RHYS BOWEN: So many good books coming out around this time! Not only are we celebrating my release and Lucy's next week, but several good friends of the Reds also have new books out. I'm happy to be hosting Sarah Stewart Taylor today, calebrating her new book HUNTER'S HEART RIDGE. And Sarah is here to share about a subject close to my own heart: flowers. I love flowers. When I go to the farmer's market to buy beans and plums I often return with a bunch of freshly cut flowers as well. I'd love to have an English garden full of scents and blooms but alas I live on a hill where deer wander freely and devour anything that isn't oleander. But I'm living vicariously through Sarah's flowers today!
SARAH STEWART TAYLOR:
While harvesting flowers in my cut flower garden this morning, I thought to myself, “Alice Bellows would be so proud of my scabiosa.”
Alice Bellows is not a real person. She is a character in my series of novels set in 1960s rural Vermont. In the series starter, Agony Hill, Alice, who has returned to her hometown to live after the suspicious death of her CIA-connected husband and a lifetime of espionage adventures of her own, makes flower arrangements for a town celebration, gives arrangements to friends, and spends hours upon hours in the peace of her meticulously-designed and well-tended gardens.
At some point over the last couple of years, I realized that my interest in flowers and Alice’s had begun to flow together so that I wasn’t sure where one started and the other ended. Like Alice, I became absolutely obsessed with growing cut flowers for bouquets.
I’ve always loved growing things. We have a perennial garden, planted by my late mother-in-law, at our farm that I have fun caring for, and I have often planted sunflowers or zinnias and enjoyed harvesting the blooms. But two years ago, after one too many visits to Floret Flower Farm’s Instagram account, I realized that I wanted to try growing cut flowers myself and that I wanted to learn how to arrange them.
There’s something about being able to present a friend or family member who is celebrating or going through something difficult with a glorious arrangement of home-grown flowers. Flowers, lovely but short-lived, force us to slow down and notice the sublime, to revel in the miracle of nature’s wildly varied colors and shapes.
So, last summer, I started preparing the beds and grew a few varieties of zinnias and cosmos. Over the winter, I read and researched and ordered way too many seeds. When my husband gave me a seed-starting set up, complete with grow lights, my new hobby began to bloom, so to speak.
While snow blanketed the ground outside my windows, I started about twenty varieties of cut flowers from seed: snapdragons, scabiosa, yarrow, strawflower, feverfew, veronica, celosia, gomphrena, zinnias, cosmos, and more. Every day I would check the little seedlings, watering them, turning them to the lights, and dreaming about the day they would finally reach maturity.
I can’t tell you how much joy it has given me to watch them grow, first inside and then out in my garden. In so many ways, cut flower gardening is an excellent antidote to the ups and downs of writing and publishing. Weeding and watering give me a great excuse to get up from the computer and when my words don’t feel particularly well-composed or beautiful, I can create order and art with the flowers. I don’t know exactly where I’m going with this passion; I’m hoping to have a farmstand and sell bouquets at some point, but I have a lot to learn before that will be possible.
Doing the work of growing all of these flowers has helped me to understand Alice better too. After the danger and uncertainty of her married life, she has found peace and satisfaction in her gardens. There is also a secret in her past that draws her to her beds and borders and, since these are mystery novels, in Agony Hill and its follow up, Hunter‘s Heart Ridge, which comes out August 5th, Alice begins to suspect that her past in the intelligence world is not completely in the past.
Whatever happens to her though, I know she’ll keep growing flowers and I’ll be gardening and arranging right alongside her.
Have you ever shared a hobby with a fictional character?
SARAH STEWART TAYLOR is the author of the Sweeney St. George series, set in New England, the Maggie D’arcy mysteries, set in Ireland and on Long Island, and Agony Hill and Hunter’s Heart Ridge, set in rural Vermont in the 1960s.
Sarah has been nominated for an Agatha Award, the Dashiell Hammett Prize, and the MWA Sue Grafton Memorial Award and her mysteries have appeared on numerous Best of the Year lists. A former journalist and teacher, she writes and lives with her family on a farm in Vermont where they raise sheep and grow blueberries. You can learn more about her at www.SarahStewartTaylor.com. Visit her on Instagram and Facebook to see more of her flowers!
Congratulations, Sarah, on your new book . . . perhaps you could tell us a bit about the story?
ReplyDeleteYour flower garden sounds truly amazing . . . here the deer are always a consideration when we plant flowers . . . .
Hi Joan! Thanks for that prompt! Hunter's Heart Ridge is the sequel to Agony Hill, my first novel set in Bethany, Vermont in the mid-1960s. Here's my publisher's description:
DeleteIt's November of 1965 and the second weekend of Vermont's regular deer season when Vermont State Police detective Franklin Warren is called out to what looks like an accidental shooting at The Ridge Club, an exclusive men's hunting and fishing club for congressmen, diplomats, judges, and titans of industry: a former ambassador has been shot while out hunting. With the war in Vietnam picking up speed on the other side of the world, Warren quickly realizes that many of the club’s members are powerful men who may have ulterior motives and connections in high places.
While Warren's suspicions about the club members build, his neighbor Alice Bellows is throwing a dinner party, preparing for Thanksgiving, and worrying about her pregnant friend and fellow widow, Sylvie Weber, whose due date is coming up. When Alice's old handler and friend, Arthur Crannock, unexpectedly shows up in Bethany, Alice begins to wonder whether his presence has anything to do with the death at the hunting club.
As an early season snowstorm bears down on Bethany, knocking out power and phone lines and blocking the roads, Warren and his assistant, Trooper Pinky Goodrich, are trapped at the Ridge Club, likely along with a killer, and Alice, increasingly fearful that her past in the intelligence world is no longer in the past, will have to act fast to save Sylvie and her baby.
Sarah, congratulation on your new book.
ReplyDeleteSarah here! (It's not letting me show up as me for some reason!) Thank you, Dru Ann!
DeleteTrying to figure flower gardening out here in my new home in Ocala, Fl. I had some beautiful dahlias growing well and then one day they were just all brown and crispy. I have no idea what happened. My newest experiment is growing Thumbelina zinnias from seed in pots on my lanai. They have sprouted so we will see what happens. My hibiscus in a big pot on my patio is still doing well. In September we are having a landscaping project done that will bring in a host of flowering plants for attracting hummingbirds and butterflies.
ReplyDeleteI’ll enjoy reading about Alice.
Hi Brenda! (I figured out my identity issue and I think I'm showing up as me now!) I love zinnias of all kinds and they do seem to thrive in hot climates. Here in 5b, we have a lot of challenges related to the cold and wet but Florida is another story -- you can grow so many beautiful tropical things. I have a friend who has lots of orchids all over her yard in Florida.
DeleteCongratulations on the new book, Sarah! I'm excited to read another installment of Alice. One of my protagonists is a puzzle whiz, and I am always working on a crossword puzzle, although I don't design them to help sort through clues and suspects like she does.
ReplyDeleteI have an unruly perennial garden that's in desperate need of dividing but my energy seems to go elsewhere. I was delighted to find lots of volunteer cosmos this year. Such joyful flowers. Did you take a flower arranging course?
Thank you so much, Edith! Yes, volunteers are always such a treat, especially when I feel like I've missed windows for planting. I have not taken a course yet, but hope to this winter. I love doing it, but I can see where some instruction would help my arrangements!
DeleteSarah, congratulations on the second book in your series. I loved the first one! For those readers like me, who must begin a series with book #1, grab a copy of AGONY HILL. You are only one book from the beginning of this terrific series, so catching up will be easy. HUNTER'S HEART RIDGE is a must read for me! (BTW, I shared my copy of Agony Hill with my book buddy, Anne, in Florida. A couple times a year, I send her boxes of books that I have enjoyed. After she reads them, she shares them with her friends. Agony Hill was her favorite last year.
ReplyDeleteThe flowers are gorgeous, Sarah! How do you have the time to raise so many varieties with your sheep and your writing, and the blueberries? I love cut flowers. As for sharing hobbies with characters, I love to cook and bake, so there are lots of cozy series that fit. But I leave the sleuthing to Hayley Snow.
LOL Judy!
DeleteThank you for spreading the word about my books, Judy! I so appreciate it. I find the flowers are a great counterpoint to the writing and the family and the animals -- they aren't as urgent somehow. I can sort of do it when I have time and I find it really relaxing.
DeleteSarah, congrats! Can't wait to grab this book and read it slowly...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lucy! Looking forward to seeing you on the road -- and of course to your new book!
DeleteSARAH: Congratulations on your second book in your series. Can you please tell us more about your novel?
ReplyDeleteYour flowers are gorgeous. I read a novel, THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS, which was a fictional novel and despite the book being outside my usual genre, I loved the novel.
Princess Grace of Monaco loved to arrange flowers. I think she wrote a book about flower arranging.
Do I share hobbies with fictional characters? Baking, Drawing (maps), Exploring Old Houses, Reading and Writing are some of my favorite hobbies. There are many fictional characters who share my hobbies.
Hi Diana -- Thank you! I pasted in my publisher's description up above if you want to read, but it's a sequel to Agony Hill, which was set in the summer of 1965 as Franklin Warren arrives from Boston to take a job with the Vermont State Police. In Hunter's Heart Ridge, it's November and Warren is investigating a suspicious shooting at an exclusive men's hunting club when a snowstorm strands him and his deputy with a group of important men -- one of whom is a killer. Meanwhile, his neighbor Alice Bellows is wondering if her past in the intelligence world is really in the past and has to help her pregnant friend Sylvie Weber when the snowstorm stops them from getting to the hospital.
DeleteCongrats on your latest! I've been in love with Alice's garden since your first book.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Margaret!
DeleteWho doesn't like flowers? If there is such a person, we don't need to know about them, right? The cut flower vendor at our farmer's market is one of two vendors that reliably sells out every week, the other being the woman who makes the delicious artisan breads. Her bouquets are glorious.
ReplyDeleteEven with the uncertainty of growing things with conditions we both can and cannot control, it's such a satisfying and healing enterprise. A friend who had a truly devastating health issue credits turning her half acre side yard into an urban farm with her return to health. Alice is definitely on the right track of settling her own heart with growing beautiful plants. It has made a big difference to me, too, especially in the last few years of strife and uncertainty. Through the pandemic, in particular.
I can't think of a fictional character whose hobby/vocation dovetails with my own. Perhaps Alice will fill that role!
Right? Flowers are kind of a universal love language, I think. Gardening really is good for the soul. Thanks so much, Karen!
DeleteI was so invested with your characters and setting in the Maggie D'arcy series that I was almost reluctant to move from Ireland to Vermont. Thankfully your new location and premise are just as compelling. Keep on writing! My mother always had flower gardens, as did I until we relocated to AZ, where it is too much of a challenge! Annette
ReplyDeleteThank you for those kind words! Yes, Arizona is tough, though I've seen some interesting native species gardens . . .
DeleteCongratulations Sarah. I will definitely look for Agony Hill.I very much enjoyed your Maggie D'Arcy series.
ReplyDeleteI haven't even heard of some of the flowers you are raising! My only blooms right now are dahlias, roses, snapdragons. The chrysanthemums and asters will be along soon, We are having a day of lovely rain here in Oregon--nice to not have to water!
Hi, Gillian and thank you! After a rainy start to the summer, we are now in a bit of a drought and I am tired of watering. Hoping we follow your lead soon!
DeletePortland, Oregon has the most beautiful flowers. Flowers are everywhere, on bushes, in beds, on trees...it is a splash of color everywhere you look. And of course Portland is famous for its roses.
DeleteOh, I am GLUED to your instagram, and you are so talented with the flowers! (And writing, too!) I love arranging flowers, and using the ones in our garden,but yours are spectacular! Isn't it amazing how they sometimes also almost arrange themselves---I mean, after you do it, they settle in and be how they want to be.
ReplyDeleteHank, I always anxiously await photos of your tulips! And yes, I love arrangements best when they've relaxed a bit . . .
DeleteI crochet and some of the cozy books have crochet as dominate instead of knitting. Doesn't stop me from reading the knitting books but it's nice when crocheting is front and center.
ReplyDeleteI arrange flowers for church, once a month. I grew up doing it, first with Mom and then on my own. This month I'm putting up abalone shells saved from the years when my brother-in-law had a permit to pick them. We enjoyed eating the meat of the abalone and then saved the beautiful shells. I have other shells collected by my mother and stepfather on their trips back east. I'll put small bits of fern and cut flowers in between. I don't have a garden, but the church has the hydrangeas and fern I need. I'm looking to add some succulents to the mix too.
Congratulations on the new book. I should go add it to my list.
Thank you, Deanna! I bet they appreciate your arrangements at church!
DeleteCongratulations on Hunter‘s Heart Ridge, Sarah. Ah gardening… I’m afraid I can only dream of being good at it, though I try. I have written characters who love yard sales and I confess I did up until Covid. Does birding count? That’s a hobby I’d love to put in a book.
ReplyDeleteBirding absolutely counts! Has anyone done a birding mystery? If not, you should go for it! Looking forward to seeing you in Milton!
DeleteMe, too, Sarah! September 11 at 7:30 at the Milton Public Library (Massachusetts) with me, you, Lucy, and Elise Hart Kipness!!
DeleteBirding would be a great idea for a mystery!! Though I don't know very much about birding, I'd love to know more!.
DeleteExcellent. I loved your first VT story and can’t wait to read this one!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Alicia!
DeleteHi, Sarah! Waving at you from Texas!! I've so been looking forward to this book (I LOVED Agony Hill!) and have my copy waiting! I loved Alice's garden, and I love your Instagram photos of your flower arrangements. If we could post photos here I'd show you my bouquet from my farmer friend at the farmer's market. They are a commercial goat milk farm but Sarah makes fabulous goat milk soaps and grows cut flowers that she sells all through the season. She often puts basil in her bouquets, which I love, especially Thai basil. I envy you both your talent. Although I love my perennial garden I don't cut much from it, except when the English roses are in first flush in the spring.
ReplyDeleteHuge congrats on the book!
I grew some Thai basil this year and got a few pretty sprigs before it dried out. I will take better care of it next year. I love seeing your flowers, too, Debs! It's fun to have friends in different zones so we can see the differences and similarities. Your roses are spectacular.
DeleteCongrats on the book! I love the flower bouquets that are sold at our local country market. There's a Mennonite family that regularly sells out. Thanks to the deer, all I can grow at my house are petunias. I tried sunflowers this year and they never sprouted. Next year, I'll try and start them indoors and transplant.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Liz! Good luck with the sunflowers. I find they need heat and drier soil to germinate. My most successful ones are usually the volunteers from the year before.
DeleteMaybe that's what happened - they drowned. We go so much rain after I planted them. Heat, yes - but lots of rain.
DeleteI just read Hunter's Heart Ridge. I love Alice, Warren, and Pinky! I am a doofus when it comes to planning a garden, and I'm not familiar with what grows here in Virginia. So I hired a landscaper to plan and plant a cottage garden of native species for me. I already had some bee balm, so yay me. My job now is to weed and water as needed. The snow hill salvia is blooming, as are some of the other plants.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pat! Salvia is beautiful -- and hardy, I've found! Good luck with the garden!
DeleteOh, Sarah, Floret Farm! Wonderful memories of a friend, who with Erin’s (? as I remember) help, held retreat weekends for flower lovers in Snohomish, WA. What grace, beauty, and peace they created. I have no gardening talent, nor have I ever lived anywhere with the space and the climate to grow. May you continue to create beauty and write well. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteThank you, Elisabeth! I am obsessed with Floret -- that kind of retreat weekend sounds like a dream come true.
DeleteHello, Sarah. I already have my copy of Hunter's Heart Ridge and can't wait to start it as soon as I finish my current read. My husband and I live in an apartment, and I have nine window boxes and five hanging pots in which I grow only flowers, all annuals. I plant in mid-May and even here, in Switzerland (but not in the Alps!), my geraniums, blue salvia, sweet alyssum, and cleome last into November. I have no place to winter anything, so I start anew every year, but I don't mind. Once everything is planted, all I have to do is water, and the flowers grow and grow. Not suitable for bouquets, but I enjoy them anyway.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Kim! I do hope you like it! It's amazing what you can do in containers. A lot of the English gardeners I follow do a lot of container gardening and move them between patio and garden depending on the weather. The Swiss are famous for their window boxes and hanging baskets so you are continuing a time-honored tradition!
DeleteCongratulations, Sarah! I am so excited for this title!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jenn!
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