I like Alys Fowler's writing, and while I am not enthusiastic about reading another vegetable gardening book right now--I'm writing my own, and I'm a bit tired of reading/writing about row covers--I love seeing Alys and her garden. That's why I enjoyed her first book, Garden Anywhere. The publisher of Alys' new-to-the-U.S. book, The Edible Garden: How to Have Your Garden and Eat It, Too, sent me a copy for review. The book was originally published as part of a BBC televsion series, but I guess, since Alys' first book did well in the U.S., they thought they would send this one over here also. I must say I like the cover of the U.S. paperback better than the original UK one which seems kinda stuffy. I also like how Alys opens The Edible Garden, "I want it all, the whole far-flung earth and everything in it." The back garden behind...

It may be winter outside, but in the greenhouse, it's always summer no matter what the weather. It's humid, warm and when the propane heater gets going, almost hot. I love it.

I got a big box in the mail. My postal carrier, who is a dear woman, drove it up my long driveway and honked for me to come outside. She said, "It looks like rain so I didn't want to leave this one in the box." We have a box just for packages on our fence. Keeps the dogs from tearing into them. Like Pooh Bear, I almost said, "Tut, tut . . .," but I didn't think she'd get the reference. She might even be offended. Does anyone even say "tut, tut" anymore? Probably not. Like The Little Engine That Could and The Little Red Hen (Paul Galdone Classics), Pooh's dialogue, in The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh, is mostly packed in mothballs these days. Please read these stories to your children. They will remember one day and thank you for it. Claire and I were discussing the first two...

Autumn arrived at RDR this morning with a kiss from icy lips. A cold front with rain barreled through the center of the state making the roses shudder and wave their petals about in the swirling winds. This morning is chilly, and the Queens of May like it not. Poor, distressed damsels, they suffered in the hot summers of 2011 and 2012, and they want you to know the level of their discontent. Rosa 'Cramoisi Superieur' Like all mid-life beauties, they want more time. These salvia still look pretty good because they are in a protected place, but even they are beginning to show signs of a decline. The tropical plants curled in upon themselves, their foliage black as though burned. Frost spells a chilly death for them. They will soon be dust. Did you know crapemyrtles turn beautiful colors in the fall? Oaks, maples, crapemyrtles and other hardwoods sing...