Author: rainyleaf

I love learning about plants and all things related, playing the guitar, hiking, disc golf and reading.
Book Reviews, Recipes

Book Review: The Cook and the Gardener by Amanda Hesser

The Cook and the Gardener, A Year of Recipes and Writings from the French Countryside is primarily a cookbook, but woven among the 632 pages of chopping and measuring, butter and salt are beautifully written words about a french country gardener and how he works and lives.  Amanda Hesser is a cook living in France for a year and Monsieur Milbert the estate gardener.  Through her … Continue reading Book Review: The Cook and the Gardener by Amanda Hesser

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Field Trips

Elisabeth C. Miller Library, Seattle, WA

This is a fun place to visit if you like plants.  No, more than fun.  It’s like discovering the Holy Grail or the lost city of Z.  Combining two things that I love (books and plants)  creates an adventure for me.  With over 15,000 books in the collection, there are endless discoveries waiting to be made.  Topics range from plant species, gardening, design, natives, Pacific … Continue reading Elisabeth C. Miller Library, Seattle, WA

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Plants, Survival in the wild, Trees

Betula jacquemontii Whitebarked Himalayan Birch Tree

Now.  Now on a Saturday.  Now in January.  Now in the winter of the year two thousand and eleven.  What catches your eye now?  Not that beautiful stranger or that creamy chocolate cupcake, botanical interests only please.  With your outside eye, which plants fascinate and enrich during this time of dark-cold?  The birch is one.  With the absence of leafy green, the bark is ‘appealing’ … Continue reading Betula jacquemontii Whitebarked Himalayan Birch Tree

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Plants, Veggies, Fruits and Herbs

Best of the Test Garden, from Organic Gardening Magazine

I’ve enjoyed this great magazine for a long time.  It’s always loaded with advice on growing vegetables and plants and has helped me become a better gardener.  What is organic gardening?  Not using synthetic products for pesticides and fertilizers.  Focusing on soil building and natural pest control.  It’s all about compost and ladybugs!  Here is Organic Gardening’s top ten list from the 2010 test gardens, … Continue reading Best of the Test Garden, from Organic Gardening Magazine

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