Writer / Carrie Petty
I stood impatiently by the book-signing table. Waiting my turn. Loaded-down with every possible book of hers I owned. It felt surreal. I had devoured every magazine Martha Stewart had ever published, and now I was going to meet her!
This was so very long ago, but it feels like yesterday, that a woman from Connecticut would instill a deep love in me for everything gardening and entertaining.
My first garden had not even been designed, but my home would soon be my green thumb’s haven. Martha Stewart can be blamed for my poorly manicured hands and muddy boots. But through her love of growing things grew my love of sharing ideas with you all, and helping people, ‘Grow a Beautiful Life!’
August is a great gardening month. Our farmer’s markets are full, our days are long, and we still have summer nights for entertaining outdoors. Martha Stewart’s book, Entertaining with Martha, is a great reference book for setting a beautiful table outdoors and using what you have growing in the garden for a tremendous dinner party. Hosting a well-put together dinner party is something everyone should do once.
Not only did Martha’s books teach me the art of growing fine herbs, making homemade potpourri and harvesting honey from local bees, she reaffirmed my deep love and the importance of homemaking and family traditions. Sometimes these things feel like a lost art, but with the reemergence of farm-to-table trends, Americans are gathering together like never before.
I, like Martha, believe growing food and sharing it around the family table is a part good living. Sharing our homes with friends, a good meal, freshly baked homemade bread, yes, it takes effort. But it is oh so worth it!
In August, my basil is rampant, a pasta dish with homemade pesto may be a good call or grilling organically raised chicken breast on the grill and topping with homemade herb butter is a perfect accompaniment to a farm fresh salad with Indiana tomatoes. There are tons of parsley to harvest for topping any dish, and the thyme is flowering now and looks lovely in a fresh fish dish.