Trowel and Error: Over 700 Tips, Remedies and Shortcuts for the Gardener [Paperback]

Sharon Lovejoy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2002

Ever since she was old enough to help her grandmother in the garden, Sharon Lovejoy has spent her life working with plants--and along the way, through "trowel and error," she's accumulated hundreds and hundreds of remedies, tips, short-cuts, and cure-alls. Now Ms. Lovejoy--author of Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots and the award-winning Sunflower Houses--does for the garden what Heloise or the Queen of Clean does for the household. Trowel and Error collects all of her homespun garden advice into an inviting, environmentally friendly, whimsically illustrated yet dead-on helpful book that will benefit every gardener, beginner or experienced.

Cure plant viruses with spoiled milk. Steep a natural and effective insecticide out of fresh basil. Place flat stones under squash or melons to hasten ripening. Recycle an old apple corer as the perfect dibber for muscari and other small bulbs. Start rosemary cuttings in a green glass bottle. Sprinkle baby powder over seedlings to discourage rabbits. Crush a garlic clove and apply it to your skin as an insect repellent. From urging the reader to take an occasional shower with the houseplants to giving all-natural gardenside first aid, Trowel and Error is a direct line to the kind of practical wisdom that comes only after a lifetime of experience. The book is indexed by problem, plant, pest, and solution, and includes a list of tools and common household items--borax, cornmeal, vinegar--that completes the gardener's arsenal.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sharon Lovejoy, an author, illustrator, lecturer, and teacher, is the children's garden adviser to the American Horticultural Society, and has been a guest on Today at NBC, PBS's Victory Garden, and the Discovery Channel. She speaks at conferences and gardening organizations around the country. She has four grandchildren, and divides her time between San Luis Obispo, California, and South Bristol, Maine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (January 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761126325
• ISBN-13: 978-0761126324
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.7 x 7.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Gardening & Landscape Design > Reference
  • #59 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Gardening & Landscape Design > By Technique

More About the Author

For the first seven years of her life, Sharon Lovejoy was introduced to the wonders of nature by her Quaker grandmother Abigal Lovejoy, a botanist and an educator. As an adult, Sharon's passion for the natural world guided her to become an award winning nature, gardening, and children's book author and watercolor illustrator.

As a graduate with Distinction in the Field of Art from San Diego State University, Sharon successfully combined her training in art with her love of botany and natural science. She worked as a docent naturalist for the Morro Bay Museum of Natural History and for the Smithsonian Institution in the lagoons of Baja, California.

In 1982, she founded Heart's Ease Herb Shop & Gardens in Cambria, California, where she shared her love and knowledge of nature and ethnobotany with visitors for the next 15 years.

Sharon's home, business, and display gardens first captured national attention on the cover of the August 1990 issue of Country Living magazine. Since then, her home and garden creations have appeared in numerous books and magazines, and she has been a guest on countless radio and television shows from coast to coast, including NBC's Today, HGTV, and The Victory Garden on PBS.

In 1991, Interweave Press published her first book Sunflower Houses: Garden Discoveries for Children of All Ages,a recollection of the influence from her Grandmother Lovejoy and the inspiration that has introduced tens of thousands of children to the wonders of nature through gardening.

From 1993 to 2006, Sharon wrote and illustrated the award winning, regular feature column "Heart's Ease" in Country Living GARDENER magazine. She currently is the Southern California regional contributor for the popular Lowe's home improvement store "Garden Grow Along" blog and a frequent contributor to Farming magazine.

Sharon has been a consultant for the Reader's Digest Association and a children's garden design consultant at the Bay Area Discovery Museum in San Francisco, the  Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College in El Cajo, California, and for EDAW, one of the world's leading landscape architectural firms (now AECON), at the Red Butte Botanical Gardens in Salt Lake City and the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. In 1996, she was chosen to design the Children's Gardening Pavilion for the highly respected Cincinnati Flower and Garden Show. She currently serves on the National Children and Youth Garden Advisory Panel of the American Horticultural Society.

As a recognized gardening expert, Sharon has lectured throughout the United States at conferences, educational symposia, museums, botanic gardens, arboreta, public and private educational institutions, and for professional trade associations and gardening organizations.

Her professional affiliations include The Authors Guild, Inc., Garden Writers Association, Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and American Horticultural Society. In 1995, Sharon served as President of the International Herb Association.

For her contributions to education, Sharon received the Key to the City of Indianapolis, Indiana, and the Gold Leaf Award from the Santa Clara Department of Education at the Kindergarten Forum in Saratoga, California. Her writings have been reprinted in educational and testing publications in English and Spanish.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Original and Thoughftul! April 27, 2003

By Paula Fitzsimmons

Format:Paperback

This has to be one of the most original books I think I've read -- and not just within the gardening category.

This is the type of book that if you adopt just one or two of the over-700 ideas, your money would be well spent. You will benefit not only from the author's years of professional experience, but also from the trial (trowl) and error in her own garden.

The art and design of this book is fabulous, and is presented in easy bytes.

I love this book and highly recommend it to any gardener -- from beginner to expert.

pjpublications.com

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Trowel and Error: Over 700 Tips, Remedies and Shortcuts for April 4, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

A fantastically informative and humourous book. Hundreds of organic ways to keep your garden free of pests and preditors plus much, much more. I have all of Sharon's books. They are by far my favorite of the dozens of gardening books I own. I had better purchase a second book for my garden library because I know I will wear this book out.
A note to Sharon Lovejoy - KEEP WRITING !!!
Barbara Cusick, Certified Advanced Master Gardener.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You will come back time after time to this book! June 28, 2004

By K. Fritz

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

It's a little book, but it is PACKED with great information. Especially if you are trying to stay pesticide free - this is a great resource for you. I have two small children who can help garden with this book, all her suggestions are pet and child friendly!

Great ideas for things you probably already have around the house that will improve your garden. I have only had it a little while, but have already used a bunch of recommendations SUCCESSFULLY!

Funny to read, delightful illustrations, accurate information and wonderful tips and tricks. Buy it. You won't regret it!