tracylive.com » Books

Talking with Joe Gardener

Tracy — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:38:10 +0000

Recently I had the opportunity to be a guest on Joe Lamp’l's
“Growing a Greener World” podcast. I’m sure that many of you know Joe from his role as host on GardenSmart on PBS as well as his appearances on Today, Good Morning America, Victory Garden, etc. He is a great spokesperson for the gardening world and spending time with him was great fun, so I am repeating Joe’s post from his website about our podcast here so readers of TracyLive.com can hear our conversation.

Click Here to Listen Now

Recently Joe Lamp’l interviewed award-winning and best-selling author Tracy DiSabato-Aust to discuss her brand new book, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants. Find out what are the criteria that makes each of these plants pass “Tracy’s test of toughness”. She’s also a popular garden designer and international presenter on perennial gardening, design and sustainability. They also talk about her previous best selling books and more…

Note to TracyLive.com readers: You can also subscribe to Joe’s “Growing a Greener World Podcast” by using the links below

So you want to be an author?

Tracy — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:05:26 +0000

I’m often asked for publishing advice from people on gardening as well as non-gardening topics. I’m by no means the authority but I share what has worked for me with my three books…First you must truly believe in your topic and have a passion for it as well as lots of firsthand experience. Writing articles for various magazines, newsletters and even blogging is often a good way to start with topics you are interested in writing about in book form. See the response from these other venues first–learn what “issues” people are drawn to so you can accentuate those in your writing/marketing angle. Speaking on the topic is also a great way to make yourself the “expert” on it as well as to accurately learn people’s responses and see your weaknesses on the topic. Remember you have to learn in order to teach. Research you topics extensively and learn from other’s success and failure. What would make your book a contribution that’s not been offered before? There is a lot of ground work that goes down first before the book can be written. Try to find a publisher who will accept your proposal before you write the whole book or consider the pros/cons of self publishing. Once you commit to the book follow your dream and remain indomitable through the process. Then market with abandon, as it’s no use to have a book and a message to share if no one reads it!! Good Luck and Happy Writing!

A free sneak peek at “50 High-Impact, Low Care Garden Plants”

Tracy — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:21:17 +0000

For a free sneak peek at 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants click here.… You will be able to preview 25% of the book–going through the introduction to page 40 and enjoy some of the photographs. I hope this whets your appetite for more! Let others know about this link by simply clicking on the “Share This” button below. That button makes it convenient for you to easily email this article, bookmark it, post it to MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Help me spread the word on this new book, and let’s start getting ready for Spring!

Let’s Celebrate!

Tracy — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:28:54 +0000

January 7, 2009: Announcing the release of 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants: Tough-but-Beautiful Plants That Anyone Can Grow. Books start shipping today and should be available on-line and in bookstores very soon! In the coming weeks the proud parent (me) will be posting blogs featuring these sustainable, dynamic, easy care, plants perfect for everyone from the new gardener to the seasoned veteran. And they fit our busy lives like that perfect pair of gardening gloves. They provide all the “bling” without the “sting” of hours and hours of work. They possess most if not all of the following traits…

High Impact Traits

*Multi-season Interest

*Colorful Foliage

*Long-Lasting Bloom

*Outstanding Texture

*Architectural Form

Low-Maintenance Sustainable Traits

*Long-Lived

*Tolerate Heat and Humidity

*Cold-Hardy

*Deer Resistant

*Drought Tolerant

*Insect & Disease Resistance

*Minimal or No Deadheading

*No Heavy Fertilizing

*No Staking

*Infrequent or no Division for many years

*Infrequent or no Pruning

What else can we ask for?? So join in the celebration…Happy Birthday 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Plants!

Pruning In The Mixed Garden to Prepare for Winter

Tracy — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 15:29:48 +0000

November is the time when we prune some of our perennials in preparation for winter. Ideally we want to do this after several killing frosts. Prune stems down to 2-3 inches and avoid damage to the crown of the plants. Many perennials provide outstanding winter interest and structure in the garden, some are even evergreen, so we don’t cut them back until spring. Also to improve overwintering of any tender perennials or ornament grasses, don’t prune these plants now as the foliage may help protect their crowns from cold damage. We do prune plants that may become unsightly over the winter or that may reseed heavily. It’s also particularly important to prune any perennials that may have had disease or insect problems. Be sure to remove the pest ridden foliage from the garden to reduce incidence of trouble next season. My favorite tool for quick clean-up in the autumn is the Okatsune hedge shear pictured here along with some of my other favorite tools. For complete information on Pruning to Prepare for Winter see Chapter 12 of my book The Well-Tended Perennial Garden as well as the lists of what to prune and what not to prune in Appendix C.

Robin Lane Fox on “deadheading”

admin — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 22:56:30 +0000

Robin Lane Fox of London writes an excellent weekend column in the Financial Times. I was honored that his most recent comments draw a little inspiration from some of my writing on the subject of “deadheading”. You can read his column by clicking here.

New book coming in January

admin — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:22:33 +0000

Hi! I’m excited to let you know I have a new book being released in January 2009 titled 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants: Tough But Beautiful Plants that Anyone Can Grow. I think it will be useful for all of us with busy lives seeking dynamic, outstanding plants that are also low care. Many are deer, pest and insect resistant, drought tolerant, long lived, they don’t require frequent pruning, daily deadheading, fertilizing, regular division or staking. What a dream come true! Click on the BOOKS tab for more info or click on the cover photo to visit the Timber Press website.