I woke up this morning to find that the first of my oriental poppies had opened, which is always a wonderful sight. My sage and verbascum have also opened, as has the first of my siberian irises.
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About Me
I live in Portland, Maine, together with my wife and seven-year-old daughter. I have been gardening seriously since 2005. I teach college history by day, creative writing by evening, work at Skillins Greenhouses on weekends during the summer, and garden when I can.
My garden
My garden is a mere 600 square feet, most of it in full sun in my front yard. I have a raised bed in my back yard, and two long planters alongside the deck which I use to raise vegetables. This rest of the back yard is weedy lawn that my daughter can run around on. I have a compost bin behind the garage, and two rain barrels alongside the house.
Gardening podcasts I listen to
Gardening Books
Here are my favorite garden books, listed in order of preference.
- Tracy DiSabato-Aust. The Well-Tended Perennial Garden. General advice on planting, pruning, and pests, but also individual how-to information on care for most perennials.
- Taylor’s Guides. Wonderful, authoritative resources. Over time I have purchased the Perennials, Bulbs, Annuals, Trees, and Roses editions.
- Barbara Damrosch, The Garden Primer. Organic gardening by a Maine author.
- Eliot Coleman, Four-Season Harvest. Great advice on extending the growing season in cold climes.
- Edward C. Smith, The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible. Like it says. How to succeed at organic vegetable gardening.
- Maureen Heffernan. Burpee Seed Starter. Excellent for starting just about any seeds. An overall how-to, but also specific information for most flowers, vegetables and herbs.
- Carol Stocker, The Boston Globe Illustrated New England Gardening Almanac. Timely reminders of what to do when.
- Brian Capon, Botany for Gardeners. Accessible for non-scientists like me. I now know what apical dominance is!
- Karen Davis Cutler and Barbara W. Ellis, The Complete Flower Gardener.Good all-purpose book if you don’t want to buy all the Taylor’s Guides. A Burpee publication.
- Judith Sumner, American Household Botany: A History of Useful Plants, 1620-1900. I’m a historian by profession, so I love to see how plants have been used in the past.
- John Seymour, The Concise Guide to Self-Sufficiency. Thinking of “living the good life”? This tells you how.
- Jacqueline Hériteau and Holly Hunter Stonehill, New England Gardener’s Guide. A nice introduction to the topic.
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