The Pansy Garden

In this poignantly woven story, the author introduces readers to Joe, from his five-year-old to his young adult self. Joe narrates of his life, his dysfunctional family’s stories, his inner thoughts, observations, and sentiments, and his heart and soul. Only his grandmother, whom he affectionately calls Nanny, truly loves and understands him. Nanny has helped him start and create The Pansy Garden that would become his place of solace, meditation, and home. Though his very young mind can only grasp so much, he has absorbed the events and happenings around him—his family, his community, his country—and shares them all with the pansies in his garden. As he comes of age, the realities of life gradually unfolds before his very eyes. His Nanny dies; his alcoholic Mother sleeps with their priest; his good-for-nothing Father leaves; his indifferent brother escapes the military draft; his four sisters face adolescence in a way they know how; and he is battling with homosexuality. Born and raised in a big family with little heart or no compassion, Joe only has The Pansy Garden to soothe and listen to him. How will he deal with life’s deck of unpredictable cards? Readers are about to find out as this novel unravels. For more information on this book, log on to www.Xlibris.com.

In this poignantly woven story, the author introduces readers to Joe, from his five-year-old to his young adult self. Joe narrates of his life, his dysfunctional family's stories, his inner thoughts, observations, and sentiments, and his heart and soul. Only his grandmother, whom he affectionately calls Nanny, truly loves and understands him. Nanny has helped him start and create The Pansy Garden that would become his place of solace, meditation, and home. Though his very young mind can only grasp so much, he has absorbed the events and happenings around him his family, his community, his country and shares them all with the pansies in his garden. As he comes of age, the realities of life gradually unfolds before his very eyes. His Nanny dies; his alcoholic Mother sleeps with their priest; his good-for-nothing Father leaves; his indifferent brother escapes the military draft; his four sisters face adolescence in a way they know how; and he is battling with homosexuality. Born and raised in a big family with little heart or no compassion, Joe only has The Pansy Garden to soothe and listen to him. How will he deal with life's deck of unpredictable cards? Readers are about to find out as this novel unravels. For more information on this book, log on to www.Xlibris.com.

From the early misfortunes of Eve, condemning her descendants to a dubious reputation for fruit management, to the acclaimed successes of plant breeders such as the eccentric Ellen Willmott who combined bankruptcy with iris breeding, the fortunes of the female gardener have been as varied as their roles. Telling the tales of the sixteenth-century housewife, who neatly sidestepped accusations of herbal witchcraft while working her plot, and the unconventional Ladies of Llangollen, who eloped together and created their gothic garden and many other women besides, A History of Women in the Garden showcases female horticulturists through the centuries. An enlightening and entertaining read that will allow the reader to gain fresh enthusiasm for even the most menial of garden tasks, and realise that hundreds of women have trod the garden path before.

Sumptuous patterns and designs for all your notes...and fabrications! These are perfect books for just about anything and make the perfect gift for just about anyone! Grab a handful!

Travel back to a vanished landscape of delicate pergolas, storybook rock grottos, and vast beds of brilliant hybrid blossoms. Leopold presents an enchanting history of gardening's golden age that overflows with hundreds of historical engravings and full-color photos of contemporary re-creations.

No matter where you hail from, you're apt to have ties to the Finger Lakes Region. That's the well-supported message of a new book, A Spirited Trip Through the Finger Lakes & Upstate New York, in which the author ties the Upstate to places all over the world. A Spirited Trip Through the Finger Lakes & Upstate New York borrows the persona of early pioneers to personalize the rich history of the region and answer the question: How did things got to be the way they are? Why should someone from Massachusetts feel right at home when visiting upstate New York? Why do the ancestors of Winston Churchill reside in the cemeteries of Palmyra and Macedon? How did an English lord wind up owning millions of acres of Upstate property after his country lost it in the Revolutionary War? Why did a Canandaigua family become a major benefactor of the New York Metropolitan Museum?