Yes, I am interested! Do you still have these? Burpee  American Gardening Series: "Garden Designs" "The Backyard Landscaper" by Ireland-Gannon Associates, Inc. "The Garden Planning Kit" by Derek Fell with Sarah Wood I just posted a list on this forum. LMK if interested. Theresa

Hi Anna_lisa, Stokes Seeds will send you a free catalog on request. It is a wonderful source of information for annual, perennial, vegetable and herb seeds/plants. It has a chart explaining when to sow the seeds and their spacing requirements, and plenty of pictures. Click the link below for their website (where you can request the catalog) and try not to order too many seeds! Here is a link that might be useful: Stokes Seeds

I would be more than happy to send you some seeds to start off! I know mailing books can be quite costly, so instead would you mind sending a SASBE (self addressed bubble envelope) or a rooted dogwood cutting later in the season? Give me an idea of what you'd like and perhaps growing site. If you want perennials, would I be right in assuming you are in zone 3 or 4? kenny kennyso25@gmail.com

Outside, I enjoy those books too--- my late FIL went to school with Ferrol Sams and we love his novels. I hadn't realized he wrote essays as well. "When attending art shows, I swear off coffee table books but I am weak." We share that weakness, lol. Seems I am "always" never going to buy another huge book... Beagles, that room is fantastic, and I do see your pile of books peeking out from under that chair to the left :-) I'm with you on the kindle, but every now and then I like to hold a real book. Even though I find myself pushing the edge of the page instead of turning it (hanging head). No screen can reproduce the heft and color of those prints in large books, there is something about a good quality art print that is somehow more convincing than an image on a screen. Sloe gin, over the past decade or so I've seen many people putting lovely shelving in their dining rooms to combine functions or simply bring books into a room that doesn't often see them. I love that look, of a literary dining room! And your basket sounds eminently practical, we use our shagreen boxes and ceramic bowls for the same purpose--- the "stuff" has got to be corralled somehow. I have seen that Circus book, Robo, and the Atomic Ranch book also, they are both marvelous! It's clear that our collective enjoyment of these tomes is at least partly for the esthetic quality of the books themselves in addition to the content. I suppose that's what makes them "useful" decor :-) In some cases they might function purely as decor, as the leather books you've used, tinam. Have you seen the book purses that are so popular in some circles? Kate Spade has or had a few, and there's quite a cottage industry on Etsy making real old books into small handbags. They aren't a tenth big enough for me, but I love looking at them!