Short Version:

In my online store, where I sell autographed copies of my books, use the code “Prime,” and it will take off the $5 I add on for shipping in the U.S.

Long Version:

Did you know that Amazon, or “the big A” as Dee and I sometimes call it on our podcast, The Gardenangelists, is having “Prime” days today, July 11th, and tomorrow, July 12th?

Deals, deals, deals, as they say. You would have to be completely offline not to notice.

To compete, Bookshop, which is where you can order books and support independent bookstores at the same time, is also offering free shipping on July 11 and 12. And, if you spend over $100, you’ll get a free tote bag. You can order any of my books from Bookshop.

And the picture above? My garden club met at a local florist shop, Oberer’s Flowers, for a floral design class on Monday. I think I did alright, and I learned a couple of design tricks.

When these flowers fade, I’ll pick some flowers from my garden and see if I can arrange them more than usual, meaning I’ll do something other than cut the stems to the same length and put them in a vase.

If I end up with something I like, I’ll post a picture of it over on Instagram!

Bonus true story. When I was in college studying horticulture, I took a floral design class my last semester. Apparently, there was quite a bit of discussion about whether or not to offer a floral design class for the hort students, and they finally decided it would be worthwhile. Prior to that, the only floral design class available was an elective offered by the School of Consumer and Family Sciences, a school which no longer exists under that name.

Anyway, I enjoyed the flower arranging class, taught by a local florist, and we all had a good time. We got to take home most of the arrangements we made which was a nice bonus. But when it came time to design a casket spray, we only got to do one as a class, and no one got to take it home. Shoot. I thought it would have looked quite nice on the couch in my apartment.

Anyway, my online store… use code “prime” and I’ll pay the shipping, even after July 12th!