Kiss My Aster: A Graphic Guide to Creating a Fantastic Yard Totally Tailored to You

by Amanda Thomsen

Overview

Who cares what the neighbors think? Kiss My Aster is a hilarious, irreverent, interactive guide to designing an outdoor space that captures your unique personality. Amanda Thomsen fills this quirky book with innovative ideas, encouraging you to forget the accepted “rules” and make your own landscaping choices. Whether you want privacy hedges, elegant flower beds, a patio for partying, a pond full of ducks, or all of the above, you’ll end up with a yard you’ll adore. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603429863
Publisher:	Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	12/18/2012
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Amanda Thomsen is the author of Backyard Adventure and Kiss My Aster as well as a mom, a Girl Scout troop leader, a garden maker, an adventure planner, and a rule breaker. She lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband and eight-year-old daughter.
 

Table of Contents

Getting to Know YOU

In the Beginning

So, Whatcha Want?

Who Are You, Anyway?

Landstalking™

So, You Think You Can Plant

I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me

Right into the Danger Zone

Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt

These Dreams

Where's My Motivation?

 

You Need Help

Hire a Guy

Vive la Difference!

Born Free

The Labor Party

Help! I Need Somebody

 

Your Woody Friends

One, Two, Tree

Lean, Mean & Evergreen

Tree to Be You & Me

Shrubs: The Khaki Pants of the Landscape

Big, Big Trees

Happy Medium Trees

Wee Trees

 

Fun Games and Random Thoughts

Game Time

Bad Landscaping BINGO

Word Find

Hey, Tool

Kiss My Aster Guide to Garden Fashion

Dear Amanda

Color Me Gnome

Hobo Deck Style

Landscaping Mad Libs

Chore Cootie Catcher

Amanda's Part(y)ing Words

 

For Those Who Seek the Light

This Little Light of Mine

Lighting Dos and Don'ts

Sunny Day Real Estate

Light It Up

 

Landscape Design 101

Button Up Your Overcoat

File Under: Landscape Magic!

It's All You

Win, Lose, or Draw

Walk It Off

You Swore There Wouldn't Be Math

You Can't Always Get What You Want...

But If You Try, Sometimes You Get What You Need

Tips Galore

Design Hints

 

Demolition!

Rip It Up

Tear It Up

 

So, You're a Lawn Freak

No Dearth of Turf

Prep School

The Grass Is Always Greener

Weed Worries

 

Rocks for Jocks

Rock On!

Stone Dos and Don'ts

Not Your Stepping Stone

Harder to Do & Longer Lasting

Bolder Boulders

 

So, You're a Hippie

Can You Hear the Sustainability?

LawnTurnatives™

 

So, You're a Control Freak

Still Life with Mulch

I Saw a Deadhead Sticker on a Cadillac

Pinch Me

 

Eat This

Eat It

Reasons to Grow Your Own Food

Grow What?

Herbie, Fully Loaded

 

For Those Who Want to Be Left Alone

Hedge Fun(d)

Antisocial Climbers

What Neighbors?

 

Well-Planted Woodies

To B&B or Not to B&B

Plant It Like You Mean It

 

The Stuff Beneath Your Feet

Dropping Acid (or Alkalinity)

Soil, Yourself

Soil-Change Operation

Compostest Is the Mostest

Sandy Handy

Worms Eat My Trash

 

Oh! Pretty!

Your A** Is Grass

Flowering Shrubs

Annual Means Always Having to Say Goodbye

Forever Yours, Perennials

 

Soak It Up

Where's My Hose?

Drainage

I Put My Root Down

Timer after Timer

Drip It Good

Less Irritation through Irrigation

Waterworld

 

For Those Who Shun the Sun

Kinda Shady

Desperately Seeking Shade

Nine Ways to Get Some Shade

 

Make It Shine!

Mow & Blow

Living on the Edge

Cut It Out

Cleanup Time

Fertilize It

 

Icing on the Cake

Decks in the City

Going to the Dogs

Smoke & Mirrors

More Bounce for the Ounce

Water, Water Everywhere

 

You've Got Problems

Breaking the Mold

What Big Teeth You Have

Spray & Pray

Aphids, Spider Mites, and Scale

All These Bugs

Weeds Happen

Weeds Happen 2

What People are Saying About This

author of Why Grow That When You Can Grow This? an Andrew Keys

Amanda Thomsen is one of the most imaginative minds in the world of gardening today, and this book is an exquisite reflection of the wallpaper of that mind—quirky, intellectual, original, passionate. Looking at your yard and wondering where to start? Start right here.

Niki Jabbour

Amanda Thomsen is a quirky, badass landscape genius!This is the first time I've read a garden book (or heck, any book for that matter!) that required me to use 'jazz hands'. And I liked it.Kiss My Aster is cavity-inducing eye-candy, but it's also packed with solid information that covers all aspects of crafting a stylish, yet stainable landscape. The choose your own adventure form is easy to follow and allows the would-be gardener to change direction when new inspiration strikes or a project seem overwhelming ("call a guy!").Thanks to Amanda, I'm no longer ashamed of my love for garden gnomes and my new landscape goals include sculpting a life-sized topiary of Mr. T from boxwood. If I plant it near the veggie garden, will it keep the deer away? ("I pity the deer that tries to eat my pole beans!") . Kiss My Aster is THE new bible for anyone who wants to learn, laugh and landscape.

Pamela Price

Garden writing has been far too uptight for way too long. Which may explain why a lot of young homeowners steer themselves and their pricey iced coffees clear of the garden section on date night at Barnes & Noble.

Hal-o-freakin'-Lou-ya,this volume pokes stodgy ol' garden bookishness in the eye.

Amanda Thomsen brings her readers not only a irreverent, quirky, and flirty read but also a customizable, user-friendly template to build the yard of their dreams. That's right. Beneath Thomsen's witty word play—not to mention the whimsical illustrations by Am I Collective—there's a solid, pragmatic, and sensible scheme that teaches newbie gardeners how to create (and tend!) an authentic, one-of-a-kind landscape.

The 'burbs may never be the same.

founder RedWhiteandGrew.com Pamela Price

Garden writing has been far too uptight for way too long. Which may explain why a lot of young homeowners steer themselves and their pricey iced coffees clear of the garden section on date night at Barnes & Noble.

Hal-o-freakin'-Lou-ya,this volume pokes stodgy ol' garden bookishness in the eye.

Amanda Thomsen brings her readers not only a irreverent, quirky, and flirty read but also a customizable, user-friendly template to build the yard of their dreams. That's right. Beneath Thomsen's witty word play—not to mention the whimsical illustrations by Am I Collective—there's a solid, pragmatic, and sensible scheme that teaches newbie gardeners how to create (and tend!) an authentic, one-of-a-kind landscape.

The 'burbs may never be the same.

SnarkyVegan Julia Moran Martz

Finally, one of my favorite bloggers has put her talents to writing a landscaping book for abnormal people like me who don't want to be mistaken for the Joneses. With the help of a talking squirrel and pink unicorn, Amanda delivers snarky landscaping lessons covering everything from soil and hardscapes to avoiding restraining orders from neighbors. Chock full of advice I won't soon forget.

Julia Moran Martz

Finally, one of my favorite bloggers has put her talents to writing a landscaping book for abnormal people like me who don't want to be mistaken for the Joneses. With the help of a talking squirrel and pink unicorn, Amanda delivers snarky landscaping lessons covering everything from soil and hardscapes to avoiding restraining orders from neighbors. Chock full of advice I won't soon forget.

author of The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener Niki Jabbour

Amanda Thomsen is a quirky, badass landscape genius!This is the first time I've read a garden book (or heck, any book for that matter!) that required me to use 'jazz hands'. And I liked it.Kiss My Aster is cavity-inducing eye-candy, but it's also packed with solid information that covers all aspects of crafting a stylish, yet stainable landscape. The choose your own adventure form is easy to follow and allows the would-be gardener to change direction when new inspiration strikes or a project seem overwhelming ("call a guy!").Thanks to Amanda, I'm no longer ashamed of my love for garden gnomes and my new landscape goals include sculpting a life-sized topiary of Mr. T from boxwood. If I plant it near the veggie garden, will it keep the deer away? ("I pity the deer that tries to eat my pole beans!") . Kiss My Aster is THE new bible for anyone who wants to learn, laugh and landscape.

Editorial Reviews

Garden blogger and landscape designer Thomsen (Grocery Gardening)offers beginning gardening advice in a totally fresh way: This is a graphic guide aimed at newbie gardeners who may have cashed in their hipster chips for homeownership but haven't changed their style. The gardening basics - design, hardscape, soil, water, plant selection, care -- are covered with panache. Thomsen's voice has a sassy edge ("Getting bored with all this? Why not make a chore cootie catcher?", a real object for which there are instructions), and the full-color graphics by Am I Collective simply steal the show. The book is fittingly idiosyncratic, which will profoundly challenge any readers who prefer linear thinking, chapters that treat one subject at a time, and tables of contents that help a reader find something quickly. But the book is irresistibly flip-through and a thing of beauty that will help a new school of gardeners who don't want to do it granny's way. Simple but revolutionary, it's an amusing new way to offer Gardening 101.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly

Garden blogger and landscape designer Thomsen (Grocery Gardening)offers beginning gardening advice in a totally fresh way: This is a graphic guide aimed at newbie gardeners who may have cashed in their hipster chips for homeownership but haven't changed their style. The gardening basics – design, hardscape, soil, water, plant selection, care — are covered with panache. Thomsen's voice has a sassy edge ("Getting bored with all this? Why not make a chore cootie catcher?", a real object for which there are instructions), and the full-color graphics by Am I Collective simply steal the show. The book is fittingly idiosyncratic, which will profoundly challenge any readers who prefer linear thinking, chapters that treat one subject at a time, and tables of contents that help a reader find something quickly. But the book is irresistibly flip-through and a thing of beauty that will help a new school of gardeners who don't want to do it granny's way. Simple but revolutionary, it's an amusing new way to offer Gardening 101.

Amanda Thomsen’s new book, Kiss My Aster: A Graphic Guide to Creating a Fantastic Yard Totally Tailored to You (Storey Publishing, January 2013) shakes up traditional garden book publishing. Steeped in rock and roll irreverence and sound horticultural knowledge, Amanda takes us on a journey that is practical, active, and full of energy.

—Niki Jabbour, author of The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener

A garden book for the age of graphic novels, in which wiseacre wordplay and cartoony illustrations make basic knowledge about plants and garden planning accessible to all. Behind it all is a landscaper and blogger who truly knows her stuff.

—Free Press

Entertaining and vibrant, Kiss My Aster goes beyond horticultural information and ideas and stirs creativity… By pairing the illustrations with handwritten-style fonts, a synergy in engendered that perfectly complements the witty text’s blend of practical tips and encouragement.

—Publishers Weekly

We all know trying to design your garden and keep your sanity can be a challenge. Thankfully there are experts full of comical gardening advice such as Amanda Thomsen who can successfully walk you through the steps to create a landscape tailored to your needs, wants, and style.

—Chicago Tribune

Zany at times, Kiss My Aster is founded on sensible advice delivered in a way that makes the reader laugh, or at least snicker, with every page tuning.

Her iconoclastic, and drenchingly colorful, new book, "Kiss My Aster", is her manifesto, her plea and promise that gardening should be one grand adventure. And, yes, you can still wow the neighbors."

From the Publisher

A garden book for the age of graphic novels, in which wiseacre wordplay and cartoony illustrations make basic knowledge about plants and garden planning accessible to all. Behind it all is a landscaper and blogger who truly knows her stuff.

Free Press

We all know trying to design your garden and keep your sanity can be a challenge. Thankfully there are experts full of comical gardening advice such as Amanda Thomsen who can successfully walk you through the steps to create a landscape tailored to your needs, wants, and style.

Chicago Tribune

Amanda Thomsen’s new book, Kiss My Aster: A Graphic Guide to Creating a Fantastic Yard Totally Tailored to You (Storey Publishing, January 2013) shakes up traditional garden book publishing. Steeped in rock and roll irreverence and sound horticultural knowledge, Amanda takes us on a journey that is practical, active, and full of energy.

author of The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener Niki Jabbour

We all know trying to design yourgardenand keep your sanity can be a challenge. Thankfully there are experts full of comicalgardening advicesuch as Amanda Thomsen who can successfully walk you through the steps to create a landscape tailored to your needs, wants, and style.

Chicago Tribune

Her iconoclastic, and drenchingly colorful, new book, "Kiss My Aster", is her manifesto, her plea and promise that gardening should be one grand adventure. And, yes, you can still wow the neighbors."

Chicago Tribune - Barbara Mahany

We all know trying to design yourgardenand keep your sanity can be a challenge. Thankfully there are experts full of comicalgardening advicesuch as Amanda Thomsen who can successfully walk you through the steps to create a landscape tailored to your needs, wants, and style.

BHG.com

Entertaining and vibrant, Kiss My Aster goes beyond horticultural information and ideas and stirs creativity… By pairing the illustrations with handwritten-style fonts, a synergy in engendered that perfectly complements the witty text’s blend of practical tips and encouragement.

Booklist

Amanda Thomsen’s new book, Kiss My Aster: A Graphic Guide to Creating a Fantastic Yard Totally Tailored to You (Storey Publishing, January 2013) shakes up traditional garden book publishing. Steeped in rock and roll irreverence and sound horticultural knowledge, Amanda takes us on a journey that is practical, active, and full of energy.

Leaf Magazine