Blog Post
Jeffersonian agriculture
by Maxine
Thomas Jefferson born on April 13, in 1743, was not only President, writer of the Declaration of Independence, an inventor, musician and philosopher but also a farmer and naturalist. As the days grow longer and warmer (we hope!), it's good to remember Jefferson's words, "Determine never to be idle." He certainly never was. On his Monticello farm, Jefferson grew 170 varieties of vegetables, plants and flowers. He imported broccoli from Italy, grew Mexican peppers and English peas. In his Garden Book, he kept meticulous notes on when each variety was planted, when the first leaves appeared and which were the most flavorful. Jefferson said that he ate meat as "a condiment for the vegetables, which constitute my principle diet." Perhaps we should follow Jefferson's advice as well as that of a modern proponent of his philosophy, Michael Pollan whose now famous credo, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants," is part of every foodie's vocabulary.
Blog Post
Herbs in the Kitchen
by celesteh
In the dead of winter, you might not be thinking about herbs for your salad, but the cold season can be the perfect time to start a kitchen herb garden. You can give your winter cooking recipes some real flavor with fresh herbs, and keep some greenery in your home at the same time! AADL has plenty of books that can help you get started. How about one of these titles?
The Kitchen Garden: Month by Month (2010)
Kitchen Garden (2004)
The Kitchen Garden : Fresh Ideas for Luscious Vegetables, Herbs, Flowers, and Fruit (2000)
A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Kitchen Garden (1996)
The Moosewood Restaurant Kitchen Garden (1992)
Of course, herbs have a variety of other uses in addition to cooking-related. Herbs can be used for therapeutic and medicinal use, delicious teas, or even gift-related uses – (learn how to dry your herbs at home – even with a microwave!) Another really nice resource I’d also like to mention is the bimonthly magazine, The Herb Companion. It has great articles, recipes, and crafts as well. Happy planting!
Blog Post
Poinsettias : the December flower--myth & legend, history & botanical fact
by quaking aspen
Poinsettias written by Christine Anderson & Terry Tischer, is a beautiful book to read this time of year. Did you know that every year 150 million Poinsettias are purchased in more than 50 countries? This book takes a look into the history of this amazing plant, and gives us a glimpse into how it was transformed into an international holiday symbol. This book is full of beautiful color photographs of the Christmas Star. lt is also full of little known facts, myths, and gardening advice for the poinsettia.
Set this book on the coffee table over the holidays, and watch everyone who picks it up instantly smile!
Blog Post
Autumn Gardening
by quaking aspen
The Garden in Autumn by Allen Lacy is a book for those who believe that autumn brings merely clean-up tasks and potted mums. After reading this book gardeners will think differently about the autumn garden. Lacy, a gardening writer for the New York Times, has a vested interest: "to encourage fellow gardeners to pay attention to the neglected but glorious possibilities of the fall garden."
Lacy introduces new plants and plant combinations to try that will be stunning in a garden throughout the waning of the year. Lacy devotes a chapter each to lingering summer perennials, fall-flowering perennials, bulbs, grasses, annuals and woody plants. He even includes a chapter on blooms in December!
Blog Post
The HomeGrown Festival is this Saturday!
by manz
Ann Arbor’s Homegrown Festival is headed to the Kerrytown market on Saturday, September 12, from 5-10pm. The festival’s website boasts, “The HomeGrown Festival celebrates local food and community and seeks to focus broad mainstream attention on the community-wide benefits (and pleasure!) of eating from our own foodshed.”
In addition to the wonderful food vendors who will be there, there will also be a number of other activities to partake in, including tomato tasting, a beer garden, chef demos, kids’ activities, non-profit booths, and live music. Sounds like good times! Admission is free, food is available for purchase.
Ann Arbor has such a wonderful community with great support in local food efforts. (Think Slow Food Huron Valley.) Celebrate wonderful food and wonderful Michigan farms at this event!
Blog Post
Title Month-by-month gardening in Michigan: what to do each month to have a beautiful garden all year
by quaking aspen
Just because it is August does not mean your gardening has to be done for the year! Check out our book Month-by-month gardening in Michigan. This book, written by Fizzell, James A., includes gardening directions on a monthly basis that include: The most effective planting techniques to use in your garden, How and when to prune, The best season to fertilize your lawn, Transplanting techniques, and Generalized care of eleven different plant categories. This book also includes twelve monthly calendars for each plant category that makes it easy for the reader to find the appropriate gardening advice. So, take control of your garden and landscaping all twelve months of the year today!
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #171
by muffy
What promises to be a rather formulaic chick lit., mildly entertaining summer escapist read turned out to be a compulsive page-turner - twisty, sexy and magical.
In debut novelist Margot Berwin's Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire, recently divorced Lila Nova impulsively purchased a bird of paradise from the hunky plant guy at a Manhattan green market to spruce up her depressingly lifeless apartment. Soon she was hooked - on David, as well as the lore and lure of tropical plants.
A chance discovery of a rare plant at an odd Laundromat and its enigmatic proprietor Armand took Lila deep into the Yucatan jungle, in search of extreme adventure and the nine mythical plants of desire. Little did Lila know what await her amidst unspeakable beauty and magic, would be treachery and heartbreak, but ultimately, also self-knowledge and redemption.
Hothouse Flower is fresh, fun, and wonderfully captivating - everything you would want for a lazy summer’s eve.
For fans of Sarah Addison Allen's Garden Spells and Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate . Plant enthusiasts and eco travelers would do well to also check out Susan Orlean’s award-winning The Orchid Thief.
* = Starred Review
Blog Post
Landscaping
by quaking aspen
Want to make over your yard? Need to freshen up that lawn? Well, check out our DVD series on landscaping hosted by Don Marquardt. There are many Dvds in this series that include Lawns in the Landscape, Landscape Plant Selection, and An Introduction to Landscape Design. Don is a professional landscape architect with 25 years of experience. He is sure to help get you on the right track with all of your lawn care needs!
Blog Post
The Freshest Herbs are Homegrown
by quaking aspen
Want to start growing your own herb garden, but have no idea where to begin? Pick up one of these books The Herb Garden Gourmet by Tim Haas or Herb Gardening for the Midwest by Debra Knapke to learn all about starting your own herb garden. These books will answer questions about herbs in general, as well as where, when, and how to plant many of your favorite herbs.
Blog Post
Square Foot Gardening
by quaking aspen
Looking to start a garden, but don't think you have enough room? Well think again! Check out the book, All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew to help get you started. Square Foot Gardening is the practice of creating small but intensively planted gardens. The practice includes concepts such as organic gardening, closely planted crops, and raised beds to get the most productive garden possible within a limited space. This type of gardening is great for kids and people with limited mobility as well as those with a limited amount of space in which to garden.