The depths of winter, with a global pandemic raging, a nine-month old puppy racing around the house, and two children homeschooling from the kitchen table, is hardly the time to write a book about gardening. But through the mess and uncertainty of it all, I found solace in the garden. Soon enough, winter gave way to spring, and as other pandemic trends came and went – sourdough starters, banana bread loaves, pajama-bottom-dress-shirt combos – there wasn’t a day when gardening wasn’t on my mind.
When I wasn’t buying seeds, I was sowing them; when I wasn’t sowing them, I was growing them. When the house became too cagey and my nervous system filled to the brim, I escaped out back and let the garden work its magic. I tended to my garden but my garden also tended to me.
From all that tending came this book, which covers the nuts and bolts of creating and caring for a garden —planning, building, planting, tending, and harvesting—followed by a deeper dive into the plants themselves: demystifying annuals vs. perennials, cold-weather vs. warm-weather veggies, and profiles of common crops.
Throughout, you'll find tips for creating an eco-friendly garden, such as by vermicomposting, no-till “lasagna” gardening, and attracting pollinators. You’ll also find fun and hands-on projects for adults and children alike – building a bean teepee, growing a sunflower house, crafting wildflower seed paper, making up-cycled chair planters, baking with edible flowers, and more.
In writing this book, I’ve tried to draw on all I’ve learned from the wonderful gardens and gardeners I’ve known in my life, from my grandparents on through the farmers I lived with in West Africa on to my own son and daughter, carefully culling and curating all that experience into something that could guide the most ardent of beginners while still being of interest to the greenest of thumbs.