WHEN MY FAVORITE DOODLER AND DAYDREAMER, British-born Andre Jordan, let me share an oddball illustration of his with you in June, it was an immediate hit: my third most popular post so far, in fact. Now Andre is living in the American heartland, and besides his weekly doodling gig on BBC.com he’s signed on as a columnist for…you guessed it: A Way to Garden.
I’ve been asked various times this year, in interviews about my own new life, whether I’d have other contributors to this blog, which represents my first act of personal (not corporate) creative expression in far too many years.
“Absolutely not,” I’d say without a second’s reflection. “This is about my voice.”
How someone who five months ago was a total stranger could have me eating those words is not so easy to explain.
Andre and I still have never met, with only blog comments, Skype sessions and emails forming the concrete connection, but this goes deeper:
From the first doodle of his I ever saw, I knew Andre was a bird of a feather. And you all know how I feel about birds.
Much of the prolific doodling that first drew me to Andre is on his blog A Beautiful Revolution, named one of the Best British blogs of 2007 and praised by the London Times as “brim[ming] with honesty, dry wit and a refreshing lack of schmaltz.”
Andre is also an author, with his first American book, “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,” due momentarily from Harper Perennial and available for pre-order.
His work can also be found on the BBC disability website Ouch!, where he with raucous tenderness explores a subject that had long been something you just didn’t talk about, like many of Andre’s recurring themes.
Andre, it turns out, is no stranger to the garden: He supplies one of the leading garden picture libraries, GPL, with glorious photographs. In his Thursday column here he’ll explore all of gardening’s facets, dire to delightful, rated PG to R, and he will jump in on comments each week to speak with you.
I keep wondering when Andre’s latest vein of inspiration, his new life in Lincoln, Nebraska, will be put to paper. So far, the reports are good:
“I love it,” says Andre. “And people in the supermarket or on the street talk to me for no reason whatsoever—something that would never happen in the UK. It’s brilliant.”
Please join me and the friendly citizens of Lincoln in giving Andre a proper welcome.
doodle by andre: in the still of the night 
doodle by andre: happy anniversary to us! 
doodle by andre: new privacy policy 
Welcome,
This is one of my favorite places to start my day.Awaytogarden joins me with my coffee in the morning. Love the pots. So happy to hear you are enjoying the US. I look forward to seeing more of you.
Oh, this really makes me happy!
Whatever took Andre from London to Lincoln?! I’ll be very interested to hear about the different gardening challenges he’s facing.
And I absolutely LOVE the “Seasons change” doodle. It’s gorgeous.
–Johanna
Welcome, Matt, to A Way to Garden. Thanks for helping welcome Andre (who should be up and making tea any moment out in Nebraska). Hearing from you reminds me of another auspicious day for my blog, when you and I were on the ‘Martha’ show not long ago, so I am regarding your comment as an especially good omen. My best to you, and thanks for the well-wishes today in particular.
All: By the way, I never do this but today seems like the day: ‘If you’re happy and you know it’ (the title of Andre’s previous book, tee hee) then give this post a Digg or Stumble or email it to a friend. Use the share icon down below and pick your spread-the-word tool. Our Nebraskan friend and I thank you.
Brilliant! Welcome Andre.
Welcome, Andre! I love your wit and style!
Margaret, you always make me chuckle. I’ve been enjoying all your posts since I found you on Martha’s show. I should comment more, I know!
My orchids are not doing so well, but I hope to get them doing better with your suggestions. Now one of them I did manage somehow to get to bloom a second time but the other three are sad little things even though I repotted them.
These doodles are very appealing. I will certainly check out his stuff. Have fun with your new pal. What a nice name,Andre. ;)
Hello. I have drank enough caffeine now to finally say good morning.
Thank you Margaret for your lovely words about me. You are most most kind.
Like minded people just connect. Whether it’s in person or via the web. They just connect. And that’s what brought an English boy to Lincoln Nebraska. I met a girl, we connected in ways I never knew were possible, and so I married her. 2008 has been the most amazing year of my life.
Thank you all for welcoming me.
Welcome to Lisa, a transplant herself. Nice to hear from you on this happy day.
So cheerful and fun! I want to hug the illustrations! So cute.
Welcome to Andre!
Your “doodles” ( too dismissive a term) are like cliff notes of Nick Hornby’s wonderful books.
The photos are exquisite. Would that I could…
if andre is british and living in lincoln neb., he needs a quick tutorial in college football. he also needs to buy one share of brk-b, if he has a loose $3800. other than that, he should fit right in.
How exciting! Welcome Andre! Your Ouch! Doodles are marvelous. I especially loved the EBay blue tag discovery note. So deliciously clever. Brilliant, Magaret!
You’ve just made my daily dose even better! Thank you.
gardenden: I have always liked the term ‘doodles’ (it’s a passive aggressive thing). When people ask me what I do I never quite know what to say. I normally just shrug my shoulders and mumble ‘I sort of do drawings and stuff’. ‘What kind of drawings?’ they then ask. This always leaves me in a fluster and so I normally respond, ‘doodles!’. Then they leave me alone.
We are EXTREMELY proud of you Andre … Love and miss you and Stacey very much … Get those much needed gardening “doodles” to me as soon as you can … I need them for my garden SHED!
XXXX
What a joy to find you here too. Your sensibility is a perfect match. But, since I have considered “The Chair,” I’ve been trying to unplug and meet his needs. What to do? What to do?
Welcome Andre! Love the doodles. Will buy and read the book, Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, for the title alone. Could be lots of birds of a feather flocking together at this blog, I think.
Welcome to Jacqui Jordan, the official cheering section from the Jordan side of the family. Nice to “meet” you. Thanks to all of you for lending Andre to the U.S. at the moment; we could really use something to smile about.
Welcome, Andre! And congratulations, Margaret, for finding room for a kindred spirit to share his voice (and wryly-worded illustrations) with your readers. Of course, since I am the “stylish shed queen,” I am partial to the image above (“Meet me in the potting shed at 8 pm sharp. . .”) AND the enticing item on Andre’s blog: (“I retreat to the garden shed and wait . . . “) ~ can’t wait to follow this new chapter on your blog. Debra
Welcome, Debra. I am glad you in particular have discovered Andre’s shed doodles here and at his blog. Happy to have you with us for this newest adventure.
Wow, what excellent news! I have an Andre Jordan doodle hanging above my desk right now (“Every night I wrote a list of things that might go wrong. Every morning I looked at the list and added a little more. But then one day, my pen rand out, and life completely changed.”) Looking forward to Andre’s columns!
Andre, you are in good company with Miss Margaret. You obviously have good taste in friends. Love your doodles.
Hi. Im writing from Brazil. I was visiting Andre Jordan blog (Im mad about his blog) and I saw your adress. Your blog is also amazing:)
Welcome, Helena. You are among friends here if you are an Andre-devotee. Don’t be a stranger.
You kill me, Margaret! I just wandered over here to find your applesauce recipe… fell into Andre’s arms (web-aphorically speaking) and while being wowed by him discovered “matt” who turns out to be Matt Armendariz and browsed his “what you can put into a tortilla” blog and fell in love all over again. All I wanted was the friggin applesauce and now look at me – besotted over and over again.
Margaret – you know the cool guys, no question.
Yes, Maria, I like the boys, that’s for sure, whether amphibian or terrestrial. And apparently we have the same taste in men (and food): I got lost in Matt’s tortilla post as well. Batch 4 of applesauce (or was it 5?) yesterday; green tomato and apple mincemeat pie filling starting tomorrow. Careful opening the freezers over here, or you could lose a toe in the landslide.
Margaret, you know I’ve been crazy about your blog since I found you months ago. The collaboration with Andre sounds like it will be fun for both of you, and us lucky readers as well. Andre the artist bringing his Smiths/Morrissey quote book sense to Lincoln…well, that’s just plain intriguing.
Much happiness to all parties involved in this move.
Margaret, Thanks for recognizing such great talent, not that I am partial or anything. We have a huge garden (veggies only) crying out for humor and help plus a cozy tool (or garden) shed in western Washington Andre and Stacey could doodle and be creative in. Your gardening site is wonderful and I will visit often.
Welcome, Judy Pulley, Mum-in-Law. I am so delighted to “meet” you, and for your encouragement. My sister said this to me the day that Andre’s first doodle appeared: “It’s obvious: He’s family.” She just took one look and he was in. So I guess that makes us all related, part of the extended flock of birds of a feather as I called him. Come back anytime.
Thank you Judy for your lovely words. It really means a lot. Can’t wait to see you. x
ScentSelf: I cannot tell you how much I love The Smiths.
Thank you all for being so generous with your welcomes
This is not the first time The Smiths have come up in the course of my garden blogging, fyi. The Canadian garden blogger YouGrowGirl (aka Gayla Trail) and I have traded Morrissey and Smiths bits on Twitter and email (and maybe even here, cannot recall). I will have to tell her it’s come up again…
Welcome to a fellow Nebraskan.
Andre, you will love it here.
Made some wonderful catnip sachets for
my nieces orange cat for Halloween.
I did give her chinese lanterns but was told
they are poison. Are they?
I love “seasons change” so much better than “s___ happens!”