Books and Gardening, Gardening and Books
Season 7, Episode 4, December 11, 2024
This week’s episode was very chatty. As usual, we chatted about our garden updates. They were all over the place. Listen to hear more. I’m still trying to get the rest of those late bulbs in the ground. We then went on to discuss amaryllis, holy basil, some dirt about Honeycrisp apples, and several books we are enjoying including The Botanists' Library.
Carol’s shared an instagram reel about her bird invasion. It’s that time of year when starlings are on the move.
During the holiday season, our thoughts also turn to home-baked cookies.l I made snickerdoodles the other day, and I’m considering making cookies with my adult children. We shall see.
When we got to our main flower topic, new ideas for amaryllis, we went on for quite a while. John Scheepers is a great place to buy unique varieties and has excellent info on growing amaryllis bulbs. One thing we forgot to mention, amaryllis have no scent which is great for people who have trouble with scents. Here’s a Family Handyman article: How to Keep an Amaryllis Alive. If you buy them already potted up, watch out for mosses like Spanish moss that can encourage fungus gnats.
It’s the Advent season so we discussed Holy Basil for our vegetable topic. Use an affiliate link below to buy seeds if you’d like to help the podcast. Holy basil is so easy to grow and is a beautiful plant that pollinators and people love.
On our bookshelf was The Botantists’ Library: The Most Important Botanical Books in History by Carolyn Fry & Emma Wayland (Ivy Press, a Quarto Imprint) (Amazon) This is an important book that would make a good gift for the serioius horticulturist and/or gardener in your life.
Our dirt was “How Honeycrisp Apples Went from Marvelous to Mediocre” on Serious Eats. What do you think of Honeycrisp, and if you like it, in which part of the country do you live?
Our rabbit holes involved many books. Listen to the episode to hear more.
I’m reading Reclaiming Quiet by Sarah Clarkson as part of my Advent practice. (Amazon link). Check out the author’s instagram, Sarah Clarkson’s Instagram - Sarah Wanders. I also looked into the Ascension Press App this year, but I don’t have the energy.
Carol read an advanced reader copy of The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict (Feb. 11, 2025) (Amazon link), and it started her down another rabbit hole, of course.
And that’s another episode! Let us know your favorite part or if you have ideas for topics you’d like us to cover in a future episode.
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For more info on Carol visit her website. Visit her blog, May Dreams Gardens and check out her new weekly newsletter, In the Garden With Carol.
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