The 5 Best Gardening Books by English Experts
When I peruse my bookshelf, I often gravitate toward the same old cluster of gardening books. They’re by the most prominent British horticulturalists of the 19th and 20th centuries. The designers who built the most spectacular estates in England. They experimented with the concepts of outdoor rooms, mixed borders, and designing with focal points or natural features. While classic European gardens featured the formality of hedges and geometric patterns, these British visionaries broke away from that formality. They created a new, inventive, naturalistic art. The Gardens of Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude…
When You Take the Stairs, You Find a More Painful but Rewarding Path
Recently I found an older book with some lasting ideas. Rory Vaden’s Take the Stairs offers great inspiration for those looking to stop procrastinating in all areas of their life. The one aspect though most people won’t want to hear is succeeding in life takes self-discipline. Vaden says you can’t succeed if you take shortcuts, like an escalator. Only if you take the stairs will you build muscle. Similarly, if you take care of the hardest tasks again and again, especiallys when you don’t feel like it, you will accomplish…
A Book of Super Advice is Super Attractor
Make no mistake. Self-help writer Gabrielle Bernstein’s latest book, Super Attractor, is definitely woo-woo. It offers mantras, it’s got the word “Universe,” all over it, it references the famous channeler Abraham. If you’re the kind of reader who makes fun of touchy-feely, pseudo-psychological books, then this book is not for you. But if you’re the kind of reader who can see past that and take the author’s advice for what it is, then you’ll get quite a bit out of this book. What’s It About? The premise launches from that…
My First Nonfiction Book Explores How to be Happy Through Plants!
Hi everyone, You may have noticed that last year I got interested in the mental health benefits of plants. I spent a bunch of time reading up on the latest science to see if a theory I’ve had for a while held any water. Mainly, that plants can help us be happier even if you don’t have a garden. What I found impressed me. The short answer is yes but how you go about engaging with plants makes all the difference. It’s not like you can say “good morning” to…
One Idea to Conquer the Gloomy Monday Blues
Good morning, my fellow living soul. I woke up this Monday feeling down, despite a good night’s sleep. I dragged myself out of bed, even though it was warm and I was still sleepy, and I forced myself to exercise and get to work. As I did, I lamented the low bank of clouds that often push over Seattle during this time of year. Clouds cover the sun and darken the sky, rain taps steadily, and the house is dark. Only lamps artificially light my way. I feel a little…
