Destination: Books

Urban Earth Day

I recently returned from my third trip to Berlin to visit my older daughter, which always includes a tour of Prinzessinnengarten or Princess Garden.  In 2009,  a community garden was started in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin, reclaimed from an industrial, wasteland area that had been unused and abused for half a century.  Not only has the city turned a brown space to green, but Prinzessinnengarten has become a center for community education about gardening and sustainability and a melting pot for Berlin's diverse population. A second location has been added in Neuköln district--a converted cemetery, which I wrote about here in April, 2021.

In the spirit of community gardens, Destination: Books will be at the Wylde Center Edgewood Community Garden as part of the celebration of Earth Day Festival  on Friday, April 21st from 4 to 7 p.m.  This is our second visit to Edgewood and we'll have a mix of children's books, how-to gardening books and a few inspirational offerings as well. The Edgewood garden has a mellow urban vibe.

Avondale Estates Earth Day

We don't even bother to unpack before heading over  on Saturday, April 22nd to Avondale Estates for their Earth Day festivities. This will be held on their new Village Green which has really transformed that area. We will be there from 2 to 5 p.m. along with a host of gardening vendors, clubs, etc. and later in the day-- music and food. 

 

 

Destination Books' Wylde Weekend

This weekend Friday, April 15, 2023, and Saturday, April 16, 2023, Destination Books will at the Wylde Center Plant Festival with its broad selection of books on gardening, sustainability, and children's books similarly themed.  This year, Destination Books is a 2023 vendor sponsor in support of the Wylde Center which makes perfect sense because books and the educational mission of the Wylde Center go hand in hand. 

Friday's event is from 4 to 7 p.m. and it's a preview of the plant sale, but it is easy to join ahead (details here). Weather may be a factor for Friday's book sale, but the event itself which includes live music, food, and drinks and that is rain or shine.

The weather for the Saturday event from 9 to 3 p.m. calls for perfect weather for the plant sale that is open to the public. (We are not scheduled for Sunday.)

 

Closing Out 2022

Destination: Books will be making its final 2022 appearance at the Carter Center's Freedom Farmer's Market on Saturday morning, December 10, 2022. We will have a range of books —those suitable for gift giving and some close out end-of-the-year sale books as well. A savvy shopper could find a book that meets both criteria. 

Here's some examples:

We wrote about the Katz and Bir books here earlier this year.

A chance to continue to do year-round gardening with Peter Burke. More info here.

Or is this the time of year to work on that soil before Spring planting with Jesse Frost?

Our Partners - Carlos Museum Bookshop and Andersson Gardens

These are just a few of the books we'll have on hand at the Carter Center. Also, our book partners from the Carlos Museum Bookshop (a nonprofit bookseller on the campus of Emory University) will be there with children's books, books on food culture etc. and books you will not see anywhere else in the Atlanta Metro area.

In Avondale Estates on Sunday, December 11.

Andersson Gardens will have some books from us for their popup at the Avondale Farmers Market on Sunday morning and the Avondale Estates Holiday Market, which is at the Community Center from Noon to 6 p.m. 

 

 

Rotating Pop-Up Inventory

Just like those Gardening Best Practices books which suggest that you rotate your veggies in the garden from year to year, Destination: Books is rotating its book inventory for our next pop-up on Saturday morning, October 22nd at the Carter Center's Freedom Farmers Market in Atlanta.

Here's a sample of some of the new titles you can expect to see:

Kew Pocket Books 

Gorgeous botanical illustrations on Herbs and Spices, Wildflowers, Japanese Flowers, Fruit, Festive Flora, Herbs and Spices coupled with detailed captions. Artistry made available from the Royal Botannical Gardens' Kew Library and Archives.

Books about Fabric Dyeing

My longtime partner Denise (who does a lot with fabric) curated these two books that she suggests is inventory worthy. 

The Modern Natural Dyer: A Comprehensive Guide to Dyeing Silk, Wool, Linen and Cotton at Home by Kristine Vijar. This book is kind of Dyeing 101 book written for the person who is just starting to learn about dyeing.

Journeys in Natural Dyeing: Technic for Creating Color at Home by Kristine Vijar. This colorful book is more of an in-depth guide to dyeing techniques from around the world.

 

 

These May Interest as Well

Growing Perennial Foods: A Field Guide to Raising Resilient Herbs, Fruits and Vegetables by Arcadia Tucker. She is the author of the popular Tiny Victory Gardens book, which is a solid book for beginners with limited space.

The Seed Detective: Uncovering the Seed Histories of Remarkable Vegetables by Adam Alexander. Inspiring stories about vegetables.  Putting the culture in horticulture.

 

Fresh Offerings

Here are some of the fresh new titles Destination: Books will be bringing to the Freedom Farmer's Market at the Carter Center on Saturday morning, May 28th. 

You can appreciate how exotic fungi can be by thumbing through the 40 color illustrations in the book Fungi from the Royal Botanical Garden’s Fungarium. Fungi features the work of Elsie Wakefield (1886 -1972), a pioneer female scientist and artist who was the President of the British Mycological Society. (Did you know that children’s author Beatrix Potter was also a mycologist?)

You don’t know beans until you’ve read Susan Young’s Growing Beans: A Diet for Healthy People and Planet a slim reference book that covers the basics: bean types, growing beans, soil preparation, cooking tips, proper seed storage and a guide to beans around the globe with lots of color photographs. (I was so inspired I ran out and planted half a dozen Carson Bush Beans.)

Consider the shrub when planning a more environmentally friendly garden. Martin Crawford’s Shrubs for Gardens, Agroforestry and Permaculture is a complete reference book to identifying the qualities of useful shrubs ranging from common fruit bushes to those that have medicinal parts. According to Crawford, you cannot underestimate the ability of shrubs to fight climate change. The book covers over 60 varieties of shrubs and it identifies which plants grow well in the Southeastern parts of North America. (I am thinking blueberries bushes.)

For a more complete list of Destination: Books's pop-up inventory, visit here. 

 

Destination Books on the Road to Birmingham

Weather permitting, Destination: Books will be taking its pop-up book shop to Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday morning, September 18, 2021. We feature books about gardening, sustainability and food culture. We are a guest of Bonnybee Designs at The Market at Pepper Place.

We return to the Freedom Farmer's Market at the Carter Center in Atlanta on September 25, 2021.