Welcome to giveaway number three leading up to the September 1 launch of my new book, Move Slow & Make Things.  This giveaway is in collaboration with Erin Callahan of Garden & Guild.  I’ve been following Erin on Instagram and have purchased several heirloom garden tools and classic gardening books from her since learning about her small shop.  Since I reference many gardening stories, analogies, and parallels in the book, it seemed fitting to have a giveaway centered around gardening – a creative endeavor that requires both moving slow and making things.

In addition to managing her shop, Erin tends a garden with her family in their 1949 cottage, Plot 49.  “I think the best part about what we are doing here is the simple fact that we are doing it together. From digging holes, to planting new flowers and shrubs, and everything in between. The whole process is a growing experience, not just for our plot, but for us as a family.”

One of the drums I beat throughout this book is the belief that everyone is creative; everyone is an artist.  We just need to discover what our art is and, in some cases, unearth the treasure that is our creativity.  Gardening is one of those arts that can often be overlooked and dismissed as requiring creativity.  Perhaps a landscape architect or florist is creative, but just someone who is planting and growing a row of tomatoes?  No.  Just a worker bee.

As a novice gardener aspiring to be better, I can see all the creativity required in the decisions made in a typical suburban yard.  What colors and textures will I plant?  How will I record the way I care for the plants and the results each season?  Do I want raised beds or a container garden?  Even where you decide to put everything in the ground requires creative thought and aesthetic considerations.

It’s all art, whether it’s culturally classified as such or not.  So, to all of my gardening friends out there, you are all artists and the work you do in your garden – watering, weeding, planting, tending – all matters.

If this resonates with you, I think you’ll love Move Slow & Make Things and the encouragement it offers.

So, for gardening artists of all sorts, from beginners to masters, we’ve put together a collection of tools to support your craft.  (All of these items can also be purchased in the Garden & Guild online shop.)  The giveaway includes a pair of pruners…

I have these, and keep them hung on the hooks by our side door, so I can grab them when I want to trim some blooms or branches to make an arrangement.

….a Garden & Guild trowell…

…gardening scrub soap…

…a small scrub brush…

…and an ironstone plate (the exact one photographed below)…

I love this little collection of beautiful, useful gardening gear because it would be useful to someone who gardens on their porch in a condo or who does some serious, large-scale gardening.  Everyone can use pruning shears, a trowel, and some good soap to wash the dirt from under their nails.  If you’d like to enter the giveaway, here are the details…

You can preorder Move Slow & Make Things HERE and follow Erin on Instagram HERE.