Destination: Books

End of Summer Events

Three signs that summer is about to end.

Garden Basil Is Now Pesto

Pollinators Counted

A Destination Books Tradition

This will be our last book pop-up at the Freedom Farmer's Market until late September.

 

 

Books of Interest

 Some are new. Some feel new because I haven't revisited them in a while. They are:

Growing Perennial Foods: A Field Guide to Raising Resilient Herbs, Fruits and Vegetables by Acadia Tucker.

Basil Overflow

I would have had more success processing my basil, sage, thyme, and mint in a timely fashion if I had studied Tucker's book earlier in the season.  Tucker writes simple declarative instructions on planting, growing, managing potential pitfalls, and  harvesting for 34 common herbs, fruits and vegetables. The book includes a few recipes as well. 

Tucker's books give the home gardener some ideas of other foods to consider growing based on your sunlight availability, soil composition and the length of growing season. And in the title— don't confuse the word "perennial" with "year-round."

The Green Dumb Guide to Houseplants: 45 Unfussy Plants That Are Easy to Grow and Hard to Kill by Holly Theisen-Jones.

After reviewing the basics, Theisen-Jones categorizes houseplants in the order of difficulty as 1.) Practically Plastic Houseplants, 2.) Chill Houseplants, 3.) Fussy Houseplants and 4.) Master Gardener Houseplants, which has only one plant—the Monstera. 

What possibly could go wrong?

Fen, Bog & Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis by Annie Proulx. 

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author is known more for her fiction ( the novel The Shipping News, and the short story "Brokeback Mountain"), and judging from the works of hers that I have read, you can always count on her to write clearly and be evocative of time and place. This book is no different as Proulx, who started as small town journalist, explains how the historical shrinking of these fecund environments is a great loss to us and how it will play a major role in the climate catastrophe that lies ahead. She will take you to places too: the fens of England, the bogs in Ireland, and the swamps which include the Kankakee River in Northwestern Indiana near where I grew up.

At the very least by the end of this taut little book, you will know the difference between a fen, a bog, a swamp and a marsh.

Go here for more information of the kind of inventory Destination Books brings to its popups and where we will be for rest of the month.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lawn vs Meadow: A Short Saga

Last week Destination: Books took a road trip to visit our Knoxville friend Maggie who is a resourceful and experienced gardener.  She is also a generous one as she gifted me my first pound of red wigglers a half a dozen years ago. Their relatives still thrive in my garage worm bin.

Part of the visit included a tour of her garden.

A few years ago, Maggie lost access to her primary vegetable gardening space next door when the house sold to a new neighbor. Maggie’s own backyard was unsuitable for vegetables because of the heavy shade canopy. And then the conundrum began.  Her husband Tim is passionate about mowing and takes pride in keeping an immaculate front lawn and did not want to forfeit any of the sunny space. It became like one of those land usage conflicts we see in those ol' Westerns between cattle and sheep ranchers, but without the firearms.

One summer when Tim was on an extended work trip, Maggie reworked the hilly embankment next to the street--and the conversion began. Since then, Maggie has made this area into a mixed-use space of flowers and vegetables that blend into one colorful harmonious space. Bees and butterflies flood the area among the coneflowers, black-eye Susans, iron weed, globe thistle, beans, tomatoes, and cucumbers, to name but a few.

And don’t worry, Tim still has plenty of lawn to mow.

Georgia Pollinator Census

Just a reminder The Georgia Pollinator Census is August 18 and 19, 2023. For details how you can participate, visit https://GSePC.org

And for books about butterflies and bees check out our online offerings at https://bookshop.org/lists/bees-butterflies-birds