I discovered this little booklet at a used bookstore in North Hollywood, CA. It's a shop Andrew always enjoys visiting, and they have a decent garden section.
I'm a sucker for vintage garden books and love ones with drawings, this one ticked both those boxes.
Have you ever seen a plant sprout in a bird's nest? I have not, but now I'll be paying extra attention.
I had a datura in a container on the patio at my house in Spokane, one of its big seed pods burst and I watched ants carrying the seeds away, down into the cracks of the patio. I'd hoped maybe they'd manage to store one or two of them in a place where they'd burst and grow in the spring. I don't know if it ever happened because I moved to Portland.
A sign in the woods that says "Do Not Pick"?
I hope you enjoyed some of the pages from this little booklet as much as I did. It's now been passed on to its next owner, my friend
Ann, lover of seeds.
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All material © 2009-2024 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
This is a charming little treasure! I love the nostalgia and smell of old books...
ReplyDeleteI suppose ants are responsible for tiny cyclamen colonies popping up some distance away from the main bed. I'm quite thankful to their hard work.
As for the datura: I wonder if ants are effected by the hallucinogenic properties of that plant. Some berries make birds a little drunk, so maybe... If they stop marching in a straight line, we'll know why.
Chavli
Ha! I wonder? I've never seen the ants go after datura seeds here in Portland though, and there are about 12 million more ants here than in Spokane.
DeleteThis is sweet. The drawing of the little girl blowing the seeds reminds me of something similar my mom drew in one of her school books.
ReplyDeleteThat is definitely one of my favorite images from the book!
DeleteWhat a wonderful find! It's very sweet. How I wish children nowadays received study books like this one. They could prompt a whole new generation of gardeners.
ReplyDeleteHa! Children these days wouldn't know what to do with a paper booklet like that, let alone have the patience to read the pages.
DeleteHow cool is that! And the author's name! I might change my name to Vesta Withrow. Make that Vestus Withrow.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, you are definitely more of a Vestus.
DeleteSuch a lovely little book! The drawings are so special!
ReplyDeleteAren't they fabulous? Glad you enjoyed them.
DeleteThis is so charming, and a lovely way to teach children about nature. Now Annie gets to enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteJane / Mulchmaid
Having her to pass it on to made me feel better about buying it!
DeleteDeserves a reprint!
ReplyDeleteWouldn't that be wonderful? I'd love to see the drawings enlarged so they could be colored.
DeleteAgreed, overflowing with charm and good feelings. My favorite part is the cover - the path up the hill to the scary castle, the clock gears, the art deco city of lightning, the observatory... What are the other 151 topics that they covered? Can you imagine having a whole set? Were the other units this awesome? Funny that I have nostalgia for a time when I didn't even exist, but I love things from that time period. It's been weird trying to divest myself of some antiques I used to collect and finding that no one wants that old stuff anymore.
ReplyDeleteThe cover is fantastic, I wonder if all the books had that same strip across the bottom? Re: your comment about nobody wanting old stuff, I knew things like formal dining ware were hard sells these days but didn't realize it went further than that.
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