A Way To Garden

A Way To Garden

'horticultural how-to and woo-woo'
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margaret roach, head gardener

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2 book-giveaway winners, and more to come

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I FEEL LIKE THIS IS VEGAS, and I am spinning the roulette wheel. And the winner is, lucky number…? But before the news of who scored my original and now collectible book, “A Way to Garden,” an announcement: Because the response was so positive (for which I thank you all), I’ll host monthly book giveaways this growing season. I’ve secured copies of my all-time favorites—new and old—to share in coming months, including some vintage Ruth Stout and the recent fresh-from-the-garden cookbook, “Love Soup,” among others. But back to the business at hand…the big random drawing (drumroll, please):

I guessed out loud to a friend that we’d see 500 entries. Not a bad guess, Margaret: After 519 (minus my own 3 welcome messages embracing hundreds of first-time commenters) we finished out at 516 eligible comments before midnight my time Friday.  Using the random-number generator on Random.org, the winners are:

  • Number 50, Mary from Minneapolis, and,
  • Number 513, Tracey, who lost limbs from her apple tree, as I did, in recent storms.

Congratulations to you both.

Most of all, though, let me repeat my sincere thanks to all of you who came out of the background and commented for the first time. It was great to meet you, finally (all you lurkers!).

Because it was the second birthday week of the blog, it was especially sweet to hear from you at this time. As a result of the outpouring, we also passed the 10,000-comment mark during this contest, too, so it all felt like a giant celebration to me. Nice.

I hope that you’ll speak up whenever the spirit moves you—here in comments, or on the Forum—and look forward to the April book event. Stay tuned!

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14 comments
March 28, 2010

comments

  1. Tracey says

    March 28, 2010 at 3:55 pm

    Whoop! I can hardly type for all the leaping up and down!
    You know, I didn’t know about your blog untill I stumbled across it one day while I was searching for a copy of your book. This is a big deal to me. You have been my long-distance Garden Mentor for a good while now. Thanks so much, Margaret!

    Reply
  2. Chiot's Run says

    March 28, 2010 at 5:22 pm

    Congrats to the winners! Just requested ‘A Way to Garden’ from the library.

    Reply
    • Mary Nass says

      March 8, 2014 at 10:58 am

      Great idea! I think I will check our library!

      Reply
  3. Linda says

    March 28, 2010 at 5:48 pm

    I am so happy there is more and if I could be so fortunate to win a Ruth Stout it would go directly to my sister. Your entry on Ruth and the video clip transformed her. She can’t stop talking about her.
    Then there is Love Soup also one of my favorites but I’m an old Anna Thomas fan from Vegetarian Epicure days. My copy is currently held together by a rubber band.
    Finally the link you posted to the Library of Congress collection of WPA posters has so enriched my life and my work (I’m always searching for great images related to plants and farms).
    No matter the outcome, thank you, thank you. Your site is an incredible resource.

    Reply
  4. kay graham says

    March 28, 2010 at 6:15 pm

    I was intrigued with your book so I found a reasonably priced one in England, should be here soon. My garden won a prize and I am sooooo excited. Check it out . Go to WITF. com, the magazine Central Pennsylvania, and the article Living Treasures. It is just such a nice thing to have happened. It is rainy and colder here also.

    Reply
  5. susan says

    March 29, 2010 at 6:18 am

    Congrats!!!! I cannot wait until the next giveaway, a chance to add to my garden book collection..

    Reply
  6. Heidi says

    March 29, 2010 at 8:43 am

    Such fun to hear about gardening books. My newest favorite is The Intimate Garden by Gordon and Mary Hayward. Describes how their garden in Vermont developed over 20 years. Book talk is good!…just waiting for yours, Margaret.

    Reply
    • Margaret says

      March 29, 2010 at 8:51 am

      Welcome, Heidi, and thank you. Am in “waiting” mode here, too. :) Do you know “We Made a Garden” by Margery Fish (a vintage English little gem)? Now you have me thinking of more directions to go with this, after mentioning the Hayward book. Uh-oh. Hope to see you again soon — we can wait together.

      Reply
  7. Mary says

    March 30, 2010 at 2:14 pm

    And a big thank you from me, too! I’m celebrating spring like crazy now.

    Reply
  8. TC says

    April 27, 2010 at 8:30 pm

    Congrats to the winners.

    But I was so hoping to win Ruth Stout’s “Gardening Without Work: For the Aging, the Busy, and the Indolent.” There’s a few used copies available on Amazon, the least expensive one is $75, which is a little steep for me. But considering how hard it is trying to find it, I might break down and buy it anyway. A master gardener friend of mine gave me a DVD copy of “Ruth Stout’s Garden,” it’s the same video you had posted here via YouTube.

    And just in case you like poetry:
    http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1mz8r/SPRG/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yudu.com%2Fitem%2Fdetails%2F133173%2FSPRG

    Reply
  9. Carole Thelin says

    May 6, 2010 at 8:47 pm

    Yeah for spring, dirt and seeds! New gardening books are my addiction.

    Reply
  10. Kathy says

    September 1, 2010 at 8:52 pm

    Alicia’s book transforms one into the world of color, design and beauty, all of which make me drool over a book that I’d enjoy spending time with. As a gardener and artist, I’m totally fascinated with the world of color threads and the pictures they create. Maybe one day I learn how to do that magic. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Margaret says

      September 2, 2010 at 6:16 am

      Kathy, I think you wanted to enter to win Alicia’s boom — so I am going to try to copy this comment there, too. –M.

      Reply
  11. k.braverman says

    December 21, 2010 at 7:58 pm

    Please enter me in the drawings for ‘way to garden’.
    I am a subscriber.
    Margaret, thanks for the parsley freezing info. I had mammoth parsley plants this year. I did the ‘chopped in broth in ice cube trays’ version, but really liked the ‘rolling in bags’ method and look forward to seeing how they fare long about February.
    Happy Holidays,
    Kate B.

    Reply

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Podcast: Soups, Soups & More Soups

I’VE FOLLOWED a vegetarian diet for decades, but it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I mastered a really good vegetable soup. Now I’m learning variations on vegetable-based soups, plus ones with beans and even ideas for mushroom soups, too–all thanks to Alexandra Stafford and these recipes. (Stream it below, read the transcript or subscribe free.)

https://robinhoodradioondemand.com/podcast-player/6211/vegetable-soup-ideas-with-ali-stafford-november-5-a-way-to-garden-with-margaret-roach.mp3

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awaytogarden

mad gardener, nature addict, award-winning writer & podcaster, rural resident, corporate dropout, creator of awaytogarden dot com and matching book.

Instagram post 2190297402408409324_444552553 Snow day. To be followed by a snow night. #awaytogarden #wavehillchairs
Instagram post 2177779417009402040_444552553 No matter that it was 11F and 17F on mornings this week; my lifelong companions and I are all tucked in, each in our respective offseason spots. Three giant pots of #cliviaminiata that are actually pieces of my long-gone grandmother’s original plant from many, many decades ago, love the offseason bright cold of the mudroom, and get no water till around the new year or so. They need a chill (under 50 but above 35) for about 40 days to trigger timely bloom in late winter/early spring (without it they will bloom whenever, later, like June or even summer). The #alocasia reacts to the cold of the mudroom by shutting down and going dormant and leafless, and then I’ll let it sleep till late winter, when I give it a drink to see if it awakens. That one sleeps and wakes on its own timetable because I do not have a proper spot for it (ideally warm, like 60 or 65 at least, and humid and bright...no can do the humid part here). We have been together probably 10 years anyhow, despite my shortcomings as a #plantparent . #alocasiaamazonica #clivias #houseplantsofinstagram #houseplants #awaytogarden
Instagram post 2172580656557749859_444552553 Gardener: “I raked all the leaves!” Nature: “Oh, really?” (Cue sound of demonic laughter from on high.)
Instagram post 2170506606641504178_444552553 I wanna tell you how it’s gonna be You’re gonna give your love to me I wanna love you night and day You know my love will not fade away Not fade away Nope. Not this #cotinus leaf’s fiery hot love at least. Like the 1957 #buddyholly song I first heard by #therollingstones in 1964, it keeps going. #awaytogarden #fallfoliage2019 #cotinusgrace #notfadeaway
Instagram post 2168987273989949378_444552553 “Jack Frost nipping at your, er, geraniums...” And here it comes.
Instagram post 2166837817953503284_444552553 Constant companions: If you want to keep good company all winter, grow some good keepers. My house is stuffed with piles of #cucurbita awaiting their time in the oven or soup kettle. Each one is a character, distinctive. On one chair in the mudroom two close cousins in #cucurbitamoschata — the horse collar-shaped one called ‘Tromboncino’ or ‘Tromboncino Rampicante’ snuggles with some ‘Butternut.’ The ‘Tromboncino’ are better eaten green and small as #zucchini but I can’t resist their eventual mad size and shape, big enough to wear around your neck. I use their meat for enriching vegetable stock; the ‘Butternut’ are far more rich and delicious. Seed respectively from sandhillpreservation.com #sandhillpreservationcenter and @turtle_tree_seed (whose ‘Butternut,’ selected for “lastingness” for decades, will keep and keep into next spring or more). #wintersquash #awaytogarden #goodkeeper #cucurbitaceae
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Welcome! I’m Margaret Roach, a leading garden writer for 25 years—at ‘Martha Stewart Living,’ ‘Newsday,’ and in three books. I host a public-radio podcast; I also lecture, plus hold tours at my 2.3-acre Hudson Valley (NY) Zone 5B garden, and always say no to chemicals and yes to great plants.

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