I received a book to review for this post. The opinions shared are 100% mine.

I realize that this is anathema to say in print, but some people just take gardening too seriously.  We have a neighbor who prunes and picks at his yard daily, leaving piles of brush right on the road.  How does he even have anything left to work on?!  Then there’s my other neighbor.  She sings and plays her harp to her plants, moving from area to area until each flower has had a serenade.  I’m sure they’re really fond of me.  (Dripping sarcasm in that statement, in case you missed it.)  I’m the gardener who throws some seed down and hopes for the best.  If it doesn’t grow, I just repeat and again hope for the best.    The wild, overgrown look is what I rarely go for but usually end up with.  Here’s the general appearance of my “flower beds”:

There was a time when I worried about my neighbors’ opinions of my yard.  It isn’t manicured and perfect like theirs.  The colors don’t coordinate.  I don’t have a perfect layout.  I was ashamed when I saw them outside in their gardens, eying mine as though it was the neighborhood eyesore.  Then I realized that they were both retirees who had little else to do but piddle in the garden.  My garden works for me.  We eat the veggies we grow.  We make bouquets out of our flowers.  I use the dried sunflower heads as birdfeeders.  Yes, the garden is also supposed to be pretty to look at, but I think it is!!  It’s just not the neighbors’ Better Homes and Gardens layout.   So then I read Kiss My Aster and made myself feel much, much better.

I never use swear words. Ever.  The worst word I ever  say is “crap” and I try not to even use that on this family-friendly blog.  But it has to be said.  Hey neighbors, Kiss My Aster!       Hilariously titled, Kiss My Aster by Amanda Thomsen keeps the grins coming. 

Thomsen tells me not to worry about the neighbors.  Make my garden a place for my family, no one else need be considered.  She assures that there is no right way or wrong way.  Just my way.  There are ways to plan for the unplanned.  If you have kids and want to make a family-friendly outdoor escape, you can do that with Thomsen’s help.  Give or take the pond with ducks.    The tongue-in-cheek humor is just my style; I found myself giggling at many of the jokes and nodding my head in understanding.  The comic book style adds to the reading pleasure.   It’s best for those who are not looking for a (cough, cough) serious gardening book but rather need something out of the typical mold.  Those who want the Martha Stewart version of an orchid greenhouse just won’t be satisfied with this book, and that’s okay.  It’s not really written for them.  Kiss My Aster is the gardening book for people like me who stick a garden gnome under the blueberry bush just for a bit of sass.  Check it out, you’ll be glad you did!

What’s your gardening style……Are you carefree? Do you cut your grass with a pair of landscaping scissors? What’s your happy medium?

Kiss My Aster can be purchased at Storey Publishing and other book retailers.