Synopses & Reviews
Ever since she was old enough to help her grandmother in the garden, Sharon Lovejoy has spent her life working with plants--and along the way, through "trowel and error," she's accumulated hundreds and hundreds of remedies, tips, short-cuts, and cure-alls. Now Ms. Lovejoy--author of
Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots and the award-winning
Sunflower Houses--does for the garden what Heloise or the Queen of Clean does for the household.
Trowel and Error collects all of her homespun garden advice into an inviting, environmentally friendly, whimsically illustrated yet dead-on helpful book that will benefit every gardener, beginner or experienced.
Cure plant viruses with spoiled milk. Steep a natural and effective insecticide out of fresh basil. Place flat stones under squash or melons to hasten ripening. Recycle an old apple corer as the perfect dibber for muscari and other small bulbs. Start rosemary cuttings in a green glass bottle. Sprinkle baby powder over seedlings to discourage rabbits. Crush a garlic clove and apply it to your skin as an insect repellent. From urging the reader to take an occasional shower with the houseplants to giving all-natural gardenside first aid, Trowel and Error is a direct line to the kind of practical wisdom that comes only after a lifetime of experience. The book is indexed by problem, plant, pest, and solution, and includes a list of tools and common household items--borax, cornmeal, vinegar--that completes the gardener's arsenal.
Synopsis
Ms. Lovejoy--author of "Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots" and the award-winning "Sunflower Houses"--does for the garden what Heloise or the Queen of Clean does for the household. "Trowel and Error" collects all of her homespun advice into an inviting, environmentally friendly, illustrated book that will benefit every gardener, beginner or experienced.
Synopsis
Hundreds of organic gardening tips and homespun remedies that come only from season after season of experience--a perfect gift for the green thumb. Born of necessity and ingenuity and honed through years of "trowel and error," these helpful hints include environmentally friendly ammunition against weeds and pests, shortcuts for cultivation and propagation, and clever uses for curious household items. And every page is charmingly illustrated with Sharon Lovejoy's watercolor art.
Find tips such as: - Take a shower with your houseplants
- Cure plant viruses with milk
- Recycle an old wheelbarrow into a movable flower bed
- Use empty citrus fruit rinds as seedling pots
About the Author
Sharon Lovejoy, an author, illustrator, lecturer, and teacher, is the children's garden adviser to the American Horticultural Society, and has been a guest on Today at NBC, PBS's Victory Garden, and the Discovery Channel. She speaks at conferences and gardening organizations around the country. She has four grandchildren, and divides her time between San Luis Obispo, California, and South Bristol, Maine.