In her newest book, Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots, she presents 12 spirited, easy-to-implement ideas for theme gardens that parents and kids can grow together. Illustrated throughout by the author's own lyrical watercolors, each garden includes a plan, the planting recipe -- seeds, seedlings, and growing instructions spelled out step-by-step -- and activities. There's the Pizza Patch , a giant-size wheel garden planted in "slices" of tomatoes, zucchini, oregano, and basil. A Flowery Maze to get lost in. A Moon Garden of night-blooming flowers, including a moonflower tent. And Mother Nature's Medicine Chest. Students will go out on a discovery walk around campus to observe the different aspects of a garden And then work together to create their own garden.

The author presents 12 spirited, easy-to-implement ideas for theme gardens that parents and kids can grow together. Illustrated throughout by the author's own lyrical watercolors, each garden includes a plan, the planting recipe — seeds, seedlings, and growing instructions spelled out step-by-step — and activities.

Great ideas for big yards. The book itself has a very attractive design and is a joy to read in the winter, too. ( )

A great introduction for kids to the world of gardening, this book provides multiple aspects of gardening that can be enjoyed by both adults and kids. Categorized so that the reader can navigate to specific areas of interest, the book discusses many of the possibilities of gardening.

Reading this book I often caught myself planning my own garden. I would stop to think, 'that would be perfect on the west half of my garden!' or 'my nieces would love that!'. In particular, the section of the book on sunflowers sparked my interest. I have a small garden (25' x 25') that I dedicate to my nieces and nephews each summer and this book led me to an idea for what to do this year. I am going to plant a few rows of sunflowers around the perimeter of the garden and leave a small opening on one end. As the sunflowers grow, they will encapsulate the garden and the opening can serve as a doorway. The kids can use this area as their hideout and enjoy the sunflowers at the same time! I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Because gardening is a large aspect of my life, I plan on bringing my love for gardening into the classroom. A garden takes a lot of dedication and through a class garden I believe my students will learn the importance of cooperation, maintainence and hard work. This book will be within my gardening text set and I will encourage my students to pull ideas from it for our classroom garden. Collaboratively, the students will make a map of the garden they would like to develop and with permission from my principal my students will be able to put their plan into action. ( )

This is a lovely book. Aside from all the excellent information and activities for gardening with children, the pages and illustrations are a pleasure to look at. There are a number of sections, each providing detailed instructions for a themed garden and a number of interesting facts and activities to go along with it. ( )