Every Garden Is a Story: Stories, Crafts, and Comforts

By Susannah Seton

A cornucopia of gardening tips, recipes, crafts, gift ideas, stories, and more from the author of Simple Pleasure of the Kitchen.

“May All Your Weeds Be Wildflowers,” reads author Susannah Seton’s garden plaque, and in Every Garden Is a Story, she teaches how to grow your own wildflower meadow and offers advice on how to keep all the fresh cut flowers from the meadow lasting even longer. She reminds us of a whimsical childhood with accounts of Ghost Gardens and the gathering of Fairy Bouquets, and she awakens us gently with the reminder to detoxify your garden and be kind to the giving Earth.

Every Garden Is a Story shows us just how much we can learn from our gardens. From Seton’s stories about her father’s quest for a seven-headed sweet pea to tales cancer survival to magical portraits of moon gardens, this book takes us on our own journey down the garden path. Each passage offers something special, like details on how to care for ourselves and our loved ones by caring for our Earth, plus tips, recipes, crafts, and ideas for gifts that keep giving back. There’s even an extensive resource section of garden centers, online seed catalogs, and recommended reading!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Nov 1, 2007
• ISBN: 9781609253486

Susannah Seton

Susannah Seton is the author of the Simple Pleasures series, which includes titles such as Simple Pleasures of the Home, Simple Pleasures for the Holidays and 365 Simple Pleasures. When Seton was young, she would listen to her grandparents tell stories of when they were young, and the fun they would have even though all the stories were based around the simplest actions: new recipes they would make in a new house, road trips, early mornings by the water, and so much more. This made Seton realize that it wasn’t what we had, but our mindsets that made life enjoyable. Seton began writing the Simple Pleasures series with one goal in mind: to remind her readers that even the smallest things in life can bring us immense joy.  She currently lives in Berkeley, California, with her husband and daughter.

Book preview

DOWN THE GARDEN PATH

Whenever I arrive in my garden, I make the tour. By making the tour, I mean only that I step from the front window, turn to the right, and make an infinitely detailed examination of every foot of ground, every shrub and tree, walking always over an appointed course.

There are certain very definite rules to be observed when you are making the tour. The chief rule is that you must never take anything out of its order. You may be longing to see if a crocus has come out in the orchard, but it is strictly forbidden to look before you have inspected all the various beds, bushes, and trees that lead up to the orchard.

One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides.

W. E. JOHNS

You must not look at the bed ahead before you have finished with the bed immediately in front of you. You may see, out of the corner of your eye, a gleam of strange and unsuspected scarlet in the next bed, but you must steel yourself against rushing to this exciting blaze, and you must stare with cool eyes at the earth in front, which is apparently blank, until you have made certain that it is not hiding anything. Otherwise, you will find that you rush wildly round the garden, discover one or two sensational events, and then decide that nothing else has happened.

INNER PEACE

Working in the garden gives me a profound feeling of inner peace. Nothing here is in a hurry. There is no rush toward accomplishment, no blowing of trumpets. Here is the great mystery of life and growth. Everything is changing, growing, aiming at something, but silently, unboastfully, taking its time.

HIS SOUL WALKED WITH FLOWERS

My father was an ambitious man, though not in the usual way. His garden of beautiful roses was important to him, but most of all, he wanted, with all of his heart, to grow a seven-headed sweet pea. To his knowledge, this had never been done before.

The harsh climate and stony soil of the nor theast coast of England was more conducive to the production of stalwart vegetables, coarse in quality but gargantuan in size. Local gardeners competed in shows for the biggest and best. My father was a different kind of dreamer. His soul walked with flowers.

Each flower is a soul opening out to nature.

GÉRARD DE NERVAL

We lived in a dirty, decaying city grappling with the decline of ship building and coal mining. Our small red brick house was skirted on three sides by the tiniest of gardens, its perimeters defined by the ubiquitous privet hedge. Reluctant sun struggled through the constant, dour overcast of clouds and was mostly blocked by nearby buildings. Did he not realize that roses needed

Reviews for Every Garden Is a Story

[biunicorn_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Every Garden is a StoryStories, Crafts, and Comfortsby compiled by Susannah Seton This 127 page beauty was a pleasure to review. I have always had gardens in some form throughout my life, and it was a thrill to read personal stories from others who love and respect them as much as I do. There was everything from recipes, to awesome spectacular pictures with many dashes of wisdom and humor thrown in. There were so many wonderful projects that it was hard to decide which one I would chose for this planting season, so I chose two. The first one is about having a wildflower garden right in my backyard, and the second one is to keep a journal of my garden complete with pics and mementos along the way. I would recommend this special find to anyone who appreciates the power of flowers. Thanks Susannah, You've done it again. Love & Light, Riki Frahmann