A Time to Blossom

Book excerpt: For generations, a love of flowers, an understanding of nature, and a knowledge of the secrets of plants has passed seamlessly from mother to daughter to granddaughter. In its deliciously entertaining text and through its beautiful photographs, A TIME TO BLOSSOM captures the essence of childhood. Whether she is climbing an apple tree, squirming through a proper tea-party visit with an elderly neighbor, dashing to hang a May basket on a friend's door, or sitting crowded and cranky on a Sunday ride with the family, Tovah Martin's childhood memories will captivate the reader. With Richard Brown's glorious photography, A TIME TO BLOSSOM reminds us of the authors' earlier book, TASHA TUDOR'S GARDEN. The text is frank, impish, nostalgic, but never cloying or sentimental. It is a recollection of childhood with all the mischief, the mystery, and the innocence intact. And for readers who want to enjoy their own mother and daughter flower projects, A TIME TO BLOSSOM is filled with practical instructions: How to make a hollyhock doll; weave a garland; press pansies, bake a scented geranium cake, force bulbs, dry flowers, make rose potpourri, grow a giant amaryllis, and much much more.