• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • The Gardenangelists Podcast
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Summer Reading – The Squabbling Garden

July 14, 2015 By Carol Michel 5 Comments

The Squabbling Garden, 1934

I love summertime reading.

Every summer, I think I’ll discover some new-to-me old garden writer.  I live for that possibility. I search for old garden books in antique malls and bookstores and online, knowing I’m really searching for old garden writers, kindred spirits from the past, from another era of gardening.

I always remember it was summertime when I discovered the garden writers Cynthia Westcott and Buckner Hollingsworth, and of course, Elizabeth Lawrence.   Oh, and Charles Dudley Warner, though he wrote just one book on gardening called My Summer in a Garden.

Perhaps I should write a book called My Summer in a Gardening Book?

This summer, I may have discovered yet another old garden writer, Marion Cran.

As usual, I discovered her down in a rabbit hole of old garden writers on the Internet. I couldn’t even begin to recreate the twists and turns, the online searches, the dead ends, the “ah ha” moments that lead me to her.

But here I am reading one of her books, The Squabbling Garden, published in 1934.

I ordered it a week or so ago, late one night, not really knowing what it was about, but the title intrigued me.  The next night, I did some more searching and found out more about the book.

It is about…

Breeding and raising pigeons.

Pigeons to eat.

I tried to go online and cancel the order but in this fast-paced “ship it as so as they click it” world, there was no canceling the order.  But customer service was so kind. They wrote back in response to my request to cancel the order explaining that  I could mark it “return to sender” and they would refund my money once they got the book back.

Well, the book arrived, postmarked Great Britain, which means it was “dispatched” and not “sent” or “shipped”.  I love when someone dispatches me a book.

Unfortunately, Curiosity was right there beside me when I pulled the package out of the mailbox.

Curiousity. She’s a funny thing, isn’t she?  Curiosity opened the package anyway, and then Curiosity opened the book and began to read.

I read over Curiosity’s shoulder.  Yes, there is quite a bit of information about pigeons in the book.  But it is about so much more than that.

Yes, I think I’ve found my garden writer for this summer. Marion Cran.  Opinionated, insightful, pigeon-raising, Marion.  And guess what? She seems to have written quite a few books.  I may have to look for more of them…

But first, I’ll finish The Squabbling Garden. 

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: books

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Christina Wilsdon says

    July 14, 2015 at 5:27 pm

    How could one resist reading something called "The Squabbling Garden"! Sometimes picking up something unexpected does lead you down a new path to a whole new garden of delights…I recall asking for a book for Christmas one time called, I believe, "Theories for Everything" (a cartoon book by Roz Chast) and my husband bought a National Geographic book about science topics by the same name. I am happy to say both books were utterly wonderful 🙂

    Reply
  2. http://whatsitgarden.blogspot.com says

    July 14, 2015 at 9:30 pm

    I'm sitting around today reading E.A, Bowles's 'My Garden in summer'. I've had to look up every Geranium he's mentioned…taken a while .
    I'll have to look up those author's you've mentioned. I think I'd enjoy "The squabbling Garden" .

    Reply
  3. Covegirl says

    July 15, 2015 at 12:18 pm

    I'm glad you are enjoying the book.

    Reply
  4. Valorie Grace Hallinan says

    July 15, 2015 at 3:49 pm

    How interesting to have this list of garden writers. I will have to track them down!

    Reply
  5. Anonymous says

    July 25, 2015 at 12:10 am

    Oh my goodness, I laughed until I cried. This post is hilarious and wonderfully written. I always say, one book leads to another. This is a perfect example of how true this is. I am delighted to meet Curiosity, and can't blame you for reading over her shoulder. Searching for someone like Marion Cran is addictive refusing to stop the search. I hope it is okay to try and repost this delightful read to my blog. You have created an approach that is a winner for future pieces you will write. Just know that you are not alone in ordering something that turns out to be…what the heck have I done?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,064)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Sign up for my new substack newsletter

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT