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December 28, 2008 · 2 Comments

Garden Travels from Home

Books/Writing

jane austen garden bookI enjoy visiting gardens while on vacation, but you can visit many gardens from the comfort of home through books, web sites, and DVDs. This Christmas, the man in my life gave me a trip to the gardens of Jane Austen through a just-released book by Wisconsin writer Kim Wilson. I’m a minor Jane-ite (as Austen fans are called) and really enjoyed Wilson’s Tea with Jane Austen.

In the Garden with Jane Austen takes readers to gardens that Austen and her family would have cared for — mostly cottage type gardens that mixed vegetables, flowers, and herbs — as well as the grander gardens she might have visited.  Wilson does a great job of connecting the gardens to Austen’s novels and letters as well as to the types of gardens that were popular in the Regency and Georgian periods in which Austen wrote.  For instance, when Austen says in Pride and Prejudice that the drive around Mr. Darcy’s impressive park at Pemberley is 10 miles, she’s putting it in the same class as Blenheim Palace. Wilson also covers garden trends of the time that are mentioned in Austen’s books, from the need for “shrubberies,” graveled paths surrounded by trees and shrubs, to the fad of installing a hermitage, sometimes with a hermit in residence. It’s a wonderful blend of cultural and literary connections and garden history.

Wilson has photos of most of the gardens and provides contact information for the sites that are open to visitors.  She also has a list of the gardens filmed in the many movies of Jane Austen novels. If you were planning a real trip to England, this book would be an informative guide.

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Comments

  1. skepweaver says

    December 28, 2008 at 7:26 pm

    Oh, I would like to have a hermit back in our woods! What’s required, do you know?

    S.

  2. mynortherngarden says

    December 31, 2008 at 10:16 am

    To have a hermit, you need a rustic house and someone to live there. I’ve read somewhere that wealthy folk of Jane’s time would hire hermits and even ask them to dress oddly (in sack clothe, I think? and interact with their guests. Strange, eh?

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My Northern Garden book

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What’s a northern gardener to do all winter? In What’s a northern gardener to do all winter? In these pandemic times, I’ve been having fun making quilts. Small, easy, no stress quilts. And, these garden themed fabrics on discount through Etsy were irresistible. 

I’m a beginner quilter and learned the craft through YouTube! (My favorite tutorials are the scrap buster quilts from @justgetitdonequilts) This fabric bundle included 21 different half yard prints, so I’ll probably have fabric left over for next winter too. 

How are you keeping sane/busy this winter? 
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Sometimes amaryllis are just so extra—like extra Sometimes amaryllis are just so extra—like extra large! What I really like about this one (it’s called Magic Green) is that the blooms are just right. Showy but not excessive. So far, the color is more cream than green though there is a pale green undertone. Beautiful variety! 

And, for those who may notice those tell-tale yellow strips in the pots—yes, I am having an ongoing fungus gnat issue. Not out of control, but definitely irritating. 

How’s your indoor garden 🪴 growing? 
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We’re still a few weeks away from seed starting We’re still a few weeks away from seed starting time, but I’m looking forward to having baby plants in the house. 🌱My conversation with Meg from @seedtofork on the Grow it, Minnesota podcast got me thinking about how I might change my set up this year. I’ve never used heat mats for seed starting since I keep my seedlings in the heated part of the house. But maybe this is the year to try that for peppers and tomatoes? Meg swears by heating mats! 

She also got me thinking about LED lights vs. fluorescent. I’m not inclined to replace lights that are still good, but light technology is changing. A lot to learn! 

Link to the podcast in the bio. Also links to seed starting charts and tips in the show notes at growitminnesota.com. 
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Succulent Sunday. I bought this trio from the loca Succulent Sunday. I bought this trio from the local Boy Scout troop during the holidays. It came with  snowman decorations and Christmas glitter, but once that came off it has a subtle charm. Low maintenance too!
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#succulents #succulentsofinstagram #succulentdish #houseplants #januarygarden #echiveria #mynortherngarden
Wondering about what garden zone you are in or wha Wondering about what garden zone you are in or what first and last frost dates mean for your vegetable garden? Here’s the zone info for Minnesota and Midwest gardeners. 

My latest blog post on MyNorthernGarden.com has the basics on zones and frost dates. (Link in bio.) Knowing a few simple things about your climate is a key to success in the garden. 

With the warm temps we have had this winter, it feels like we are gardening in about zone 6, but never fear, it will get cold again. Listening to the weather the other night, I was reminded that in early January of 2019, it hit 47 (!) in the Twin Cities. On January 29 that year, I recorded the coldest temp I’ve ever seen in my garden—minus 23. 🥶🥶🥶 
 If you haven’t listened to it yet, check out the latest episode of Grow it, Minnesota to find out how to beat the cold with hoops, cold frames and more. Link to that in bio, too. Stay warm! 
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Super excited about tomorrow’s episode of the Gr Super excited about tomorrow’s episode of the Grow it, Minnesota podcast. My guest is Niki Jabbour to talk about cold frames, mini hoops, poly tunnels and her new book, Growing Under Cover. The book is packed with information for northern gardeners who want to stretch our short growing season. The episode goes live tomorrow morning and you can subscribe in Apple, Google, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 
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#vegetables #growyourown #growtourownfood #storeypublishing #extendtheseason #greenhouses #hoophouse #coldframe #polytunnel #growitmn #gardenpodcast #minnesota #minnesotapodcast
Top nine images from 2020! A bit surprised my tool Top nine images from 2020! A bit surprised my tools made it into the list 🤔 but the rest are plants I love. I’m looking forward to more gardening friends and fun in 2021. Happy New Year! 🎈 
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Yea! Look what came in today’s mail. The latest Yea! Look what came in today’s mail. The latest Northern Gardener is out with lots of great garden advice from @renegade_gardener @kopurdy @gbrownhudson (cover photo by Gail) and more. Just the thing for a long winter weekend. 
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#northerngardener #coldclimategardening #gardenmagazine #magnoliascale #lavender #garden #mnhort #mnhorticulturalsociety
I was listening to the @plantramapod podcast on my I was listening to the @plantramapod podcast on my walk and the hosts were waxing poetic about wax plant, aka Hoya. I could not agree more! It is a great house plant, and the first one I had success with. My two plants are offspring of a Hoya that my grandmother had, which was passed to my mom and now me. The original plant 🪴 was planted at least 60 years ago! Hoya are long lived, don’t need much watering or fuss and do well in many sun situations even in our dry Minnesota homes. 

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We snuck in a walk at Lebanon Hills park this morn We snuck in a walk at Lebanon Hills park this morning before the weather turned. This old tree seemed to be smiling at us. 
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Can’t imagine why my sister thought this would b Can’t imagine why my sister thought this would be a good shirt 👚 for me?  Thanks, @kelzenbergs ! 
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Keeping my spirits bright with this book on arrang Keeping my spirits bright with this book on arranging flowers. Inspiring and educational. Now, if I just had an acre or two of land for all the 🌻🌷🌺🌸.
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