhile.
Congratulations on publishing your book! I wish you great recognition and sales. And I love your blog and your beautiful gardens. Thanks so much for sharing them with us!
-Beth
Thank you so much Beth. You’re so sweet to say so. Let’s get growing!
Congrat’s Dee.. It is a fabulous book – so much information and inspiration between the covers. The layout is top notch and your writing style is so readable.. it’s like having a cup of tea with an old friend.
Niki, Since you’ve written two books, that means so much coming from you. I always feel like we’re having tea on my back deck, and it makes me smile that you feel that way too. Thank you for the review on your blog. It was so thorough and good.
Will you be having any book signings, Guthrie Library, Edmond, etc.
Would you consider having one at the local Master Gardeners monthly meeting?
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would love to come do a signing in Guthrie at the library or wherever. I would love to visit the month Master Gardeners meeting. Definitely. Please email me at reddirtramblings@gmail.com
This is great Dee. I know there are many 20-30 somethings that will appreciate your efforts. I am going to give one to a couple that just bought their first home with a garden. Very timely for me. 🙂 Best of luck.
Thank you so much Lisa! I hope they’ll enjoy it. You’re a good friend and neighbor to think of them.
Love to read you book.
Oh, I hope you do. Thank you Jeanette for coming over and commenting.
I’m so excited for you DEE! I’m ordering my book today! 🙂