Life of Pi: Book Recommendation

Source: goodreads.com via Angela on Pinterest

I just heard that the book Life of Pi is being turned into a movie. I first read this book almost 10 years ago and it instantly made it to my Top 10 list of favorite books ever read. On the surface, it's the story of a boy who is stuck on a boat with a tiger, but I think it's really a book about faith and self-reliance.

Whenever I hear of books being made into movies, I usually want to read the book first and get the story and characters in my head before I see someone else's interpretation. So if you haven't read it, and want an interesting but easy read for the summer, I highly recommend this book.

Have you read Life of Pi? What did you think of it?

Garden Book Review: Crops & Pots

I recently read Crops in Pots by Bob Purnell.  As you know, I do most of my gardening in containers and I've never really felt like my garden is visually interesting. I've been trying to think of ways to be more creative this year. I mainly grow vegetables for food, but this book showed me ways to make growing flowers, herbs, and veggies in pots more interesting.

The book is organized in a very cute way--by "Starters," "Main Courses," and "Desserts," with the idea being that you can combine things into a single pot that can then turn into a dish. This is a crabapple/gooseberry combo, which intersted me because I just ordered a packet of ground cherry seeds.

Each page also contains a recipe. This one is for Strawberry Lemonade. You can grow strawberries, mint, and edible flowers in a single container, and then the book shows you how you can take those ingredients and make them into a dish.

I didn't realize you can grow grapes in containers? Apparently you can.

The book isn't just about vegetable and herb combos. There are a few sections on combining flowers in pots for variety in color and height. There's also a list of edible flowers, which is something I'm interested in learning more about. I now have some ideas for what I want to do with  my few flower pots this year.

I've been thinking of growing a tea garden, and seeing the pages on herb combinations has made me want to go out and buy some chamomile and mint right now. I don't need a lot of space--I can grow a couple of herbs together, and here's another convenient recipe and instructions for making a relaxing chamomile tea with herbs found in one single pot.

I like the book. There are some combinations that are pretty common, in the sense that everyone knows tomatoes and basil go nicely together when companion planting. But I got some very good ideas about how to combine flowers and vegetables for visual interest, and not just for a functional kitchen garden.

If you're looking for other interesting gardening reading, head over to Roses and Other Garden Joys and check out other bloggers' book reviews.