Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: Handmade Garden Projects

Lorene Edwards Forkner

I had the pleasure of meeting Lorene Edwards Forkner and visiting her garden in Seattle last summer, when I attended the Bloggers' Fling held there. The entire event was fabulous - my first visit to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest - and it was a treat to see so many wonderful gardens.

If you've ever met Lorene, you know that she's a bundle of energy and you rarely ever see her without a smile on her face. Her gardens reflect that energy and her creativity shines in all the personal touches she put there. Many of those things I saw in her garden are illustrated in her new book, Handmade Garden Projects: Step-by-Step Instructions for Creative Garden Features, Containers, Lighting & More.

How can one person come up with so many unique ideas? I'm not kidding. This book is crammed with them. And there isn't a single one that is difficult to pull off. She gives excellent and easy-to-follow instructions for each little thing.

Take this fold-away potting bench, for instance:

I liked it when I saw it in her garden and I was glad to see it in her book.

And then there are homemade fireflies. So cute! She uses LED lights, coin batteries and magnets. I really want to know how she thought of this. Brilliant, when placed on magnetic surfaces, such as shepherd's crooks.

Like this terrarium table? Lorene shows how to make it from
an industrial light fixture.

There are trellises and fountains and stepping stones and objets d'art. There are things I never would have thought of in a million years. A turf tattoo??? Seriously.

How-tos for this old world water fountain are in the book.

This is really a fun book. Timber Press sent a copy to me free of charge and they're going to send one to one lucky reader of this blog, too! All you have to do to enter the random drawing is to leave a comment here, telling me if you have ever handmade anything especially for your garden and what it was.

I'll use the Random.org random number generator to choose a winner from all the entries. Be sure I've got a way to contact you if you're the winner. Giveaway ends at midnight EDT, on Monday, May 21, 2012.

You can have more chances to win at these blogs, which are also part of the virtual book tour. Not all blogs are doing a giveaway, but they're all raving about the book!

http://www.amateurbot-ann-ist.com

http://torontogardens.blogspot.com

http://wwwrockrose.blogspot.com

http://heavypetal.ca
http://www.debraprinzing.com
http://www.thebikegarden.com
http://bonneylassie.blogspot.com

http://www.growingagardenindavis.com

http://bwisegardening.blogspot.com

http://www.houstongardengirl.com

http://www.bumblebeeblog.com

http://www.commonweeder.com

http://www.vintagegardengal.com

Lorene's "Field Office."  Isn't this fun?

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WINNER!! According to Random.org, it pays to be prompt! Laura Thomas, you win! Please email me through my profile and let me know your shipping address so I can provide it to Timber Press. CONGRATULATIONS!

And thank you to all who entered. More giveaways to come!

Guest Post - My Mom

Christmas 2011

Many of you have gotten to know my mom through my blog a little bit and several of you have had the pleasure of meeting her in person. You know that she's a whirling dervish, with a passion for gardening and the energy of three people. That's why she has accomplished so much in her life. My dad has done his best to keep up with her, helping her implement many of her ideas, and the two of them will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on June 8th this year.

On more than one occasion, Mom has talked about starting a blog. I know she'd have a lot to say. But she has never gotten around to it, because that would mean she'd have to sit down too long. So I asked her if she would like to do a guest post here on Our Little Acre. As proof that the grass doesn't have a chance to grow under her feet, it was in my inbox about an hour after I'd made the suggestion.

My mom has been a lifelong gardener and though I know she wished I'd taken the same interest in it years ago, I'm a world-reknowned procrastinator. Better late than never though. But make no mistake - she has been the inspiration for me, and I'm doing my best to pass that passion for growing on to my own girls. My 97-year-old grandma was a gardener, too. So the legacy continues...

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Having grown up as a farm girl, I have always been close to the earth. I have driven a tractor in preparing the soil for planting soybeans, corn, and wheat - principal crops that my father grew. We still have the family farm.

Mom, my Aunt Kay, and Grandma
1944

Through all these years, I knew the need to preserve the land for future generations. Dad always said they could always make more money, but they cannot make more land. We had a vegetable garden, livestock, and learned to preserve our food. We enjoyed the beauty of the landscape.

It has always been important to impart all of this to Kylee. We had her in 4H where she had a flower garden project. Not until I shared a major flower show with her did she become inspired. Many, many, flower shows we have now attended. It is so much fun sharing a passion with your best friend.

Through Kylee's blog and her community of gardeners, I have had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful gardeners, so filled with knowledge on most any subject. I love the educational seminars, display gardens, new products and the introduction of new plants at the shows. Other gardeners have taught me so much.

I am active within our city, being instrumental in establishing a children's garden, and I belong to two garden clubs, and help with the landscaping of our church. I glean as much information as  I can from my peers and bring it home to execute it.

It is so fun to pick up a magazine or book and to be able to put a face to the writer. By Kylee and I traveling together we get to see gardening in different parts of the country. Even though we are in different zones, we are in unison - stewards of the earth.

First, Kylee learned from me; now I learn from her. God is good.

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Happy Mother's Day, Mom. Thank you for the lessons you've taught me, in gardening and life. I love you and hope we can share it all for many more years. 

Mother's Day 2011

Please Don't Make Me Eat Them

I hate fresh tomatoes.

Let’s let that sink in a little bit.







For those of you who love them and live for the summer days when you can sink your teeth into those love apples – really now, love apples??? – it has been brought to my attention that I just might not be American, what with hating fresh tomatoes and everything. But I thought it was “baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.” Check, check, check and my-first-car-was-a-Chevy-Nova check.

'Brandywine' tomatoes in my 2008 garden

They’re red. I’ll give you that. Red is, after all, my favorite color. In fact, tomato red is my favorite shade of said color. I’ve got something red in just about every room of my house, (though no single room is predominately red). Just don’t put those red fruits in my mouth unless they’re cooked.

Don’t get me wrong. I like tomatoes in general. I think they’re a respectable fruit (yeah, I know, I keep saying fruit; that’s because technically they are) and the heirloom varieties are downright gorgeous. I’ve grown ‘Cherokee Purple’ for several years just because I think they’re pretty and it’s en vogue to grow heirloom tomatoes. They make your garden look better just by being in it.

My husband likes tomatoes, so being a good wife and all, I grow some just for him. I put out one regular-sized tomato plant and at least one cherry tomato variety, because he likes to just walk out to the garden and pop ‘em in his mouth. I tried that once, on a dare. Never again.

I kind of wish I liked them. Eating fresh tomatoes is like drinking coffee. Everyone drinks it, right? Nuh-uh. I don’t like coffee either. Or tea. I kind of wish I liked all three. I mean, fresh tomatoes are good for you. And they’re freakin’ everywhere! I swear. On sandwiches, in salads, at roadside stands, on a bajillion blogs… There are even entire blogs devoted to just tomatoes. Blows my mind.

'Cherokee Purple' - 2009

Before you unfriend me on Facebook simply because you think you can no longer be friends with someone who doesn't like fresh tomatoes, consider this. I like other things that a lot of people don’t. Like Cream of Wheat. Yum, oh yum yum yum. Add some butter and top with sugar and I’m in heaven. Add milk and sugar and cinnamon and ohhh, baby. It’s a dessert! And I like braunschweiger. With ketchup. That’s pork liver sausage. See? We’re even.

I’ll let you sneak fresh tomatoes into some of my food, if you chop them up finely enough. Little cubes about a half-inch square (don’t you dare make them any bigger) are somewhat acceptable, if I have to eat them. But don’t overdo it. Just a few, please. And could you get rid of those disgusting seeds? Thank you.

'Brandywine' - 2008

My eating just a few in this way was a giant step for tomato-kind and salad pushers everywhere. I never used to eat lettuce either. It’s still not my favorite thing – I prefer spinach (but don’t you dare cook that) – and I wouldn’t eat either one of them if it weren’t for the salad dressing. And let’s not even discuss peppers, okay?

It was just five years ago or so that I started eating cucumbers. I’m a pickle-lover from way back, but pure, unadulterated cucumbers? I had to grow into those. I’ve always thought they smelled fabulous and I could be found huffing cut cucumbers in the kitchen on occasion, but the thought of eating them sent me running far, far away. Then one day, for some unexplained reason, I tried a slice – I think there might have been alcohol involved – and what do you know? Them’s GOOD!

Perhaps there’s hope for me and fresh tomatoes yet, but don't bet this year's tomato crop on it. Until then, if you’re one of those crazy people that like them, come and sit by me at the dinner table. I’ll give mine to you. You're welcome.

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And just so you know, I'm not alone in The Fresh Tomato Haters Club.  I've got comrades. No kidding.  Here's proof:

"Confessions of a Mater Hater" by The Grumpy Gardener (Steve Bender)

"My Seedy Little Secret" by Christopher Tidrick at From the Soil