a holiday gift for you, with signed copies of ‘a way to garden’

THANKS TO MY beloved local bookstore, Oblong Books in Millerton and Rhinebeck, New York, you can order an autographed copy of the all-new version of “A Way to Garden” wherever your live and garden–for yourself, or for gifting.

As an added thank you, during the holiday 2019 shopping season, we’ll send along a packet of my favorite organic heirloom pole beans, ‘Aunt Ada’s Italian’ from Turtle Tree Seed, which are the secret ingredient in my vegetable soup recipe. We’ll tuck the recipe inside, too.

The beans (in the photo above, from the front of the holiday card you’ll receive) plump up in their pods, providing protein and richness to your soup, but the surprise is that even when they do, the pod stays tender, like the most delicious snap bean. So into the soup it goes, too.

Oblong has the goodies all ready to ship to you–autographed books, plus my holiday greeting card with seeds and recipe. Click here to place your order.

reviews of the new 2019 edition

THE NEW BOOK arrived to some fanfare, including in “The New York Times Book Review,” which said in part in a rave review that I am, “sensitive, wise, deliberate, thoughtful and splendidly bossy.”

“Publisher’s Weekly” (with a starred review), adds this:

“Roach… thoughtfully and thoroughly updates her 1998 guide to organic, year-round gardening. … Those with dirt already under their fingernails will treasure Roach’s in-depth knowledge, wry humor, and reflective look at how seasons in gardening mirror the passage of time.”

Other garden names and sneak-peekers you may recognize–from both the U.S. and U.K., where the new edition is also available–were likewise very kind:

“Unquestionably brilliant! I am so impressed with the wisdom of Margaret Roach’s experience and the things she writes about that most garden books ignore.”—Deborah Madison, author, “Vegetable Literacy” and “The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone”

“A gorgeous, helpful, and tenderly funny book for anyone who likes putting plants in the ground. I love the fact that it’s ‘A Way to Garden’ not ‘THE Way to Garden.’ Less hubris, more mulch.”—Ann Patchett, owner of Parnassus Books and international best-selling author of “Bel Canto,” “State of Wonder,” and “Commonwealth”

“Margaret has an intimate grasp of her subject, along with an appreciation of the microcosm of life within the spaces we garden. Her sparkling wit makes her a joy to read.”—Fergus Garrett, Head Gardener, Great Dixter House and Gardens

“’A Way to Garden’—sensitive, wise, deliberate, thoughtful and splendidly bossy—prods us toward that ineffable place where we feel we belong; it’s a guide to living both in and out of the garden.”—Dominique Browning, “The New York Times Book Review

“For more than two decades, A Way to Garden has provided a friendly invitation to the garden. As real, gritty, and funny as the first time around, this blueprint of how to garden, why we garden, the joys of gardening, is a prerequisite to lifting a spade.”—Dan Hinkley, award-winning author, “The Explorer’s Garden,” and Heronswood founder

“An indefatigable researcher, Margaret Roach is a whirlwind of enthusiasm for and knowledge of the natural world. This update gives us the benefit of so much new information. Thank you, Margaret.”—Marco Polo Stufano, founding Director of Horticulture, Wave Hill

“Margaret is the knowledgeable, encouraging, and often humorous best friend we all need when we grow a garden. We get to peer over her shoulder as she sows every seed, plants every shrub, harvests every tomato.”—Niki Jabbour, food gardening author, writer, and radio host

“Her voracious curiosity has kept Margaret on the leading edge. This updated classic distills decades of learning from one of gardening’s keenest minds. It is delightfully free of ideology but brimming with ideas and inspirations.”—Thomas Rainer, author, “Planting in a Post-Wild World;” principal, Phyto Studio

“America’s favorite garden communicator shares her wisdom, and through her superb writing, helps us discover ‘a lifetime supply of wonder.’”—Ken Druse, photographer, lecturer, and award-winning author

“If I could keep just one gardening book, the beautifully written A Way to Garden would be the treasured title. This is Margaret’s finest work to date and why she is my gardening superhero!”—Joe Lamp’l, Emmy Award–winning creator and host, “Growing a Greener World,” PBS

“A great book to curl up with … Margaret shares insight from her decades of gardening: the ups and downs are laid bare for gardeners to learn, empathize, and find inspiration.”—Tony Avent, garden writer and founder, Plant Delights Nursery

“The perfect reading companion for those of us who feel that gardening is an unstoppable addiction. It will draw you even further in, while confirming what you’ve always known in your heart: you must have more plants!”—Jane Perrone, host, “On The Ledge” podcast; former gardening editor, “The Guardian”