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A Groom for Mama, A Writer's Garden, Author Catherine Castle's garden blog, Garden Anticipations, Sweet romance
Welcome to A Writer’s Garden where writers who are gardeners or just love gardens will be sharing their garden and flower stories, as well as a bit about their writing gardens—aka their books.
Today’s guest is me, Catherine Castle, and I’m going to share my garden adventures and pictures from this season, with a peek at past years.
“If you would be happy, plant a garden.” Chinese Proverb
Garden Anticipations
As I write this post, it’s supposed to be fall in our gardens, but here in Southern Ohio the weather has been more summer-like than fall-like. This past week is the first where it has actually felt like fall. The most fall-ish thing I see outside my kitchen window is my sedum, whose tops have turned maroon. I’ve never seen them quite this dark. I’m wondering if it’s because we had a nice amount of rain this year.
I’m anxiously awaiting the flaming red leaves of my burning bush to appear. If I’m lucky I’ll just be able to see it over the no-longer-dwarf mugo pines. The landscaper didn’t tell me I needed to trim them to keep them dwarf and now they block everything behind them.
Picture of red flaming bush when it was young
Since the temps have finally dropped below 40 degrees so I—and when I say I, I mean my dear hubby—can dig up some daylilies and wayward black-eyed Susans in a chigger-infested bed and make the bed more tidy. I can’t do heavy labor any more. I get the sit-on-the-garden-stool-and-sort jobs now. While weeding the bed this spring I was eaten alive by the no-see-em bugs, so all gardening stopped in that spot. If you’ve ever had a bunch of chigger bites you know how miserable that can be. I did discover that ice packs held on the bites until you can’t feel your legs kill the sting and itch.
North deck beds that has the chiggers
Another fall job we need to do is in the front day lily bed. This bed is full of weedy runner grass, also known as quack grass or snake grass. For three years we’ve sprayed and dug the three tiers back in this corner in an attempt to kill the grass. The grass is gone from the back and we’re ready tackle the last patch of pesky grass. We started the big job this Tuesday, and I think I’m going to have more day lilies than I have bare areas to replant them in. We may have to drop some back in the same place and just keep fighting the weedy grass by hand.
Weedy Day lilies
Because of my back issue, we had landscapers come in and do the heavy work this spring. They tore out most of my Shasta Daisies in the front beds. They had become puny and full of clover, which is extremely hard to eradicate or pull. I will be dividing my Stella D’Oro daylilies to fill the empty spaces in the picture on the left below. This is what the beds looked like in their heyday. They haven’t looked as nice recently as the clumps had begun to thin out and bloom sparsely. More weedy than lovely.
Old shasta bed (L) and cleared shasta bed (R)
Garden Gymnastics
Oh, and I must share the lovely beds my husband built me this spring along the front stairs and the gard. He leveled the slope out so I can stand in the beds or sit on the walls to weed. Slopes are harder and harder for me to navigate.
new beds to replace shasta daisies
I wasn’t much help with the building as he started. I was recovering from a severe sciatic attack that put me on crutches for a month. I mostly sat on the edge of the front wall and supervised. Great job if you can get it. J
By the time he’d completed the top layer, I had improved enough to work in the garden for short periods of time. My back still hurt, but I could function on a daily basis. So, one morning I grabbed a hoe and started smoothing out the top layer of dirt and compost. One step backward tumbled me over two bags of compost lying in the yard. I flipped heels-over-head backward and then the downward slope of the front yard turned me sideways. I completed the backward roll and ended up sitting, legs stretched out in front of me, facing the opposite direction.
In a very calm voice, my husband said, “Are you all right?”
Confused that I was now looking south, instead of north, I just stared at him, thankful that the compost had broken my fall and amazed that I hadn’t hit the flowerbed wall just above me and broken my neck. “I think so,” I said. Then I asked, “Why didn’t you help or call out my name?”
“I couldn’t get up in time,” he replied. “It happened so fast, yet you were rolling in slow motion. It was crazy.”
He offered to help me up, but I started laughing hysterically—the stomach crunching kind of laughs that put you in tears. After a couple of minutes, when I could breathe again, I inch-wormed my way to my feet—an acrobatic move that in itself would have been video worthy. Upon standing, I discovered my garden gymnastics had adjusted the last piece of my spine that was out-of-place. I had no back pain! And I felt as if I stood fully erect for the first time in months.
Unfortunately, my husband didn’t have his camera with him. If he had we’d have won America’s Funniest Home Videos and could have been $10,000 richer. The story made for weeks of giggles as I recounted it to friends. When I told the chiropractor he was amazed, but recommended I not use that particular adjustment method on a regular basis. I wholeheartedly agreed, although it was the best my back had felt in months.
Currently the new beds next to the stairs are empty, as I can’t make up my mind what I want to plant in them. It needs to be something easy to clean in the spring. At first I was leaning toward filling the beds with the day lilies I separate this fall. It’s been 14 years since my day lilies have been separated, and I’m sure I’d have enough to fill the new beds. But now I’m considering peonies. They die back in the fall and would be easy to clean up. I also love the heady smell of blooming peonies, but I hate the ants that accompany the plants. I know they’re necessary to help the blooms open, but I really hate ants. If you have any suggestions on other plants, I love to hear them. I need easy to clean and easy to care for.
I want to thank all readers who stopped by and spread the word about the blog and the lovely authors who have helped make this blog series a success this year. It’s been so much fun seeing all your gardens—both green and living and those stitched between the covers of your books. I hope you’ve all enjoyed visiting with me as much as I’ve enjoyed having you. At present, I’m planning to repeat A Writer’s Garden next spring, so keep snapping those garden pictures in anticipation of a new gardening year.
Here’s wishing you all Happy Gardening,
wherever you live.
About the writer/gardener
Multi-award-winning author Catherine Castle loves writing, reading, traveling, singing, theatre, and quilting. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. She writes sweet and inspirational romances and both of her books have won awards. You can find her award-winning books The Nun and the Narc and A Groom for Mama on Amazon. Follow her here on her blog or on Catherine’s Amazon author page.
A Groom for Mama
By Catherine Castle
Beverly Walters is dying, and before she goes she has one wish—to find a groom for her daughter. To get the deed done, Mama enlists the dating service of Jack Somerset, Allison’s former boyfriend.
The last thing corporate-climbing Allison wants is a husband. Furious with Mama’s meddling, and a bit more interested in Jack than she wants to admit, Allison agrees to the scheme as long as Mama promises to search for a cure for her terminal illness.
A cross-country trip from Nevada to Ohio ensues, with a string of disastrous dates along the way, as the trio hunts for treatment and A Groom For Mama.
A Groom for Mama won in the Contemporary Category this year in the Raven Awards!
Hi, my name is Joan Deppa. I have been a wife, mother and pastor’s wife for many years, but have started a new adventure. I am now an author. They say you should write about what you know, so that’s what I have done in my series, “Seasons of Love.” When I came home from my dad’s funeral, and after a March snow storm that left everything white and clean, Whiter than Snow was born. It’s based on some of my dad’s past, as well as my husband’s, his salvation experience and how it brought about the release of the pain and bitterness of his past, and then the wonderful results it brought. It takes place in the beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan, as that’s where we were living when I began writing it. Throughout our ministry, we have counseled many people who have been hurt by the pain of divorce, as well as experienced it ourselves when my parents, as well as one of our sons went through a divorce. It causes a lot of feelings of rejection, insecurities and fears that only Christ can heal, so that is the theme for my second book, Summer Dreams. I am currently writing the third book entitled, Autumn Discoveries. It will deal with the issue of high expectations that we, as well as others, place on us.
Bonnie Turner has recently moved to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and is enamored by its beauty in the winter time. While enjoying the beauty, Brad Jorgenson “bumps” into her and takes it upon himself to show her the sights and how to enjoy Winter in the Upper Peninsula. But will Bonnie be able to show him how to release the anger and bitterness he’s carried since childhood and introduce him to the Creator of the beauty he enjoys? Can God’s love and forgiveness really make him, “whiter than snow?”
April Phillips is a 6th grade teacher who loves children but feels she should never marry due to the history of divorce in her family. So instead, she pursues her dream to learn to Kayak and buys an older house that she can make into the home of her dreams. However, Aaron Matthews has his own dreams – to marry April and have a family of their own. But first he needs to help her realize that God is able to break her chains of fear and give her a love that paddles through the storms and difficulties of life and thrives. Whose dreams will be realized? Can they both win?
My husband and I have been in church ministry for over 30 years and have counseled many hurting people. I have always loved to read and now write inspirational fiction, sharing God’s love, forgiveness, wisdom and ability to change lives yielded to Him, in a way that people can relate to. My hope is that my readers will find true joy, guidance and forgiveness in Christ from their past and present challenges in life. We have four adult children, eleven grandchildren and have lived mostly in the Midwest. We enjoy seeing all the beauty of God’s creation wherever we are, and I share some of our favorites in my stories. I am a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers.
Mother/daughter author duo HL Carpenter write family-friendly fiction from their studios in Carpenter Country, a magical place that, like their stories, is unreal but not untrue. When they’re not writing, they enjoy exploring the Land of What-If and practicing the fine art of Curiosity. Visit 
When her father is accused of fraud, seventeen year old Vandy Spencer discovers her entire life has been built on a heart-shattering deception.
Besides being a member and active participant of many writing groups, Carole Brown enjoys mentoring beginning writers. An author of ten books, she loves to weave suspense and tough topics into her books, along with a touch of romance and whimsy, and is always on the lookout for outstanding titles and catchy ideas. She and her husband reside in SE Ohio but have ministered and counseled nationally and internationally. Together, they enjoy their grandsons, traveling, gardening, good food, the simple life, and did she mention their grandsons?
Today it’s my pleasure to welcome Ginger Solomon back to the blog. Ginger will be talking betrayal and her Contemporary Christian Romance Can’t Live Without You, her story in the boxed set A Christmas to Remember. Welcome, Ginger.
Ginger Solomon is a Christian, a wife, a mother to seven, and a writer—in that order (mostly). She writes or reads inspirational romance of any genre, and if she’s busy homeschooling, doing laundry, or fixing dinner, books are on her mind. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, president of her local writing group, and blogs regularly for InspyRomance.com and at gingersolomon.com.
Cathy Elliott enjoys touring beautiful gardens, created and maintained by others. But her current interest is planning and producing mini-container-gardens. And adding ideas to her Pinterest boards on the subject. She’s also a cozy mystery author with plot-twisting works including: A Vase of Mistaken Identity, Medals in the Attic, and A Stitch in Crime. She’s a contributing author to Guidepost’s recently released devotional, Every Day with Jesus and the upcoming, All God’s Creatures.
Assault, larceny, anonymous threats. Who knew quilt shows could be this dangerous?
Today’s Wednesday Writers is welcoming back Sara L. Foust, a multi-published, award-winning author of Inspirational Romantic Suspense. She’ll be talking about hope and her book Camp Hope: Journey to Hope. She also has an excerpt of the book, so be sure to read to the bottom of the post. 
Sara is a multi-published, award-winning author who writes Inspirational Romantic Suspense from a mini-farm in East Tennessee, where she lives with her husband and their five homeschooled children. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. Callum’s Compass won second place in Deep River Books’ 2017 Writer’s Contest. Sara also has a story, “Leap of Faith,” in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Step Outside Your Comfort Zone. Gain access to a FREE digital scrapbook detailing some real-life places from Callum’s Compass by signing up for her newsletter: 
Lynne Tagawa is married with four grown sons and three marvelous grandbabies. A biology teacher by trade, she teaches part-time, writes, and edits. She’s written a Texas history curriculum in narrative form, Sam Houston’s Republic, and two novels, A Twisted Strand and The Shenandoah Road. Lynne lives with her husband in South Texas.
Welcome to Wednesday Writers. Today’s guest is Jodie Wolfe with a great story about how she wove some family history into her new historical romance release To Claim Her Heart. So, without further ado, I give you Jodie!
is taken of the original land that was claimed. The house was built in 1894.
Jodie Wolfe creates novels where hope and quirky meet. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Romance Writers of America (RWA) and has been a semi-finalist and finalist in various writing contests. A former columnist for Home School Enrichment magazine, her articles can be found online at: Crosswalk, Christian Devotions, and Heirloom Audio. She’s a contributor and co-founder of 