Sleeping with a Sunflower: A Treasury of Old-Time Gardening Lore [Paperback]

Louise Riotte (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 1995

Arranged month by month, this book is packed with pure gardening folk wisdom: planting by the moon, fishing when and where the bass will bite, and more. A treasured gift for anyone interested in the forgotten lore of gardening.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Gardening for All Seasons

January ~ A time for dreaming by the fire...and planning your garden

February ~ Look to the sky for signs of the gardening season

March ~ Start an asparagus bed...but take time to go fishing

April ~ Go after the weeds now for a better garden later

May ~ Spring has sprung...and so has your garden

June ~ Lettuce, green onions, peas...enjoy the early fruits of your labor

July ~ The vegetables you plant now will grow juicy and succulent

August ~ Corn relish, Indian pudding...and more delicious summer recipes

September ~ Harvest your top crops and prepare for the County Fair

October ~ Time to can and preserve your fruits for winter

November ~ Natural ways to keep colds away

December ~ Holiday treasures from your garden

About the Author

Beloved Storey author and life-long gardener Louise Riotte passed away in 1998 at the age of 89. She wrote 12 books on gardening, companion planting, and garden lore, among them the ever-popular Carrots Love Tomatoes, which has sold approximately 515,000 copies. Her father taught her to believe in and practice astrology, while her mother was a practicing herbalist. Together they inevitably influenced her life and her books, Roses Love Garlic, Astrological Gardening, Sleeping with a Sunflower, Catfish Ponds & Lily Pads, and her most recent book, Raising Animals by the Moon. Her own line drawings are included in all her books. Before authoring books, Riotte was a ghost writer for Simon & Schuster and for Jerry Baker's radio gardening show, and she wrote a number of articles for Organic Gardening as well. Riotte took pride in her garden near her home in Ardmore, Oklahoma, which her son Eugene helped care for in her later years.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (January 9, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882665022
• ISBN-13: 978-0882665023
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #227,732 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Beloved Storey author and life-long gardener Louise Riotte passed away in 1998 at the age of 89. She wrote 12 books on gardening, companion planting, and garden lore, among them the ever-popular Carrots Love Tomatoes, which has sold approximately 515,000 copies. Her father taught her to believe in and practice astrology, while her mother was a practicing herbalist. Together they inevitably influenced her life and her books, Roses Love Garlic, Astrological Gardening, Sleeping with a Sunflower, Catfish Ponds & Lily Pads, and her most recent book, Raising Animals by the Moon. Her own line drawings are included in all her books. Before authoring books, Riotte was a ghost writer for Simon & Schuster and for Jerry Baker's radio gardening show, and she wrote a number of articles for Organic Gardening as well. Riotte took pride in her garden near her home in Ardmore, Oklahoma, which her son Eugene helped care for in her later years.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that is exactly what it says it is- gardening lore, May 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sleeping with a Sunflower: A Treasury of Old-Time Gardening Lore (Paperback)

Tucked in between these pages are quotes, poems, symbolism, old wife's tales, recipes and more that keep you well entertained. Brings to mind some of the things your grandmother told you but you never quite understood why. Like why am I putting eggshells by this plant and bananna peels by this plant? This book not only tells you why but in a humerous and easy going way. This is a great book for anyone who appreciates gardening and a desire to understand the old ways.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book of garden wisdom, May 8, 2003

By 

Valerie Adolph "Coast Journal" (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sleeping with a Sunflower: A Treasury of Old-Time Gardening Lore (Paperback)

Sleeping with a Sunflower: A Treasury of Old-Time Gardening Lore. Louise Riotte

Louise Riotte, whose popular books on companion planting Carrots Love Tomatoes and Roses Love Garlic have sold many thousands of copies, shares some of her vast knowledge of North American gardening in this 220 page book. She starts by paying tribute to the native people who taught settlers enough about growing crops to enable them to survive and she also mentions some of the well-known early farmers and gardeners, such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Quincey Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

The author has arranged her material chronologically throughout the year, but instead of naming the first chapter "January" she has chosen to use the native American name "Wolf Moon". Each month, or moon, is named for the natural events that could be relied upon - Strawberry Moon in June, Hunter's Moon in October and Cold Moon in December. In each chapter you will find gardening tales, gardening lore and gardening advice appropriate to the time of year. In January she tells the reader (among other things) about early seedsmen, about almanacs, about forcing blooms and about planting by the moon. She wraps up the month with a recipe for Oklahoma Pecan pie, made with the last of the pecans that the January wind shakes from the trees in that state.

This a book of garden wisdom dispensed in small doses - a little of this and a little of that. Scientific it is not, but it will deepen your understanding of plants, how they grow and how they can be used.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gardening Wisdom!, May 15, 2007

By 

Dr. Christopher J. Kline "SunflowerOcity" (Paradise Valley, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sleeping with a Sunflower: A Treasury of Old-Time Gardening Lore (Paperback)

For gardeners who enjoy reading and particularly about the topic they love this book be a welcome surprise. The organization of this book is unique The author has arranged her material chronologically for each month of the year. In each chapter you will find gardening tales, gardening lore and gardening advice appropriate to the time of year. This is not a technical gardening manual, but make no mistake, even seasoned gardeners will learn some new tricks, and best of all they will enjoy themselves along the way.

Chris

SunflowerOcity