Some people plant a few flowers. Some grow veggies in summer. Maybe they have a little spider plant or bamboo in the office.
I am not exactly one of those people. My philodendron extends from one pot on a shelf across three walls in my dining room. The Maple sapling in my front yard cries when temperatures top 100 degrees. Starbucks baristas across the city save coffee grounds for me. Plant catalogs choke my mailbox and, yes, this 69 year old Master Gardener owns a tractor.
I can get somewhat obsessive about it all. My husband has grown accustomed to my insistence that vacations must be planned around key times for vegetable garden harvesting. I write two page long watering instructions for house sitters in the fervent desire that leaving for a week won’t destroy the charm and beauty of my home environment.
I’ve been told my unusual methods of approaching the challenges of the garden are effective, and I’ve given lectures for gardening clubs on various aspects of gardening from creating microclimates in high desert areas to vacuuming squash bugs. My friends smile and call me eccentric, fellow gardeners acknowledge me as competent and my kids just think I’m kinda quirky.
Comments from prereaders:
From Fil Chavez, author of “Unused Towels”
MAD MAD MAD . . . with lots of really good advice!
I am not a serious gardener, I am more of a “Well, I tried but …” Nonetheless, this is indeed CRAZY MAD HUMOR … i.e., “squash bugs …. Horniest critters in the insect world … Live in a constant state of post-coital euphoria … take a cold bath.”
and it gets better! It is definitely worth getting the book. Thanks, Rosie!
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Alan E. Diehl, Ph.D.
“This is a lady who obviously knows her way around the garden and shares a wealth of information about developing a green thumb in high desert climates. She also has an amazing sense of humor and a superb writing style. Rarely do you see that in a “how-to” book, but this one is a real page-turner. You’ll laugh and learn at the same time.
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Parris Afton Bonds , Internationally Published Romance Author
THE THRILL OF IT ALL ~ EVEN THE MANURE
Rosie Kern entertains with humor the agony and ecstasy of her gardening experience. Whether you are a gardening afficionado or not, you will enjoy her foray into her passion for gardening
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V.F.R. Fun and Informative
Fun to read while filled with good advice for low-water-use gardeners. As a beginning gardener, the author wasn’t confined with the do’s and don’ts of gardening. She just dumped layers of compost materials and became thrilled with the results. With trial and error, help from friends, and copious coffee grounds from Starbucks, she “created my space and it reached back to transform me.”
Now after many years with spade and trowel, research, and persistence, Rose Kern shares her experience with humor and practical observations. Definitely worth a read.
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Dale Garratt A fun romp through an offbeat approach to gardening
An informative and entertaining read. Rose really thinks outside the box working on her (pretty extensive) garden. I love her high-imagination and low-effort approach to eliminating squash bugs on pumpkins.
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D. E. Williams Humorous take on gardening in the High Desert
Rose Kern has a delightful way of writing that brings freshness to the technical aspects of gardening. Not being a gardener (brown thumb all the way up to the elbow), I wasn’t sure the story would fit my reading taste, but it was witty and interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed the first 3 chapters and eagerly await what follows. Thanks for sharing your skill and your humor, Ms. Kern!
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Michael Hilarious yet educational take on gardening
From the first sentence, Rosie has such an engaging style of writing, laced with humor.
And if you’re not careful, you might even learn something.
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