The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Tag Archives: “Seed Grow Love Write”

Odds and ends

Posted on by Posted in My books .

Howdy.

A few things I wanted to share with you on this wonderful autumn-like afternoon.

I discovered this on my front porch recently.

It is a spotted lanternfly and my county is one of many in the area that is under quarantine, limiting goods that can come to and from the county because of this devastating pest.

You can read more about it here.

We actually have found two of these creatures dead on our porch and have reported them to the state. I’ve been doing my best to locate any eggs that may have been laid so they can be removed ASAP.

Yikes.

Check out this sale at one of my favorite online plant purveyors, Santa Rosa Gardens:

30%-50% off all plants 

And check out the sale on Clematis at Bluestone Perennials as well:

15%-20% off Clematis 

For those of you who may be interested in my non-gardening writing, I’m developing a newsletter that you can subscribe to here.

I’m also proud to let you know that my latest book made it to #1 Best Seller status on Amazon under the gardening essay category this week.

A huge thank you to all who have purchased it. If you did manage to get through reading it by now (ha), I’d love for you to write a review on Amazon if you’re up for it. Reviews are EVERYTHING for new authors.

I’m knee deep in my next book and I’m looking for beta readers to provide feedback on early versions so I can ultimately tweak it into something great. If you are interested, let me know in the comments and you can add your email through the link I provided above.

I’m not quite ready to let you know the topic though. A little suspense is always fun.

Have a great weekend.

Working my buttocks off

Posted on by Posted in My garden .

For the past week or so I’ve dedicated myself to getting the garden to a much better place. I’ve spent hours upon hours weeding, moving plants to new locations, adding new plants and even adding a fire pit to the mix. I’ve started some mornings at 6:00 am and ended some evenings at 10:00 pm.

I’ve never sweat more in my life and it’s freaking awesome. This is what I love to do. There’s almost a pleasure in letting the garden go for a long stretch (which I did) only to come back and straighten it all up. It’s work, but it’s truly a labor of love.

I’m nowhere near close to finishing it (and yes I know “finishing” is a relative term) and I also ain’t stopping any time soon. In due time I will share it all with you. I promise.

For now, here are just a few small things I’ve done.

I literally felt my anxiety lessen when I finally took care of this mess. For two years, these white and purple coneflowers have co-existed and I hated every second of it. I planted the white in this location but the purple showed up unexpectedly.

No more.

This section has become a purple/pink fun time.

And now the white coneflowers share a space with a white blooming Clethra.

Much, much better.

Sticking with the coneflower theme. These yellow coneflowers have never really fit in this spot. It gets too much shade so they fall over desperately seeking the sun. Plus color-wise, it’s a bit of a mess.

A few minutes later and they’re in a full sun spot and it feels like they should’ve been here all along.

That’s all I have for you today. Hopefully the next collection of changes I’ll show you will be even better.

But you’ll have to wait until early next week. More work to be done.

One last thing.

I held my first ever book signing last Saturday at Triumph’s Brewing Company in New Hope, Pa. It was a blast even if it felt a bit odd signing books for total strangers.

I hope to do a few more this summer (update coming soon) and if you’re in the area, I’d love to meet you all.

One more last thing. Again. If you did read the book, I’d love for you to leave a review on Amazon and it must be honest. I promise you not only can I take it, but I also need it.

As always, thank you.

My new book “Seed, Grow, Love, Write” is now available

Posted on by Posted in My books .

It’s heeeeeerrre.

After months of editing, proofing and designing (thank you ten times over Katie Elzer-Peters) we have the final product completed and available for purchase.

For those unaware of the book’s topic, allow me to pull the description directly from the book:

Part self help, part a hilarious jaunt through one writer’s life, Seed, Grow, Love, Write will leave every reader laughing, crying and, as author John Markowski says, “chewing” on something different. Grow with Markowski as the “Family Leaf Management Program” lures him into gardening, a love further strengthened by “The Markowski Mulch,” a grand event that happened each July. Feel the relief of a clean slate provided by mowing the lawn (known as “The Theory of Vacuum Momentum”), and nod with understanding as he explains how ornamental grasses saved his life. It’s not all gardening, though. There are stories of his time as a mailman, private investigator, new dad, and petty thief. You meet his grandfather, the amateur taxidermist, his wife (and editor), and blog readers, including “Allison in Ohio.” In Seed, Grow, Love, Write, Markowski shows that a life lived without passion isn’t really a life at all, and you’ll close the book reinvigorated to find your own passion and not apologize for it. Meanwhile, you’ll have had a grand time getting there. 

I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I hope you get even the slightest jolt of inspiration.

And as always, I hope you laugh, you cry and you learn a little something more about yourself.

Here is the link to the book on Amazon:

Seed, Grow, Love, Write

If you are up for leaving a review on Amazon, I won’t stop you … even if it isn’t glowing. I’m steady like that.

A deep thank you to all of you and your support over the years. This book never happens if you don’t visit me here.

Cheers.