I love bundling up in tights and scarves and sweaters, drinking hot tea, and reading by our little fireplace in the cold months. Winter seems to be my most bookish season, the time of the year when nature tucks me inside to read the most. But these last few days of sunshine have given me an early case of spring fever, and all I want to do is be outside in the glow. Today as I ate lunch in my backyard, I noticed tiny baby mushrooms sprouting up all over the place, and I was struck by their unassuming beauty. I studied our shriveled brown Muscadine vines and remembered how full and green they had been last August. I could barely believe it was the same plant that had sagged heavy with fruit back in its glory days…and that somehow it’s going to bear fruit again in a few months.
Looking around at all the life in my yard—and all the space for more plants to grow—made me really want to adopt gardening as a hobby. We just revamped our whole gardening section at Lemuria, jogging my memory about how many amazing books we have. If you are a novice or an old pro, or if you just know someone else who loves to grow things, you should come in and check out the shelves of green.
If you’re just starting out (can I say green?)…
Check out the how-to books on growing practically anything, as well as our shelves for landscape design and outdoor space planning. If you haven’t had the best luck with plants and want to start somewhere easy, read up on succulents and cacti! (Aloe plants are incredibly forgiving…I once forgot mine for a year and it still soothed my sunburned shoulders.)
If you have dirt under your fingernails already…
Look at the A-Z plant section, gardening journals, books with pruning tips, and your favorite books on Southern gardening (with all the best from Felder Rushing and Norman Winter, of course).
If you’re short on space but need a little more oxygen in your life…
Take heart! We have tons of tomes on container/small space/square foot gardening.
If you want to make your yard more kid-friendly…
Peruse our books on gardening projects for the whole family…and the TREE HOUSE section. Even if you don’t have kids.
If you’re buying a gift for your green-thumbed friend…
We have a whole shelf devoted to the most beautiful gardens of the world and another shelf full of writing about gardening—these are great gifts.
If you enjoy time in the kitchen as well as time outdoors…
Read our extensive selection on herbs, organic vegetable gardening, and urban farming.
If you want to show Mother Nature some love…
Read about composting! We have some pretty cool books to steer you in the right direction.
Eager beavers who want to dive in right now: it’s a great time to start some cabbage, lettuce, and beets, and you can go ahead and get your zinnias and poppies germinating. I’ll probably wait until it warms up a little more. Until then, I’ll cozy up with some gardening books and savor last year’s Muscadine jelly from my backyard.
Written by Marianna
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