Married to My Garden
by Barbara Ashmun
In Married to My Garden Barbara Blossom Ashmun’s life as a
gardener follows the stages of romance. At first she’s obsessed,
dreaming of plants day and night. Like a woman in love, she’s
possessed—until weeds and slugs makes her question the whole affair.
Yet even a brief absence makes her realize that she can’t live without
her hands in the dirt. In the end, passionate love wins the day, and she
surrenders to her garden, even with all its faults.
Cutting flowers brings the garden into the house and lets me play
with plants on a small scale, like tinkering in a doll’s house. To me,
it’s a relaxing way of relishing beauty indoors, where concerns about
weeding and pruning are at a safe distance. It’s also the ultimate
luxury. I grew up in New York City, where buying a single stem of
flowering quince at the corner florist was a special treat saved for
Friday afternoons, to celebrate the arrival of the weekend. Every day
becomes a holiday when I can cut flowers for the table and arrange them
with all the pleasure of an artist at her palette.
—“The Luxury of Bouquets” from “Married to My
Garden”
Early Reviews
How did Barbara Blossom Ashmun get so inside our skin? She seems to know
just how we feel—the emotional ups and downs, the thrills and
frustrations, the beautiful and the ugly (slugs of course). This book
will resonate with anyone who’s ever had a love affair with her
garden.
—Dulcy Mahar, The Oregonian
Married to My Garden
ISBN 0-0740392-0-9
Price: $12.95
Publisher: Easy Chair Press
Website: www.barbarablossom.bigstep.com