Spring Fling Giveaway: Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots
Today’s giveaway is a beautifully illustrated book by Sharon Lovejoy titled “Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children.”
From her biography:
For the first seven years of her life, Sharon Lovejoy was introduced to the wonders of nature by her Quaker grandmother Abigal Lovejoy, a botanist and an educator. As an adult, Sharon’s passion for the natural world guided her to become an award winning nature, gardening, and children’s book author and water color illustrator.
This book brings a dash of whimsy, a sprinkle of adventure, and a whole cup full of imagination into the outdoor garden. Ms. Lovejoy provides recipes, planting plans, and activities for kids. The boys and I are attempting to grow gourds for birdhouses this year, and I was excited to find guides on hole sizes for various bird species in her book.
From Amazon.com
Learn how to make everything from a pizza garden (pizza-pie-shaped, with herbs and vegetables for a fabulous pizza at harvest time), to a sunflower house (a secret hideaway with stately sunflowers and lovely creeping morning glories), to a moon garden (“Fragrance is the color of night”). Chock full of helpful hints, clever and artistic touches, and intriguing “recipes” (Moth Broth and Compost Sandwich, to name a few), this idea book will spark creativity and a lifelong fascination with gardening. Nine concepts for theme gardens are presented in a clearly defined yet non-rigid manner that is just right for encouraging young gardeners.
To enter this giveaway, follow this blog, Love Sown, and leave a comment below on your favorite childhood memory of gardening or helping a family member in the garden. You may have a second entry by liking the page on Facebook and leaving a comment below. (One comment for each entry!)
One winner will be selected at random Monday, April 25 and announced here.
The winner of this giveaway is Larkrise garden girl! Congrats and thanks to everyone who shared their wonderful memories!
13 Comments
The Conservationist
I remember helping my grandpa (who passed away last year) to hoe rows of corn and potatoes and plant strawberries when I was about 7. We worked really hard, and we were always dirty. It always made the watermelons that much more sweet in the summer!
Quirky Mama
Not a 'favorite' but one that sticks out in my mind is when I was about 6 years old I cut my elderly neighbors beautiful flowers. My mother was so upset and we went to apologize and our neighbor was so kind and understanding.
Quirky Mama
I like Love Sown on fb 🙂
regan
I don't have many recollections of gardening as a child. I wish I did, but, alas I'm the only gardener in my family! I do remember visiting my grandmother one summer when she had a veggie garden and I LOVED the fresh cucumbers from the garden with a little bit of salt and pepper on them. Yum!
regan
I like Love Sown on fb.
And that same summer I remember my grandmother taking a bite from a tomato like it was an apple. I thought that was absolutely disgusting. Now, though, I would do that in a heartbeat! 😉
m.o.M.
I was in second or third grade when I came home from school one day and said to my mother, "How come your knees are always muddy and your hands are dirty? Why can't you be soft and smell like cookies like everyone else's mother?"
Last week, my third grader came home to find me harvesting worm castings.
Circle of life, huh?
Larkrise garden girl
I think one of my earliest gardening memories was of my Tata's simple vegetable garden. My grandfather lived in the barrio of San diego and in those days you could have chickens in the middle of the city which I found wonderful as a child. Every Sunday no matter what we would visit Tata and Nana.I would see him tending his zucchini and taking care of his squash, pumpkins and tomatoes.Those were days when you used what you had to garden new seedlings. The happy memories of his cut up milk cartons filled with vegetable seedlings all in a row. My Tata which is a hispanic equivilent to grandfather would be bent over working away with the sounds of his chickens in their coop laying eggs daily for the family. One day while playing I ran through his garden and broke off a beautiful long squash. I was frightened and as a small child sure to be in trouble!I confessed my story to him, he just smiled patted my head and all was forgiven.I still cherish the thought of how sweet he was with his sweet blue eyes and his kind gardening ways.I saw how my grandfather could use what he had and make wonderful dishes of Pumpkin pie and calabacitas a hispanic dish made with squash.I think of my Tata who would merge the two worlds with his little vegetable garden in the middle of a big city.
Carolyn Padalino
Granddaddy planted the green beans every year. Grandmommie canned the green beans every year. In 2008, my husband and I spent several weekends learning how to plant and nourish the green beans with Granddaddy instructing. 2-3 months later, I spent 8 hot hours learning to can green beans with Grandmommie instructing. The beans we can still don't taste the same.
Mama Goose
I am a follower of this blog. Several gardening memories stick out, but there are two main ones. My grandfather (who is now 91) had a huge garden every year, and up until last year continued to plant tomatoes, corn, potatoes and squash. We lived close by them, and several different years he helped us kids plant our own garden to tend. For whatever reason, the garden was a good ways away from the house, and watering the garden involved hauling gallon jugs of water from our house to the garden. It was pretty awful in the hot, muggy August evenings. Perhaps this is why I suck at watering my garden now (my tiny little garden that has easy access to the rain barrel…).
Debbie
My favorite memory is gardening with my grandma. She taught me all I know about gardening and collecting seeds.
One Woman's Journey
My favorite memories are of my mother and grandmother gardening. They passed that love down to me. I am alive when I am near plants and dirt 🙂
Marqueta (Mar-keet-a)
Hello there! I just found your blog through Sharon's blog; I'll become a follower as soon as I finish this comment! 🙂
My favorite gardening memories are of my grandfather. Every year he planted hot pink petunias and sweetpeas; they were my grandma's favorite color.
Love,
Marqueta
Larkrise garden girl
I was so excited to wake up with the wonderful news I won the giveaway. Since I am going to be a new grandma in a couple months this book will be something I can enjoy! Sharon lovejoy is such a good author and I will treasure this book finding fun ways to teach my grandboy to love the garden like I do every day.Thank You so very much! Cheri