Archives for February 16, 2014

Hello friends! And a double hello for all gardening friends visiting on this gorgeous springlike weekend in Oklahoma. I have a lovely surprise for you, and I hope you’ll help spread the word.

Dee Nash, a sweet, smart garden writer and friend from right here in our beautiful home state has published her first gardening book which is every bit as lovely as she is. And, because my luck knows no end, I have been invited to share it with you. 

 Congratulations, Dee! xoxo

 

Not only do I get to introduce this book to you, but I also get to give one lucky reader a fabulous garden prize, courtesy of Longfield Gardens! I’m not alone, either. The (Not Always) Lazy W, incredibly, is part of a whole group of beautiful blogs gathered to offer Dee our support. Each one is giving away a different amazing prize. (Scroll to the bottom for a complete list. They are all worth visiting and following!)

You will remember Dee from last summer when she visited the farm and let me interview her about all kinds of great things.  She shared with me about her life, loves, garden experiences, dreams, and plans. She and her husband Bill have grown a truly beautiful life together, the garden being only a part.

Dee snapped a few photos of me in my own garden, too, and just flat out inspired me in every way.  I so enjoyed that day and over the few short years knowing Dee have learned so much.

 

 

 

Dee gets it when a person waxes poetic over home-grown vegetables or flushes about which perennials are best suited to Oklahoma. In fact, after our interview hours at the farm that day, she and I visited a local tree plantation and explored for another hour or so.  She squealed over citrus trees and crepe myrtles like a new mother picking out ruffled baby clothes. To match her contagious passion, Dee is extremely knowledgeable and eager to share her knowledge. Are you following her blog? You really should. You can also find her on Facebook under that blog’s name as well right here as under the new book’s title. She posts fabulous growing ideas nearly every day, and she is wonderful about answering gardening questions.

Now her first book is being released. The 20-30 Something Guide to Gardening. You can pre-order it on Amazon and I hope you do. I have been gifted a copy and am in love.

Dee’s book is aimed at young adults with an interest in growing their own food and flowers but perhaps also with a knowledge gap.  She inspires and informs with page after page of easy but smart text and short, fun lists, all fully illustrated with her own drop-dead-gorgeous photos. I felt ahead of time that her book would be beautiful, but when I first saw the finished product I was floored.

As you thumb through it, you will feel your gardening energies bubble up to the surface just begging to be released onto the nearest expanse of dirt. She explains things so well that your fears dissolve into possibility. I really wish I had read this book when I was digging my first garden, and I intend to stockpile several copies to distribute to young people in my life.

 

 

 

I really cannot say enough about how much I appreciate my friendship with this woman. A little smidgen of Oklahoma luck brought us together as bloggers, and I look forward to knowing her and learning from her for a long time. Please check out her book and her blog. Please dig a garden and grow your own stuff. It’s just the way to do things.

Now let’s have a giveaway, shall we?

The prizes available right here at the Lazy W are just lovely. I want them myself! Big thank you owed to Longfield Gardens, you can win 25 daffodil bulbs and 25 tulip bulbs, a grand total of 50 high quality, colorful flowering bulbs for your garden! Remember, you can plant these pretty things in a million ways, maybe in a border and maybe in your edible garden. Read Dee’s book for suggestions. ; )

(I’m so jealous of whoever wins this!)

 

• Comment here, telling me what you grow or what you want to grow.
• Subscribe to new posts from the Lazy W.
• Follow me on Twitter (@thelazyw) and tell me howdy.
• Tweet about this giveaway and let me know you did.
• Share this giveaway on Facebook and let me know you did.
• “Like” this blog on Facebook and say howdy.
• “Like” Dee’s blog on Facebook and let me know you did.
• Visit as many of the other fabulous bloggers also participating and share in their giveaway fun, too. Dee keeps really good company! I am humbled to be included.
• The giveaway is open right now and all week, right up until next Sunday, February 23rd.
• Check back in anytime and watch for the winner to be announced on Monday, February 24.
• This giveaway is limited to the United States, for shipping reasons only.

Enter as often as you please. I am so excited for one of you to get your hands on these flower bulbs and for ALL of you to get your hands on this book! I already love mine.

Now, before you go… Remember to spend a few minutes visiting each of these wonderful ladies. You can glean something different from each of them and WIN something different, too:

1. Shawna Coronado website — gift certificate to High Country Gardens for a Summer Dreams Garden.
2. Whitney Curtis at the Curtis Casa — David Austin Rose, ‘Princess Alexandra of Kent’ and Authentic Haven Brand Moo Poo Tea.
3. Colleen Dieter at Red Wheelbarrow Plants — Garden Girl shorts and Fiskars PowerGear 18” loppers.
4. Robin Haglund at Garden Mentors — Buckaroo Worm Castings, a hula planter and Empire Soil Builder, from Sanctuary Soil.
5. Rachel Hough at The Domestic Artiste — Fiskars Tools, two sets of loppers, one is the PowerGear Lopper 32” and the other Power-Lever 28”.
6. Niki Jabbour at Niki Jabbour, The Year Round Veggie Gardener.
7. Carmen Johnston at Carmen Johnston Gardens — Garden Girl pants with knee pads and a David Austin rose, ‘The Alnwick Rose’ catalog link for ordering bare root roses.
8. Carol Michel at May Dreams Gardens — DeWit Tool kit and Botanical Interests Organic Heirloom Seed Bank Collection. 
9. Pam Penick at Digging — Three small Bee Preservers, www.glassgardensnw.com.
10. Jenny Peterson and J. Peterson Garden Design — SeedKeepers Deluxe seedkeeper and Burlap Girdle.
11. Genevieve Schmidt at North Coast Gardening — Annie’s Annuals gift certificate and Keira Watering Cans.
12. Marie Wreath at the (Not Always) Lazy W — Longfield Gardens tulips & daffs 

 

Aren’t those all great prizes?

Warmest congratulations, Dee! I am so happy for you. And I am so grateful for the incredible amount of passion and expertise you poured into this work. What will you write for us next?

Happy gardening!

XOXOXOXO