Tuesday, April 28, 2015

TAMING WILDFLOWERS BOOK REVIEW

Recently, I received a wonderful book for review.  


Living in Texas, wildflowers are a way of life here.  In fact, as I read this book, the wildflowers are in bloom all around us, a riot of color and texture.  We also have some newly cleared areas on the property and the thought of a wildflower garden is high on our list.  Needless to say, this book was perfect timing.



The book is smallish in size (dimensions) but the author somehow packs a LOT of information into that footprint.  It is over 200 pages long and is divided up into 8 chapters.  Miriam takes the reader through all aspects of wildflowers, their relationship to us, how to care for them, propagation, and so on.

As many as 60 different wildflower species are referenced in the book.  Is this the definitive book on all wildflowers?  No, but with hundreds of species, it needs to be pared down to the essentials and she has done that very well.  Details on each include soil, height, water, light, bloom time, native to, etc.  It's a wealth of information.


As if that wasn't enough, she has even added a section devoted to using wildflowers in decorations, complete with DIY instructions for various items, including this wildflower wreath that we SO want to do next year.  An interesting surprise at the very end of the book are a few pages devoted to weddings featuring wildflowers, again complete with DIY steps to create the items.  Miriam Goldberger and her husband own a business called "Wildflower Farm" where wildflowers and native grasses are their passion.  It's a passion born out in the pages of this book and it's always nice to see someone whose love for a topic is so evident in the book that they create.  The photography is beautiful and this could even be a great bedside book in a guest room to dazzle your guests with some gorgeous flowers.  I consider it part reference book and part coffee table book.  A great gift for anyone who loves flowers and/or wants to create their own wildflower meadow in their yard.

Please visit their website linked above.  While I was perusing it, I found a section on creating a wildflower meadow in clay soil which is what we have here at the farm!  We will definitely be going back to the site to see what we can learn about creating something like that on our property.

You can purchase the book here via Amazon: Taming Wildflowers

As a side note, this book is published by an amazing company called St. Lynn's Press.  They have a wide variety of books in the gardening, self sufficiency, and slow and local lifestyles topics.  In my interaction with them, I found them to be kind, easy to work with and just all around wonderful.  A great, small publishing company worthy of supporting.

Thank you St. Lynn's and especially thank you Miriam Goldberger for bringing wildflowers to life, in more ways than one!


14 comments:

  1. I am a quilter and two years ago managed to get some Texas Wildflower fabric. The range of colours is truly wonderful, much bolder than most of our native wildflowers.

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  2. The profusion of wildflowers is one of my favorite things about Texas Have you ever been to Wildseed Farm in Fredericksburg? You can buy seeds for all the Texas wildflowers from them. They grow wildflowers in huge fields. It's a beautiful place with all sorts of wonderful things for sale in their store. If you ever want to take a road trip to the hill country, it would be well worth the time to stop there.

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  3. Your bees will love the wildflowers.

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  4. I grew up in the Colorado mountains and I really miss the fields of wildflowers. It was always so stunning.

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  5. http://www.wildseedfarms.com/home.php is Wildseed Farm in Fredericksburg. Go check out their site. It's great.

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  6. Great review. Looks like an Amazing book.

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  7. We don't have a big enough lot to create a wildflower meadow (most of it is being devoted to feeding us) but we can, and do, plop natives in suitable areas. Milkweed, coneflower, etc... benefit butterflies, bees, and birds and both monarda and trumpet vine are big hummingbird faves here.
    Will definitely check out the website and book since we also have heavy clay soil here; thanks for the review!

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  8. now that sounds like a wonderful book. I will totally be heading over to Amazon and check it out. Thanks! Love your book reviews.

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  9. Do you know I was just looking at books on wildflowers? Sounds like this might fill the bill. Thanks, i will look it up. Janie V -

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  10. This sounds like my kind of book. Thanks for the review!

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  11. Marvelous! And thank you for supplying Mrs. Goldberger’s link to Wildflower Farm, I have already paid it a visit and added it to my favorites and begun my “wish list” of which a copy of Taming Wildflowers is on the top of. Your timing of this post was spot on.

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  12. That feeling when you put your heart on the line, when you pour every ounce of your being into something and people GET IT and get you? This happened. Thank you sweet folks at Two Men and a Little Farm for a great review of Taming Wildflowers !!!!
    I feel as though we are kindred spirits! I'm thrilled you and your readers love wildflowers!
    Please feel free to call upon us for support, information and seeds as your wildflower journey begins!

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  13. Very good review! Looks like a beautiful book with a lot of great information. A wildflower meadow or patches of wildflowers at your Farm will be stunning - and will make your bees very happy also!

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