beck by design

I’m itching for Spring to get here….and stay. I live in Indiana and one day last week it was 70 degrees, and then today is was SNOWING. Seriously. Not okay. I can see my tulips peeking through the ground and am getting excited to plant my garden and hopefully build a few new raised beds. This brings me to the recent book I had the opportunity to read….it only sparked my outdoor planning even more!

The book is Martha’s Flowers: A Practical Guide to Growing, Gathering, And Enjoying by Martha Stewart and Kevin Sharkey. This 281 page hardback book is packed with gorgeous photos and wonderful step-by-step guides to prepping, planting, growing and arranging. One of my favorite aspects of the book is the way it’s sorted – if you’re anything like me, I struggle with remembering the seasons specific flower types are at their prime, so the cool thing is beginning from the Table of Contents, the book is organized by seasons (i.e. Signs of Spring, Summer’s Bounty and Early Autumn). And the book certainly addresses some beautiful looking and smelling flowers (i.e. Tulips, Hydrangeas, Sunflowers, Peonies, etc.)

This was a great book to cozy up with a cup of coffee, look at gorgeous arrangements (major props to the many photographers, credited on pg. 283), get glimpses of stories and  tidbits of Martha Stewart’s life growing up with a grandmother who loved gardening and passed down many helpful hints, but then also gaining a wealth of knowledge concerning various types of each flower discussed (when to grow, the zone to grown, how to prune, how much to water, how to maintain, etc.) – listen friends, have a highlighter and plenty of post-it notes ready so you can mark up your book like I did!

There are various passages from this book that I found inspiring and helpful. A fun fact I learned while reading was on pg. 122, when peonies were being discussed. The author explained, “Marco Polo once likened peonies to “roses as big as cabbages. With their big blossoms, it doesn’t take many peonies to form a perfect dome – and to make a lasting impression.” I do not have much experience with peonies, but right after I read that “plant peonies” was listed on my gardening 2018 list.

I highly recommend this book – it will be something I certainly hang on to and use as an excellent resource while planning my upcoming garden, and then during the winter months when I need to see some beautiful flowers and dream of the upcoming warm months.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.