i love gardenhistorygirl

I'm always so excited to find a new post from Gardenhistorygirl in my inbox. They don't come around often--it wouldn't be possible as each post is so thorough and well-researched. Some of my favorite posts include Brancusi in the Garden...

Brancusi and Man Ray in Edward Steichen's Garden, toasting the poplar "Column" sculpture

For months I was fantasizing about an over-the-top vegetable Versailles after seeing walking stick kale in the Annie's Annuals catalog. I was able to learn a little bit about this Dr. Seuss-like veggie from Google but it was Gardenhistorygirl who came along and really satisfied my thirst for more information with her post The Cabbage that is King: Brassica oleracae longata. 

 Some sources, I learned, report that walking stick kale can grow up to 20' tall!

In the post Edward Steichen's Garden History I learned that photographer Edward Steichen was also a delphinium fanatic and president of the Delphinium Society of America. Really?! People are interesting...the plot thickens. 

Edward Steichen with delphiniums (c. 1938), photo by Dana Steichen. 

And after I posted a very stingy post about the wonderful lantern slides of gardens taken by Frances Benjamin Johnston, Gardenhistory girl came along and brought the subject into full color with her post. I was so excited to read more AND I was excited to enter into the drawing she hosted for the recently published book on Johnston's work Gardens for a Beautiful America. I entered almost as a dare because I never, ever, win anything. But what can I say, the gods obviously want this gorgeous book sitting on my coffee table for years to come because look what arrived in the mail a short while later...

Thank you Gardenhistorygirl for the giveaway, but especially for your very special blog which satisfies my thirst for esoteric garden tid bits!