I rolled a shopping cart into The Great Outdoors on South Congress Avenue the other day and saw my own face looking back at me. Check it out—I’m on an upcoming-speakers sign (along with my friend and fellow new author Jenny Peterson—yay, Jenny!).

Yep, I’ll be speaking and signing copies of my book, Lawn Gone!, on Saturday, April 20th, at 10 am at The Great Outdoors, so please mark your calendar and come see me! I’ll share some design ideas for turning your lawn into an outdoor retreat with a mix of ground-covering plants and hardscape, and I’ll also show you some of my favorite plants from the nursery.

Look for me under the big tent at the back of the nursery, under the giant oak tree.

While you’re there, check out The Great Outdoors’ newly remodeled and expanded gift shop at the back of the nursery. It’s bright and airy now, full of cool garden gifts, decor, T-shirts, and—oh, look—garden books like Lawn Gone! The staff has placed it front and center on a display table along with a tear-out of the article about it in Vegetarian Times. Thanks, Brandi and company!

Making the nursery rounds that same day, I also stopped in at Barton Springs Nursery for a few things and, while paying, spotted my book in their gift shop too. Thanks for carrying it, BSN! Fun fact: Manager Bernardine Bering’s daughter, Moira Bering, a student of landscape architecture at university, did the beautiful color renderings of my three landscape design drawings in Lawn Gone!

If you live in Austin and like to buy locally, you can also find Lawn Gone! at The Natural Gardener…

…and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center…

…and Barnes & Noble, which has placed Lawn Gone! on their nonfiction new arrivals table, as well as in the gardening section.

This week I’m on KLRU’s Central Texas Gardener talking about—you guessed it—Lawn Gone! and how to transition your yard from thirsty grass to a more sustainable garden retreat. Huge thanks to producer extraordinaire Linda Lehmusvirta and host Tom Spencer for having me on the show.

But the most important, and still most amazing, place that I’ve been thrilled to see my book is in the hands of readers. Some of you have even shared pictures of Lawn Gone! in your garden or home, and I’d like to show off a few of them here. This is San Antonio gardener Shirley Fox’s copy, which hilariously poses, like a traveling gnome, throughout her beautiful garden in a review she wrote on her blog Rock-Oak-Deer.

My sister and sister-in-law sent me this picture of Lawn Gone! in their Houston courtyard garden, two images of which appear on pages 55 and 66. Meta-photo!

David Cristiani, Albuquerque landscape architect, blogger at The Desert Edge, and Lawn Gone!‘s regional plant expert for the Southwest, sent me this image of the book in his courtyard garden at breakfast time, with a breakfast taco and coffee rounding out the cozy vignette.

South Carolina gardener Ginny Sass sent me this color-coordinated image. Look at that cute face in the corner!

Wimberley, Texas, gardener and blogger Linda of Patchwork Garden posted this image of Lawn Gone! in her shopping wagon, along with some pretty ground-covering plants from The Natural Gardener.

And fellow garden writer Katie Elzer-Peters took this adorable picture of Laura Livengood and her reading selections from the recent San Francisco Flower & Garden Show. Wow, how cool to see my book on the shelves at big gardening events like these! Not to mention my gardening friends taking the time to share such photos with me.

Thanks so much, y’all!

All material © 2006-2013 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The awesome crowd at my talk last Saturday

My 7th blogiversary came and went on Valentine’s Day, and I forgot all about it until last night. Seriously, it’s a wonder I remember my own name after the whirlwind ride of last week. My book, Lawn Gone!, debuted on Tuesday, and I’ve been focused on publicity for it, plus working the busy spring season for my design clients, and then on Saturday I gave my first public talk and book-signing at The Natural Gardener. What a ride!

When I showed up at the nursery, it was about 45 degrees F, which is pretty chilly for us Texans. But the day was sunny, and the nursery was humming with early shoppers. My fears that no one would come because of the cold—the garden talks are held outdoors under a tent—were soon laid to rest. And when I stepped inside the gift shop for a moment, I had the thrill of seeing my book prominently displayed. Woot!

My friend Shirley Fox, of the terrific San Antonio blog Rock-Oak-Deer, kindly shared her photos of the event with me. This is me speaking. I’m happy I don’t look like a total dork (I’m sure she edited those out), and I’m even more happy and grateful for the crowd of eager, inquisitive, enthusiastic gardeners who showed up on that cold morning to hear my talk. If any of you are reading this, THANK YOU so much for making my debut speaking experience so fun. A special shout-out to those who drove in from out of town: Shirley, John, Caleb and mom, plus a few others whose names I didn’t get—you guys rock!

I also had a support crew of blogger friends and other dear friends whose smiling faces in the audience made me feel comfortable and who took photos for me, brought me water, got my posters back to the car, and helped me not forget to attach my head to my shoulders in all the excitement. Thank you so much!

The talk was fun, the audience asked some great questions, and if anyone fell asleep I didn’t notice. And then things became kind of surreal, as I walked over to the deck to sign books. Look at the line! People were standing in line, looking through my book, and waiting for me to sign it.

I was so surprised, delighted, and honored. The Natural Gardener sold out of their stock of Lawn Gone!, and I met all kinds of friendly, interesting people as I signed. Big, BIG thanks to the great folks at The Natural Gardener, Rosina and John especially, for inviting me to speak, publicizing it so well, and making the experience so enjoyable.

What a lovely way to wrap up my blogiversary and debut-author week. I’m so glad to be a part of such an enthusiastic, passionate, and supportive gardening community, here in Austin and here online as well!

All material © 2006-2013 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Hey, Austin friends! I hope you’ll come on out to The Natural Gardener nursery tomorrow, Saturday the 16th at 10 am, to hear me talk about lawn alternatives for central Texas. I’ll be signing copies of my brand-new book, Lawn Gone!, afterward. Meet me in the big, white tent at 10 am, and dress for the weather. We’ll stay warm with our enthusiasm for going lawn-free!

Location:
8648 Old Bee Caves Road
Austin, Texas 78735
Phone: 512.288.6113

Note: This venue requires that books for signing must be purchased from The Natural Gardener.

All material © 2006-2013 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.