Dirt By Amy Stewart

Wicked cart at BBG

Wicked plants going in the ground at BBG

It's starting! Good thing they're wearing gloves!

Wicked Plants trading cards at BBG

Collect all three.

Which one would you go to?

Be honest, now.

Salem, MA

Salem is weirdly into witchcraft. I kept thinking, like, weren't they falsely accused?

Wicked Plants: Get To Know Them at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Oh man, this is going to be so much fun.  I get on a plane tomorrow for the East Coast, and I can't wait to get to BBG and see their wicked plants in person.  We've been working together behind the scenes on this exhibit for a year or two now, and here we go!

I'll be there on May 31 to give a lecture and help open the exhibit,  which will include a show of original art from the book by Briony Morrow-Cribbs.  Her art will be on exhibit all summer, and she'll teach a drypoint etching workshop on July 25.  I'll be there on July 25 as well to lead a plant walk through the garden.

Get all the details here.  Some of the events require pre-registration, so be sure to check that out.

Chicken Paintings!

I get a surprising number of e-mails from people who want to know when I'm going to do some more chicken paintings.  Well, good news:  I've got a series of them going up at Lost Coast Daily Painters over the next few weeks.  I usually post on Tuesday, so go check it out if you're interested.  As an experiment, I'm starting bidding at only 99 cents!  What a crazy deal.

And -- yes -- all the paintings are of Eleanor, our Rhode Island Red (seen here in upper right, jostling for position with Abigail for the preferred nesting box on a day when all four of them got eggy at once).  I'm sad to tell you that Eleanor died a few weeks ago--our first hen death.  To our complete surprise, she had cancer--and lots of it--which was discovered after the bird vet put her to sleep and then opened her up to take a look.   We're very sad about it but we're glad she didn't suffer long.  I think the other chickens miss her, too--it's really thrown off their social life to have her gone.

So I've done a series of portraits of Eleanor as a tribute.  She was a fine, dignified hen who didn't go in for tricks and hi-jinks like the other birds do.  She was more of a true barnyard animal, more interested in laying eggs and digging for worms than goofing off and acting like a pet.

East Coast Book Tour Dates

The Wicked fun continues on the East Coast at the end of May.  Stop by and say hello. Please confirm dates & times with the venue before striking out, and know that some of them require pre-registration.  See my website for all upcoming events.

Thurs, May 21 11 am
Flower Confidential Discussion & Booksigning
Peabody Essex Museum
Salem, MA

Saturday, May 23 10 am
(only open to Master Gardeners)
Providence, RI

Saturday, May 23 3 pm
Barrington Public Library
Barrington, RI

Tues, May 26 7 pm
RJ Julia Booksellers
Madison, CT

Wednesday, May 27 6 pm
Discussion & Booksigning
Urban Roots
Buffalo, NY

Sunday, May 31 2 pm
Opening Event for Wicked Plants Exhibit at BBG
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Pre-registration required
Brooklyn, NY

And I Thought Coke Had Some Funny Ingredients!

Turns out Coca-Cola isn't the only soft drink to have some interesting botanical ingredients.  Yes, Coke still contains coke--or at least, a cocaine-free extract of the coca leaf, but did you know that the original formula for Dr. Pepper may have contained the narcotic mandrake root?

Check out this auction listing for a handwritten ledger book from the Waco Drug Store.  It contains a recipe for "Dr. Pepper Pepsin Bitters." Some of the ingredients are illegible on my screen, but mandrake is certainly there.

In case this listing disappears by the time you read this, I must share some of the other wonderful recipes in this notebook, which, by the way, has an opening bid of $25,000:

Dr. Wilkes Dead Shot for Tape Worm
Red Lead Ointment
Indelible Ink
La Grippe Remedies
Orange-Flower Skin Food
Coating Solution for Rx Counter
Bust Developer
Castles Hair Restorer
Stephen's Condition Powder
Miller Chill Tonic
Conger's Horse Powder

I could totally use a Miller Chill Tonic about now.  Is it five o'clock yet?

What I Do In Between Book Tour Stops

Plus: 

115 emails sent (about what?  I have no idea)
4 loads of laundry
1 book launch party Saturday night
9 relatives in town
1 sick cat
3 website changes
1 newspaper interview
2 beers, 2 glasses wine, 1 martini (not all at once)