New Book Released Today

Our new book, What’s Wrong with My Vegetable Garden?, comes out today. Timber Press has, as usual, done a masterful job and produced another beautiful book of which we can be proud. We’d appreciate it if you let all your gardening friends know about it. This book is all about growing healthy, organic vegetables at home, something that more and more of us are doing

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Birding Safari

Kathryn and I recently led a birdwatching safari to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon. We saw 95 species and some very beautiful birds. This beautiful bird is an American avocet. We found him wading right beside the road. Lazuli buntings were everywhere, snatching bugs out of the air like tiny flycatchers. We found this nutria at the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge in Washington. All in

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Growing a Greener World Podcast

We had a great interview with Joe Lamp’l at Growing a Greener World and we want to share the link to the podcast with you.  Here’s the link: http://www.growingagreenerworld.com/028-whats-wrong-with-my-plant-and-how-do-i-fix-it-an-interview-with-authors-david-deardorff-kathryn-wadsworth/ Joe is so knowledgeable and personable he made the whole interview fun and informative. Check out the other podcasts on his website. They’re full of good information.

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New York Times Review

Our book “What’s Wrong With My Plant? (And How Do I Fix It?)” has just been reviewed by Dominique Browning at the New York Times, May 27, 2010. And it’s a really good review too. Her topic for the reviews is “Gardening Books.” She reviews several good gardening books and our book is among them. Here’s what she has to say: “Many gardeners find it

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The Lifecycle of Book Publicity

Our blog post for today is a guest blog written by Olivia Dunn, Publicist at Timber Press. Book publicity is a little bit like a junior high dance. If both the author and the publicist are ready to dance, it can be a ton of fun and really successful. If one party decides to stay on their side of the gym and leave everything up

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The Desert Smells Like Rain

In Arizona the desert wildflowers are particularly abundant this year because of the generous rainfall last winter. We’re driving through this enchanting landscape on our way to bookstore appearances at Changing Hands in Tempe and at the University of Arizona in Tucson, but we stop to watch a storm sweep across the desert along the way. When it rains in the dessert, aromas blossom, as

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Peacocks and Permaculture

We’re at the Los Angeles Arboretum in Arcadia, California, giving a presentation to the “Compulsive Gardeners”, a wonderful group of knowledgeable and dedicated gardeners whose enthusiasm is boundless.  It’s interesting to be back. I (David) used to work here, in the Research Division, just after finishing my PhD. It was my first professional position and I loved all the exotic plants from Mediterranean climates around the

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We’re in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California – a gardener’s paradise. While it may have heavy, clay soil, and little water, it has perfect temperatures for growing plants from all the “Mediterranean” climates of the world. The flora of South Africa, the west coasts of North and South America, Australia, and, of course, the Med itself make appearances here. The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden displays the amazing diversity of

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