Do you love gardening?

If you have read “Heirloom” already, you know that gardening was not something that Kate was very familiar with as her story begins, although she did have fond memories of visiting a garden in Europe with her twin sister Becky as a young girl.

“A sudden breeze brought a scent with it that made Kate turn her head.  She recognized the scent from somewhere deep in her past, but she could not place it.  She followed the scent down the flagstone path, and it led her to the old rose garden.  She gently lifted one of the haggard roses, leaned in, and breathed its scent.  The petals were scant and pale and yet somehow exuded a sweet, extravagant aroma that brought back a memory from her childhood.”

It’s wonderful how scents bring back a time and a place from our past as if it were yesterday.  Aromas of cooking in your mom’s or grandma’s kitchen.  Or maybe it was the smell of wood and sawdust and the tools in your dad’s workshop.  The scent of grapes in the vineyard just before harvest is one of my favorite memories growing up on Keuka Lake in New York State.  Whatever it may be, scents are a powerful reminder of our past. 

Kate began to embrace gardening as a way to heal, to grow, and to give a new purpose to her life.  Does that ring true for you?  Kate’s new friends, Sam and Martin, encourage her to use the rose hips from her garden for jellies, teas and soups.  Follow the link below for a YouTube video on how to make Rose Hip Tea—I think I might try it, too!

https://youtu.be/hMwj0l_SMF0

If you still want to buy Heirloom for yourself or for a friend, it is still available on Amazon in paperback and kindle or, better yet, email me at [email protected] and you can get a signed copy mailed to you!  

(Disclaimer: This is NOT a photo of my garden!  But it is central to Kate's journey in my upcoming novel "The Legend" to be available on April 5, 2022!)