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I WAS HONORED to be invited to be one of 30 voices in the new essay collection “The Roots of My Obsession: 30 Great Gardeners Reveal Why They Garden,” just out from Timber Press and edited by Thomas Cooper, former editor of “Horticulture” magazine. On the jump page, I’ve harvested a few tidbits from a handful of the other contributors, English and American alike—and if you tell us your reason, you’ll get a chance to win one of three copies I’ve bought to share. Care to confess what really gets you going–out the back door, I mean, to weed, water, and experience the wonderment such as only a garden can provide?

Tony Avent, founder of Plant Delights Nursery:

“Just as a computer comes with certain pre-installed programs, I was born with a fully functional 7.0 horticultural operating system…I wasn’t very popular in high school, where an interest in plants was not something for a guy to admit in public.”

Rosalind Creasy, author and edible landscaping guru:

“I was in charge of finding the cutworms curled around [my father’s] tomato plants. With every cutworm I found, he would whoop and holler; I felt like I had saved the family from starvation.”

Penelope Hobhouse, author and National Trust gardener:

“Gardening is not about instant gratification. It is a process—from seedling to flower (a matter of a few weeks) and from small rooted cutting to a useful shrub (often a few years). This whole process, rather than the ultimate product, seems to me half the joy of gardening.”

Ken Druse, author and photographer:

“Why do I garden? Am I crazy? I don’t really have a choice. The only way to avoid the pangs of withdrawal from an addiction like gardening is to garden more. This is one habit I have no intention of breaking.”

how to win ‘the roots of my obsession’

TO WIN A COPY of “The Roots of My Obsession,” simply comment below, telling us why you garden. I’ll choose three winners at random, using the tool on Random.org, after entries close at midnight Monday, October 15. Feeling shy? Just say “count me in” or some such, and your entry will be registered. Good luck to all. Want to learn more about the book? Start on the Timber Press page about it.

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FROM THE WEEKLY PODCAST

how conservation starts in your yard, with doug tallamy

‘NATURE’S BEST HOPE’ is the title of University of Delaware professor Doug Tallamy’s new book, and the subtitle reads like this: “A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard.” In other words, you and I are nature’s best hope. Our actions count, and they add up to counteract a fragmented landscape and other challenges to the survival of so many critically important native creatures and the greater environment we all share.

Doug Tallamy’s 2007 book, “Bringing Nature Home,” has been for many of us a wake-up call into the entire subject of the unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife, and now with more than a decade of additional research insights, he goes further.

(Stream it below, read the illustrated transcript or subscribe free.)

253 comments

Mary Hoblit says:

November 5, 2012 at 8:11 am

I am a gardener. It is who I am.

Bonnie says:

December 29, 2012 at 8:54 am

I garden because I like to bring beauty into my world. Because it calms me and each new bud or veggie picked brings me such joy

Annette says:

December 29, 2012 at 7:36 pm

Count me in. I garden because it relaxes me & is good easy exercise.

giveaway: the 'why's' of 30 garden writers

Tony Avent, founder of Plant Delights Nursery:

Rosalind Creasy, author and edible landscaping guru:

Penelope Hobhouse, author and National Trust gardener:

Ken Druse, author and photographer:

how to win ‘the roots of my obsession’