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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

An Author's Garden

By Susan F. Craft
      I’m creating an “Author’s Garden” in my yard in honor of my Revolutionary War novel, The Chamomile, published in 2011, and its two sequels entitled, Laurel and Cassia, which will be published in 2015 by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. I’ve already planted six chamomiles and three laurel bushes.
     When they bloom, chamomile flowers look like daisies, except the yellow centers are cone-shaped instead of flat. When you walk through them, they give off an aroma of apples.
     The laurels, or mountain laurels, will have pink blossoms and glossy dark green leaves.
     I’ve ordered a cassia tree from a nursery, but it hasn’t arrived yet. It will have brilliant yellow, cascading blooms and will reach about ten feet tall. Cassia, the “poor man’s cinnamon,” is mentioned in the Bible several times as one of the ingredients of anointing oil. According to Psalm 45:8, when the Messiah returns, his robes will smell of cassia. (All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory the music of the strings makes you glad. NIV)
     I’ve been searching for some garden sculpture and have found several that I like. Some are more serious and some are whimsical. Please, let me know which you like the best.
     I'm also thinking of painting some bricks like these.

Susan F. Craft is the author of the award-winning Revolutionary War Novel, The Chamomile.

10 comments:

  1. Your author garden sounds wonderful, Susan! What a neat idea. I like the little girl on the upper right laying on the ground reading a book. And the bricks are a nice addition too! Your garden will be beautiful when it's done!

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    1. Thank you, Cindy. I don't have very much of a green thumb, but I'm going to give this garden my best efforts.

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  2. I like the idea of stocking your garden with the plants from your books. I think the brick library is a great idea. They look so cool. I also like the sculpture of the little boy and girl reading together. I can't wait to see the final results.

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    1. I really like the brick idea. My 16 year old granddaughter is a fabulous artist, so when she comes to visit the last week in July, she's going to help me paint the bricks. There's a brick manufacturer about a mile from our house, and they are willing to sell me about 10. I'm taking pictures as I go along, so I plan to post when the garden is ready.

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  3. I would have to have all 4 sculptures in my garden! lol But if I can only choose 1, it would be the girl on her stomach, reading.

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  4. Hi, Patricia, I'm having a hard time selecting just one sclupture. We'll see how many votes each one gets. :-)

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  5. I love mountain laurel! So beautiful and such a unique shape. Love the idea of an author garden. I enjoy adding plants to my novels.

    My favorite sculpture is the rabbit with the lantern.

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    1. Another vote for the rabbit. He is adorable. :-) Thank you, Elizabeth.

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  6. I love your garden plans, Susan, and can't wait to see how they progress! I really like the sculpture of the children reading together and the one of the little girl on her stomach. The painted bricks are delightful as well!

    texaggs2000 at gmail dot com

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  7. Hi, Britney. We had a horrific hail storm last week with huge, golf ball-sized hailstones! The storn was so bad it damaged our cars and our roof. It battered one of the laurel bushes, and I'm hoping it will survive.

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