There is no doubt that the best part of writing a book is the tour that follows. Last week, I was a speaker at the Philadelphia Flower Show and tomorrow the Boston Flower Show. Since my talk is in the late afternoon, I have all day to stroll the floral exhibits. It is truly remarkable to experience the plethora of roses, orchids, spring bulbs and displays that took brilliant planning and creativity. I am pleased to see a few ornamental edibles tucked into the mix, mature plants with fully ripened pea pods, flowering tomatoes and rows of green and red leaf lettuce along with ruby chard and kale. I restrain from my natural instinct to taste, knowing that these artificially fed plants are composed of chemicals.
Traveling to garden shows with my book allows me to meet my audience, and gives me insight into what gardeners really care about. There is a sense of hope in the spring, when gardeners are full of new ideas for the coming year and showing photos from my book inspires them to take a fresh look at their own vegetable gardens. As one gardener writes: “I have decided to shift things around and make my rather haphazard layout more orderly, as per your drawings and photos.” I am glad my book is having a positive impact.
At the end of my talk, there are always the same questions about what to do about deer, which seeds to buy or seed catalogs to order from, or why the compost pile is not working. It’s funny the way we all think alike.
I find it ironic, though, that the garden shows continue to value cultivating roses and other exotic flowers over showing how to grow food. While it’s possible to combine both in one’s garden, I consider knowing how to grow food an essential skill for the future of our planet. I challenge my audience of flower growers to give up even just a corner of their flower gardens to try their hand at growing food instead. And I think I am gaining ground.
