There’s too much information to put on a website, so I put it in a book.

 A Lawn Chair Gardener’s Guide to a Balanced Life and a More Balanced World is for gardeners interested in establishing eco-friendly yards that create food and habitat for both people and wildlife with minimal time and effort. It’s for people who enjoy being outside, hope to squeeze in a couple hours per week (or month) to garden and want their garden to make a positive impact on the world. This book is meant for both beginning and experienced gardeners who are venturing into the world of edibles and natives and gardening with an environmental perspective.

Even though this is a guidebook, it is entertaining and easy to read. This 26,401-word book has 14 chapters. The beginning of the book explores the concept of lawn chair gardening and how gardens support balance in a person’s life.  Then lawn chair gardening is brought to a global stage by demonstrating how gardens can change the world one yard at a time by limiting grass to only what we use as play space and planting the rest of the yard as beneficial, functional plants such as native plants or edible plants. These types of gardens encourage water conservation and filtration, energy conservation (especially with fewer food miles), increased habitat and biodiversity, less air pollution and fewer chemicals needed. It is the author’s hope that when her kids are grown-up, having a purely aesthetic yard that provide no food or habitat will be as foreign to them as putting asphalt under playground equipment (which was common practice when she was a kid).

Chapters 4-14 offer step-by-step info. establishing gardens and what to do with the bounty. In this section you will find…

• a “relationship” survey to help readers choose which types of garden they are most compatible with
• landscape design
• instructions on “winter sowing” – easy, inexpensive method of starting seeds
• how to choose and where to buy plants (native plants are not available at big box stores and many nurseries)
• a list of handy tools
• how to promote beneficial insects to decrease or eliminate the need for pesticides
• weed identification
• how to avoid fertilizers and pesticides
• watering, dividing and trimming
• how to defend gardens against insects, diseases and animals
• fall or spring clean-up instructions
• 40 easy recipes that take 30 minutes or less to prepare
• how to safely freeze extra crops

Here’s the table of contents…

A Lawn Chair Gardener’s Tips for a Balanced Life and a More Balanced World