If you love to garden, share seeds, learn about both new and old plants, discover new and exciting designs and gardens, visit public gardens (and receive a discount or free admission) and flower shows (also discounted), and receive a great bi-monthly magazine, then the American Horticultural Society is for you. I would be a member just for my subscription to their fresh, earth-friendly, dependably informative magazine, The American Gardener, which is published bi-monthly.

The AHS also provides garden tours, symposia, their own comprehensive garden books, and maintains one of America's most historic landscapes, George Washington's River Farm, in Alexndria, Virginia.

The Farm, one of my favorite places to visit, has just been recognized as an American Horticultural Landmark site by the American Society for Horticultural Science. I am so proud of the evolution of this organization and the vitality of the staff, board, and the land itself.

I encourage you to visit River Farm, stroll the pathways, enjoy the view of the Potomac, and take time to experience the children's garden, one of my favorite places.

American Horticultural Society
River Farm
7931 East Boulevard Drive
Alexandria, VA 22308
(800) 777-7931
(703) 768-5700

Food lovers unite. Have you heard about the Slow Food movement? If you think it is just about plopping a fat roast into a slow cooker, you've got a lot to experience. Read about Slow Food at http://slowfoodusa.org.

Since joining this organization, I made many new friends who share with me the same values and passions for good food, the pleasures of the table with family and friends, organic gardening, cultural food traditions, and preservation of threatened species of animals and food plants.

Your membership benefits will include their newsletter Snail and their magazine SLOW-Herald of taste and culture. I learn so much every time I share a table with a member or turn a page of their publication. Don't miss a chance to gather with like-minded souls. There are so many of us!

This summer I will do some trials of a medley of lettuces and herbs. This will really be a trial because they will all be planted in window boxes and terra cotta pots on our porch, just a few feet from the Atlantic Ocean.

I am especially excited about seeds sent to me by my friend Renee Shepherd of Renee's Garden Seeds, who spoke enthusiastically about her new Gala Mâche (Valerianella locusta), which should thrive in our cool Maine temperatures. I already have a small crop planted in containers here in California, which should be ready for harvest in about 6 weeks. I plan to start a flat of them before we leave Maine in October and carry them home in our car. A good head start for next Winter's crop.

When I mentioned the lettuce to my Swiss friend Susanne, she was overjoyed. She explained that it was the only tried-and-true green they could depend on through the Winter. "When we needed lettuce, we just stuck our hands into the snowdrifts and pulled out the mâche, and it was always fresh and tasty."