“If your neighbors don’t think you’re a little crazy, you need to up your gardening game.“

Carol J. Michel is the award-winning author of a trilogy of gardening humor books, a book about garden creatures, and one children’s book.

For more info, visit her website, www.caroljmichel.com and her long-standing garden blog, www.maydreamsgardens.com.

Potted and Pruned: Living a Gardening Life (2017)

Winner of the 2018 Gold Medal of Achievement for Best Overall Book from GardenComm: Garden Communicators International

Is it possible to be utterly charming and wickedly funny at the same time? Yes, and avid gardeners will find themselves nodding along and laughing out loud as they turn the pages, recognizing their own quirks reflected back to them in Michel’s words. Whether it’s the chapter about the four phases of houseplant care or the gardener’s unique interpretations of time, measurements, and quantities, one can’t help but point and say, “That’s me!” and then read a snippet or paragraph aloud to one’s friend or significant other.

Homegrown and Handpicked: A Year in a Gardening Life (2018)

Awarded Second Place for Nonfiction Books for Adults—Humor by the Woman’s Press Club of Indiana, 2019 Communications Contest

“Professionally dirty clothes,” “The MulchMobile,” “The Gardener’s Handshake,” “Thanksgiving Conversation Starters for Gardeners,” and  “Going Steady with a Grower” are just a few of the delightful subjects covered in Homegrown and Handpicked: A Year in a Gardening Life.

Seeded and Sodded: Thoughts from a Gardening Life (2019)

Awarded First Place  for Non-Fiction Books for Adult Readers, Humor from the National Federation of Press Women, 2020

Both beginning and seasoned gardeners will savor these memorable musings, presented in short bites that are easy to enjoy whilst planting, pruning, and watering. Join Michel for a good thyme as she slips on her gardening clogs, ties on her wide-brimmed hat, and tills it like it is.

Creatures and Critters

Gardening. It’s one of the most peaceful activities you can enjoy. The solitude of the plants, the sun, fresh air, and the fragrance of flowers.

Then you look around. “Wait,” you say. “Who took a bite out of that tomato?” “What was that sting on my leg?” “Did I just see a Garden Fairy disappear behind a flower?” “Is that a dinosaur?”

Who’s in your garden?

The Christmas Cottontail: A Story for Gardeners of All Ages (2018)

Awarded First Place for Children’s Books—Fiction in the Woman’s Press Club of Indiana 2019 Communications Contest and Third Place in the National Federation of Press Women 2019 Communications Contest.

The story of the Christmas Cottontail who rides along with Santa on his Christmas Eve journey, rewarding good gardeners everywhere! A joy for both children and their gardening parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles! Make it a holiday tradition to read The Christmas Cottontail and then look for flowers the next spring.