Of the magical place where her love of gardening was born, Sharon Lovejoy says, "Grandmother Lovejoy's riotous garden wasn't perfectly groomed, nor did it have a planned palette of matching colors or an architecturally designed hardscape. What it did have was LIFE, a constant humming, busyness, and rhythm that made me want to leap out of bed each morning." This bountiful collection of Lovejoy's popular "Heart's Ease" columns for Country Living Gardener magazine is a pleasure to read and a rich source of advice and inspiration for anyone who shares her passion for gardens that teem with life. Springing from the author's lifelong gardening endeavors, and from her current botanical adventures in California and at her seaside cottage in Maine, these beautifully written essays are replete with get-your-hands-dirty expertise, to be sure, but also with the wisdom of knowing how to appreciate a garden and all its lively inhabitants. A worthy addition to the tradition of garden writing, A Blessing of Toads celebrates not only flowers, trees, shrubs, grasses, and herbs, but also the insects, birds, and other creatures that help to knit a garden into an endlessly fascinating place of contemplation and wonder. Here you will find the author's reminiscences about her attempts to build a backyard pond (hilariously misguided at first but ultimately a glorious success), advice for planting the seediest garden in the neighborhood (the better to help your local bird population make it through another cold winter), the best way to ensure an abundant tomato crop (bumblebees -- and knowing how to attract them -- are the secret), and even how to grow aloe plants on a windowsill (the healing power of their cool gel, when taken fresh from the leaf, is truly miraculous). Then, of course, there are the toads and exactly why they are a blessing. Like a lovingly cultivated garden, this book is filled with life and delights.

Book jacket.