Margaret Roach’s Magical Garden
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Today, Margaret Roach’s all-new 21st anniversary edition of her first award-winning book, A Way to Garden, makes its way into the world.
It’s 300+ pages, nearly twice as thick as the original, packed with color photos, and totally revamped to reflect forty years of wisdom and insight, most importantly the changes in how Margaret gardens today. For gardeners of all kinds and at all skill levels, it’s a dream, a treasure trove of knowledge. Some highlights for me include:
- 18 Seed-Starting Tips
- 13 Things About Growing Tomatoes
- Organic Lawn Care
- A Must-Have Rose
- Not Your Average Morning Glories
- Growing Potatoes
- Making Compost
I could list so much more, not to mention the touching stories (like one about sisterhood, which made me cry).
Though my garden is wee, Margaret and her website are a constant source of inspiration and a resource I turn to again and again. She taught me how to freeze parsley (and other herbs) and the trick to growing cilantro — hint, as Margaret says: “sow, sow, sow again.” She also introduced me to Craig LeHoullier, his book, and Dester tomatoes, which my husband started from seed a few weeks ago in our basement. I cannot wait for summer.
I recently visited Margaret and her garden, and I’ve included a few snaps below. But before you get lost in the wonderland that is Margaret’s backyard…
A Few Things:
- Margaret is hosting a big giveaway featuring some of her favorite garden gear.
- May 11th: Visit Margaret’s Garden, Take a Class, Buy Plants, Listen to a Lecture, & More (Come! I’ll be there, too!)
- Read more about Margaret’s book here (or in The Washington Post!)
- UPDATE: GIVEAWAY is CLOSED. WINNER IS KATHRYN RICHTER.
To enter to win a copy of A Way to Garden, leave a comment below. Tell me your favorite vegetable and your favorite way to cook or eat it. Good luck! - ALSO: Instagram Friends: There is giveaway over there, too: a signed copy of A Way to Garden
Some snaps from Margaret’s garden: A sea of hellebores.
Backyard pond, where Margaret’s friends are known to take baths, and …
… where Margaret finds salamander egg beds while skimming leaves.
Margaret’s 125-year old apple tree.
Voodoo lilie bulbs.
Margaret and her book! Get yours: A Way to Garden
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
197 Comments on “Margaret Roach’s Magical Garden”
I love most vegetables but I can’t go past potatoes. Cooked anyway will do but at the moment I’m hooked on Rosti – either as a side or as a light meal with a crispy fried egg on top. How amazing if I could learn to grow my own.
What a wonderful book! ‘Y favorite veggie is broccoli, roasted with garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes! Thanks for the chance to win!
My favorite veggie is the one I can pull from my own garden! And my favorite way to eat it is basically raw — raw rhubarb, raw broccoli, raw tomatoes — all heated with the sun.
And then we up and move and it all starts again — a challenge, but a welcome one. But with different landscape comes different layout, plant choice, and a very different wish list. Gardening – such fun!
Thanks, Alexandra, for the beautiful pictures and the reminder of patience in achieving what we want and the rich reward of waiting!
Pan roasted asparagus served with fresh Parmesan cheese.
My favorite vegetable is roast potatoes with garlic and rosemary. I planted potatoes for the first time this year. I’m hoping I’ll figure out how to harvest them by the time they’re ready.
Depending on the Virginia temperature swings in Spring, I’m currently loving roasted brussles with basalmic vinegar, toasted almonds, splash of Pomegranite or currant juice, and uncooked sliced Granny Smith apples, and shaved Parm cheese. If it’s hot like today, kale salad with tahini, garlic, Parm, almonds, and grapefruit. So good!!
My favorite vegetable is fresh English Peas. Most of the time I eat them raw, but also like them very lightly steamed with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Fava beans! And a magical recipe for fava crustini!!
A freshly picked heirloom tomato from the garden with a little sea salt.
I bought the original version of Margaret’s book and I’d love the updated copy. I grow tons of different veg, but I can’t help it…sugar snap peas welcome the growing season, and inside. I scarf them all down within seconds of being taken from the vine. Heaven.
My favorite vegetable is probably green beans, in a nice cold salad!
My favorite vegetable – simply greens. I love the taste of fresh greens in a simply dressed salad, but especially slightly wilted in an omelet, in greens and beans soup, in lasagna, and in sandwiches. Greens are my tastes of spring and summer; a great companion to all sorts of fresh foods, including meats. Thanks for the chance!
My favorite vegetable is usually the freshest, most in season and recently plucked! Peas! Green beans! Sweet peppers! Corn! Radishes! Kale! Best if eaten while standing in the garden.
Tomatoes – not cooked but with fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar
My favorite vegetable is asparagus, oven roasted with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper
My favorite vegetable is fresh organic green beans with butter and salt and pepper.
Vidalia onions, slow roasted with thyme, garlic & broth/red wine vinegar sauce!
Tiny zucchini and yellow crook necks, with blossoms attached, picked from the garden on a warm July evening , sautéed whole in olive oil and butter with plenty of salt and pepper. That’s why I garden.
My favorite vegetable has to be zucchini, I love it sliced coated with olive oil then parm/bread crumbs. Or diced or “riced” small and sauteed.
This book looks wonderful!!! Being here in the south my favorite vegetable to grow is okra…and it has to be fried! Sweet corn on the cobb from the grill is a very close second!
love the pond that she has and the way she did around the trees– would love it cause it looks like it has tons of useful information and I could always use the help
Thank you for the opportunity to win a gardener’s dream book! My favorite vegetable is anything that I can grow and harvest from my own garden with my favorite going to rhubarb. It can be used as a salsa or glaze for grilled meat, in cocktails (fyi, Aperol) or in compotes and many other desserts. Versatile and delicious!
Potatoes – so versatile! I like to stuff potatoes in my paranthas
Ooh, tough one! I love all the vegetables, but I think my favorite is zucchini. I love it on pizza!
I could eat trays of roasted broccoli! Never get sick of it! My kids, on the other hand, would heartily disagree.
Thanks for the opportunity to win a copy of your new book!!
Vegetables are wonderful, especially those from my own garden. Yum.
After much thought I think I will go with Garlic! Can’t go without it.
I love butternut squash!
Mashed, as soup or cut fries, roasted are all the ways I love this squash.
Phoebe
Roasted smashed redskins with the skins left on:
After cleaning potatoes, I boil them, let them cool and put them on a towel to gently smash. Place them on a sheet pan, cover with olive oil and sprinkle Montreal Steak Seasoning on top before roasting. Perfect!
I also love English peas with spinach fettuccine topped with a parmesan sauce.
so many vegetables that I could say would be my favorite, tonight I’ll say mushrooms! I love the earthy taste and when I can grill them with kabobs I’m most appreciative (love your new book and am anxious to see in our local bookstore soon)
My favorite vegetable is green beans…blackened with siracha!
Margaret’s garden looks magical! Hard to pick a favorite vegetable, but I’m loving kale in salads.