#asheville illustrator

[ellenfoxart]

Fawn bandana skeleton

Instagram -+*- patreon

[nikkiaart]

I was commissioned to make some more regional variant Mikus xD we have: Asheville Miku, Boone Miku and Ohio Miku! If you want me to draw a regional variant of your favorite character, DM me! My commissions are open

[wowandflutterr]

thinking of asheville

[cricketpress]

NEW art-print available in our Etsy Shop!

Rivendell Weekend - Original Screenprint

This is an original, screen-printed, limited edition event poster…used to commemorate a weekend gathering of Rivendell bicycle owners held in Asheville, NC!

Details: 4 color screen print 16" x 20" edition of 40 signed and numbered

[allycattt]

Selling these prints for mutual aid to western NC. Link if interested!

[margaretdahm]

Waiting for the bookmobile

A very long window cling I was able to design for my library in honor of our Bookmobile of yore.  Fun project and it keeps folks from watching us eat our lunches.

The woman in the wheelchair was a nice patron, named Carolyn, who passed away before I started sketching. 

One image of the line drawings in order and a piece of the final installed.  The outlines of the ridges around the county run right through the people. 

I think that’s pretty accurate, in a way.

[sonftboiz]

Hey yall, I have not been so active on here as I have an awesome job IRL now so I don't spend much time on freelancing or illustration. Just wanted to pop in to say if you were looking for an excuse to buy my visual novel, the Tummy Text Adventure Game, now would be an excellent time. I live in Asheville, NC, the little city that was just completely and utterly wrecked by hurricane helene. I am very lucky that my house is ok and I am still employed, but things will be tough here in western NC for a while. Every little bit counts! I still have hopes to make some new routes and updates to the adventure game on a rainy day in the future.

If you would like to donate to an aid organization, I highly, highly recommend donating to World Central Kitchen. This is one of the only govt/international orgs I've seen ACTUALLY on the ground providing aid in Asheville. I also recommend the local asheville orgs BeLoved, Pansy Collective, Poder Emma, and MANNA FoodBank.

[frankendykes-monster]

Engineers at the plant saw that water was rushing out of the facility at more than double the normal rate, which could only mean one thing: the 36-inch pipeline connecting the plant to Asheville’s network of 1,800 miles of pipes below must have ruptured. A backup line also was destroyed. “Water from the plant was just blasting out, creating a 50-foot-deep crater,” said Brendan Kelley, the water plant supervisor on duty during the storm. There was no choice but to shut the plant down, leaving almost no water for a system that serves 160,000 people. The city’s other big treatment plant, called William DeBruhl, was largely knocked out as well. Only a smaller plant remained operational. Days later in Florida, Milton ripped through the state, knocking some water treatment plants offline for hours or days. Numerous boil-water notices are still in effect. The situation is worse in western North Carolina, where residents went weeks without water. Service in Asheville has largely been restored, but the water isn’t yet safe to drink and “there’s no accurate timeline” for when that will change, according to Clay Chandler, public information officer of the city’s Water Resources Department. While “a significant amount of repairs have been made” at North Fork, more work is needed to improve the water quality, Chandler said. The William DeBruhl plant is still offline and requires more repairs, he added. The city’s woes illustrate how the age of the nation’s water infrastructure, combined with the increasing pressures of climate change, can push systems to collapse. That means what has happened in Asheville, absent mitigation efforts, is likely to play out in slightly different ways in communities across the country.

[ellenfoxart]

Foal foliage

Instagram *☆* patreon

[fahrni]

Saturday Morning Coffee

Good morning from Charlottesville, Virginia! ☕️

I don’t know if allergies are trying to kill me or if I’ve picked up a cold somewhere. No matter, I’m so sleepy I can barely keep my eyes open. 😃

Ok, so, here we are, three hours later. 🤣 I passed out. Couldn’t keep my eyes open.

Hope you enjoy the links.

Dan Gillmor

I became a blogger because of Dave. Blogging changed — in a great way — the trajectory of my career.

A lot of us were influenced by Dave’s work.

Dan’s a really great writer and someone you should follow.

Pao Ramen

What follows is the talk that Ethan should have given to the team. Instead, he pedaled away on a stolen bicycle, developed a game that flopped commercially, and now roams the streets of San Francisco, high on fentanyl. Meanwhile, David and the rest of the team sold the company for peanuts but landed comfortable positions at the acquiring firm, earning twice as much while working half as hard. So, in the end, it probably didn’t matter. But if you’re interested in sync engines, read on.

This piece is about writing a sync engine for your application. The beginning of the article is a fun read but it does eventually get to the meat of the subject after the comedic intro. I really dig the diagrams.

Todd Vaziri

Near the end of David Fincher’s 1995 masterpiece “Seven”, John Doe takes Somerset and Mills to the middle of nowhere to reveal his final surprise. They drive to a desolate area surrounded by high tension power lines and towers. A combination of long lenses and wide lenses were used to alternate between images of long-lens compression of the space (the first image below), and scattered wider lenses to illustrate the desolation of the environment (the second image below).

What a great film! Todd’s breakdown of the scene and seeing how much a camera lens can completely transform an environment is amazing!

I know nothing about photography or filmmaking but I learned something new.

Mathew Ingram

I realize that many people may not know or care who or what Matt Mullenweg and WordPress are, or why some people are upset about them, but after giving it a lot of thought (okay, about 10 minutes of thought) I decided to write about it anyway.

The wild story that is the WordPress vs. WPEngine saga continues.

I really hope they can get this sorted out and it doesn’t destroy the WordPress community in the meantime.

Jessica Wakeman • The Guardian

Hurricane Helene destroyed Asheville’s flourishing arts community. Can they rebuild what was lost?

Kim and I were supposed to visit Asheville two years ago for an anniversary weekend. We didn’t go because I’d injured my back as was unable to stand for long periods of time. Now I really wish we’d gone. Those poor people were hit so hard. Here’s to a full recovery! ❤️

Saajan Jogia • Newsweek

Former Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo, who remains without a seat after his ousting from Red Bull’s junior team VCARB, will be handed the “Keys to the City” honor.

I guess Danny Ricciardo is an Austin fan favorite.

Heck, now that he’s available I think a NASCAR team needs to convince him to run a road course NASCAR race next season! 😃

Gary Marcus

LLMs don’t do formal reasoning - and that is a HUGE problem

There’s nothing Intelligent about this software. They’re just really good at guessing the next thing.

Sure, they’re really great guessers, but can also be very wrong. Keep that in mind.

Oh, and can we stop the craze of stuffing “AI” into all the things? Thank you.

Frank Schwab • Yahoo Sports

Aidan Hutchinson undergoes successful surgery after gruesome leg injury in win over Cowboys

Under Dan Campbells guidance the Lions have become real threats to win the Super Bowl. I hope losing Aidan doesn’t prevent them from staying in the hunt for a title.

All the best to you Aidan. I hope that leg heals perfectly and you’re back to sacking Quarterbacks next season.

Jan de Mooij • Spidermonkey

75x faster: optimizing the Ion compiler backend

I like working on stuff more under the hood of software. Network, data structures, and making data generally available. I also love making reusable frameworks so others can get their jobs done in less time and with higher quality.

This effort is nothing short of amazing. I love articles like this! 👍🏼

[thoughtswordsaction]

snakesnakewhale. - Castle, PA

“Castle, PA” is the latest single by snakesnakewhale, an Asheville-based quintet. It’s their first song in 2024 and an adequate follow-up to “You’ll Get Than On These Big Jobs,” another exceptional single released last year. Soundwise, snakesnakewhale combines several different but complementary music genres to illustrate such a rich and luxurious ambiance. Perhaps modern emo sound comes to mind…

[scrabblings]

The Doo Doo List #nsfw

The tourney here in New Orleans is run by the Word Game Players' Organization (aka WGPO). 99% of the tourneys I've played in are run by their arch nemesis, the North American Scrabble Players Association (aka NASPA). The drama between the two would make an episode of Real Housewives look like child's play. Another source of drama in the Scrabble community was the decision by NASPA to remove a list of offensive words from the lexicon in June 2020. The IMPORTANT and RELEVANT thing is that WGPO allows use of the expurgated word list (aka the Doo Doo list). The Asheville Scrabble club has a good breakdown of these words for the curious.

So any good player would need to study this word to make sure they don't miss out on the opportunity to drop some high-scoring slurs or offensive words on the board! Here are some highlights of the words I've been re-committing to memory.

NANCY, NANCE, NANCIER, NANCIEST, NANCIFYING

I, for one, am THRILLED for NANCY to be back in play. Nancy (middle) made the last-minute (even more last-minute than me) decision to come to New Orleans and I am so grateful! New Orleans has been NANCIFIED! We are sad for Diana not to be here but she does live on an island and graces us with her presence more infrequently.

2. PEPSI

I have no idea what this means and I'm afraid to look it up based on this GIF I found. But it's good! Thrown down your PEPSI and your PEPSIS!

3. POOF, POOFY, POOFIER, POOFIEST

I am glad to see this come back because I never knew it got taken out in the first place and have gotten BURNED on POOFY. You know I love a 5-letter word that ends in Y.

4. SUPERBITCH, SUPERBITCHES

To illustrate this I have included a gif of the OPPOSITE of a SUPERBITCH - Wonder Woman. Now you may be wondering, this has 10 letters in it ... I thought you only had 7 letters in Scrabble?!? This is true. But when cool thing is that sometimes someone throws down a word and you "extend" it - potentially stretching it to a 10+ point word. So someone throws down BITCH (acceptable in both WGPO and NASPA) and I extend it to... SUPERBITCHES!

That's just a brief overview of some of the prep work that goes in to playing a tourney.

[serpentinebrando]

V; pirate - Instead of returning home after making the deal with the serpent and killing his father, Lucien was intercepted by a crew of pirates who thought to hold him for ransom. Angry and eager to spill more wicked blood, Lucien challenged the Captain to a duel, insisting that if he won, the ship and crew would be his to command, and if he lost, they could do whatever they wanted with him. The Captain was ruthless and highly skilled, but his abilities were no match for the frigid fury of the prince. Lucien defeated him handily, watching as the light left his eyes, and thus became the new Captain of the Shadow. Any rebellion or doubt was quickly squashed when he revealed the nature of his familiar, striking terror into the hearts of his crew. They didn’t even question him when he turned them to privateering in service of his brother. He’s since become a legend of the high seas.

V; modern - Takes place in modern day Asheville, NC. Lucien wanted to get away from his father from the moment he found out his mother was divorcing the man, but it wasn’t meant to be. His mother didn’t think it was fair to uproot Cyrus and Luke while they were still in high school and move them down to Oklahoma, so she didn’t fight for custody. They were forced to remain in North Carolina while Kade and Katrina were allowed to leave with her and chase their dreams. Luke was beyond crushed. He did everything in his power to avoid his dad as much as possible, focusing on school, music, track, anything that would keep him out of the house. It worked for a year or two, but once Cyrus had graduated and moved out, Luke suddenly had his father’s full attention, which made it harder for him to sneak in and out of the house undetected. Naturally, they clashed often. Luke’s disdain for his father quickly became flat out hatred. He devoted all of his time and energy to finding ways to escape that house, as school was too easy for him. Posting his songs online in the hopes that some record producer in Nashville would hear them and sign him on, doing favors for football jocks in exchange for cash, lying about his age in order to moonlight as a bartender at a club just outside of Asheville, and even doing certain things in private that he would have regretted had he not received a hefty sum. His desperation and drive paid off. By senior year, he had his own motorcycle, driver’s license, and plans to run off to Nashville to jumpstart his career in country music as soon as he graduated. Luke could see the light at the end of the tunnel! He was so close to freedom he could taste it, and damn, it was so sweet, so enticing…only to be ripped out of reach when his dad caught on and forced him to start working for his construction team after school. No more track. No more music. No more bartending. Only what Garrett called a ‘real job’. Luke predictably went to Cyrus for help, who told him that he couldn’t do much of anything to aid the boy until he turned eighteen.

Frustrated, Luke began acting out. Skipping class, hooking up with anyone who would take him, including several of his father’s employees, drinking to excess, sneaking out to party, all the things that angry teenagers do. He even ran off to the coast with a few friends over Spring Break for an illicit beach bash, which he honestly doesn’t remember much of. A yacht was stolen. There was ton of alcohol involved. Everything went tits up when the cops arrived. He fell overboard, and would have drowned had he not encountered something in the roiling Carolina waters that reminded him of those illustrations on the edges of old maps: a massive sea serpent.

It reached into his mind, demanding to know why it shouldn’t devour him right then and there. Thinking quickly, he made a deal with it: life and power in exchange for a soul equally or more wicked than his own. Luke knew exactly who to sacrifice; the trick was getting back to Asheville to collect him without being arrested for grand theft marine, then dragging his father back to the coast. The serpent made things a little easier by shrinking down and offering to travel with him, insisting that it could survive almost as well on land as it did in the ocean. Its first gift to Luke was water breathing, allowing him to make it back to shore totally undetected beneath the waves. Avoiding the police was easily done, given the skills that he’d developed throughout his youth, and he knew none of his friends would rat him out, but things got far more complicated when he and his new companion accidentally interrupted a brutal murder. The serpent saw an opportunity for a meal and devoured the perpetrator, bestowing its gifts upon Luke far sooner than he’d imagined or intended, and proposed striking up a much more permanent partnership, which he accepted. The pact was sealed in ink, with a large tattoo of the sea serpent coiling its way up his left arm to mark him. He found a motel to sleep off the rest of his hangover in, then set off for Asheville early the next day.

Once home, he split his time between school, music, and vigilanteism, only occasionally showing up for work. He couldn’t bring himself to kill his father. Not yet. Instead, he focused yet again on making a life for himself, using his magic to his advantage. Once he was eighteen, he began bartending again, moving out of his dad’s house shortly afterward. He currently manages a club downtown where he occasionally plays his music, and is still saving up money to move to Nashville. Anyone who commits a truly heinous crime in his vicinity tends to mysteriously go missing, but he’s too charming for anyone to really want to question him.

V; Wizarding World - Lucien was only eight when he fell into the sea while in Raleigh on a family vacation. His muggle/no-maj mother feared the worst, desperately trying to spot her son amongst the waves so that she could throw him a life preserver. Lucien, however, managed to secure his survival in a most peculiar way. Just as his mother was about to call the Coast Guard, a massive sea serpent surfaced with the boy clinging to its back, carefully depositing him on the deck of their yacht. His family rushed to take care of him, asking him how in the blazes he managed to tame something like that! His answer was that he simply talked to it, begging not to drown, and it took pity on him. He later figured out that he could talk to all snakes, not just sea serpents, and through some relentless digging, found out that he was actually a wizard. His father was a descendant of a squib from the infamous Gaunt family, who had been cast out after his lack of magic had been discovered, but managed to evade obliviation by being even more cunning than his ancestors. Of course, because of MACUSA’s strict laws against Muggles/No-Majs intermingling with witches/wizards, when all of this finally came to light, Lucien and his family were forced to run and hide. They split up, with the twins taking off to Oklahoma to fly under the radar, their father and Cyrus fleeing deep into the Blue Ridge Mountains, and their mother taking Lucien all the way to Ireland to find sanctuary because she had dual citizenship. A few years later, Lucien got his letter to Hogwarts.

Naturally, he was sorted into Slytherin, though he didn’t exactly get along with most of his housemates. He was American, for one thing, and didn’t even bother to hide his thick ‘cowboy’ accent. They all assumed he was muggleborn, and didn’t belong in their pureblood house; the fact that he excelled in nearly every class only made him more of a target for some, while others eased up after recognizing his talents. He turned to music to deal with the stress, going so far as to smuggle an enchanted guitar into the school so that he could practice and write songs in the Room Of Requirement all through his last three years. After graduation, his studies eventually payed off, with a disguised record producer catching one of his shows at a local pub and offering him a contract. He took it in a heartbeat, becoming a world renowned rockstar over the course of the next decade, famous for his rebellious flair and Southern charm. He quickly became addicted to the spotlight, which led to other addictions, and by the time he realized it, his career had nearly died, taking his self esteem with it.

The summer of 1995 found him drowning his sorrows in whiskey and butterbeer at the Hogshead Pub, where he heard rumors swirling around about various faculty changes at Hogwarts. Sensing an opportunity, he kept his ears open and tried to sober up; this could be his ticket out of his self-made hell if he played his cards right. Sure enough, he heard that the ghostly History of Magic professor, Mr. Binns, had accidentally been exorcised, and Dumbledore was looking for someone to replace him. Lucien made a note of that, and wrote a letter to the Headmaster the next morning, eloquently offering his services. He’d always been a history nerd, after all, and had his own way of ensuring that learning about it would be fun. Dumbledore hired him after a series of interviews over tea, in which he managed to impress the old man with several hastily but well-constructed lesson plans, never once letting on that he was desperate and flying by the seat of his pants(Dumbledore knew and gave him a chance anyway). He officially joined the faculty that fall, along with Umbridge (whom he loathed with every fiber of his being) and a temporary Care of Magical Creatures instructor to fill in for Hagrid whist he was away. Lucien was usually sober during his lessons, bringing out his guitar and playing historically based rock/country songs in order to keep students engaged. It worked like a charm! Students were receiving higher marks in his class than in any previous History of Magic class, taking inspiration from his performed enthusiasm. Outside of class, however, he was a drunk and a shut-in, rarely engaging with the rest of the staff. On the plus side, Umbridge couldn’t exactly fire him because he’d proven to be an excellent teacher, and he made a point of avoiding her whenever possible. When she became headmistress, however, he was outraged. She had no right to take over the school like that, and with every proclamation she enacted, a little more of Hogwarts’s soul died. He made himself known to his students as someone they could talk to if they were struggling, revealing that he had his own issues that he was working through, too. In a sort of quiet rebellion against Umbridge, he did his best to boost students’ morale with new songs, relying more on his writing than the bottle to relieve stress in his off time. When she was finally ousted, he celebrated with the rest of the school.

He stayed on as the History of Magic professor for several years afterward, playing in concerts around the world and releasing albums during the summer months while teaching and writing songs from fall to spring. During the Battle of Hogwarts, he fought valiantly, saving Snape’s life by issuing commands to Nagini in Parseltongue and confusing the ever loving fuck out of her. After the dust settled, he finally revealed to the man that he, too, was an heir of Salazar Slytherin via the Gaunt family, but had kept it quiet for various reasons. After Hogwarts was rebuilt, he returned the following school year, and has been teaching there ever since, sponsoring a music program alongside Professor Flitwick. He’s mostly managed to stay sober, as well, despite still being an active rockstar.

[alwayswiselight]

Yesterday afternoon, I had a dentist appointment in the Central Business District. Afterwards, I visited two favorite antiquarian/used bookstores in the French Quarter and came home with the above volumes.

The beautifully illustrated book on Cyprus was an unexpected but welcome find. The Greek Islands by Laurence Durrell and The Mechanism of Catastrophe by Speros Vryonis, Jr. are replacements for ones that I had to give up when I moved from Asheville to New Orleans. The latter is an thorough and chilling documentation of the destruction of Istanbul's Greek Community by the Turks in 1955.

Of course, I welcomed the hardcover copy of A.W. Lawrence's classic Greek Architecture along with Walter Burkert's Greek Religion. I find Burkert's discussion regarding Dionysus, Orpheus and Pythagoras very enlightening. I'm sure that I'll find the rest of his book the same.

[scrabblevegas]

Ode to David Gibson (1951-2019)

Being at a Scrabble tournament always makes me think of the late David Gibson who died suddenly of cancer right before the pandemic in November 2019 (obituary). David Gibson is my all-time Scrabble hero and was the best Scrabble player in the world. Gibson would not have come to Vegas (he didn’t like to fly), but his spirit is definitely present and many people here would’ve known him. He was active in the Asheville Scrabble club and generously mentored players (including myself!) from all over the world.

His last Nationals was in Fort Wayne where he started out his first morning 2-2 and then went on to dominate most of the tournament in Division I. I remember seeing him in between games (me, the lowly Division 3 player) and he would ask, how are you doing? Meanwhile he was mopping up the floor at Ft. Wayne - winning 1st place handily. In the Nationals appearance before that (2012), Gibson lost first place to another Scrabble legend, Nigel Richards (who famously won the French National Scrabble Dictionary without knowing French). Gibson and Richards had the same Win-Loss record (22-9), but Richards had an overall point spread difference in the tourney that was 16 points more than Gibson’s spread. In the course of 31 games where might he have picked up 16 measly points??? There are some really fun YouTube histories of Nigel vs. David that Will Anderson made.

Off the Scrabble clock, David Gibson was a math professor at Southern Methodist College and played Scrabble nightly with his wife, Nancy, in their “Scrabble Room.” This reminds me of my parents who have also had a nightly Scrabble game for as long as I can remember.

Gibson is described as modest, soft-spoken, and a "provincial mystic.” As a testament to his modesty and supreme awesomeness, when Gibson won one tournament he set aside some of the prize money for charity and divvied up the rest of the winnings in individual checks (along with a handwritten note) sent to every competitor not finishing in the top 10 of the tournament (from Sports Illustrated article).

The “Gibson Rule”. Gibson had such a knack for winning that an official Scrabble rule was created and named after him during the 1995 Super Stars SCRABBLE Championship. David had clinched the #1 slot with more rounds to play. No matter what, no player would be able to catch up to him. The Gibson rule was instated so that the #1 player can be “Gibsonized” and removed from playing in the final rounds. This allows the competitors vying for 2nd and 3rd and so on to play amongst themselves instead of damaging their ratings or shot for 2nd or 3rd by playing #1. Gibson was frequently “gibsonized” in local tournaments.

I had the good fortune of playing some friendlies with David Gibson in Knoxville, TN (image above). I can attest to his humility, kindness, and straight-up wizardry with words. We played as a team against Mia & Nancy. I was frustrated that we had 0 blanks in two games and pretty terrible tile luck. But David on the other hand was enjoying the games and said he actually thought it more fun to work with a bad rack. We lost those games, but I (humble jedi-master-in-training) learned a lot in the process. Playing with this Scrabble legend has helped me coin my mantra for Nationals (and for all Scrabble games) ... WWDGD (What would David Gibson Do?).

The short answer to WWDGD? is ... WIN. The longer answer to the question is: be humble, play your best, reflect on the games afterwards using Quackle (his advice to me), and think of each rack as a new, fun challenge.

Further Reading:

Price, S.L. “Your Words against Mine.” Sports Illustrated 83, no. 26 (December 18, 1995): 106.      

[rockislandadultreads]

Book Recommendations: More Gardening Titles

You Grow, Gurl! by Christopher Griffin

Discover the joys and self-nurturing benefits of plant parenthood, from learning how to begin building your own lush plant family to getting into those fun tips on how to care for your green gurls, with this beautiful, illustrated guide from the dazzling creator of the @plantkween Instagram account.

Six years ago, Christopher Griffin was just beginning the plant parenthood journey with one small Marble Queen Pothos. Today, this Black Queer non-binary femme plant influencer known as Plant Kween tends to a family of more than 200 healthy green gurls in the Brooklyn apartment they call home. You Grow, Gurl! is Kween's fun and fabulous guide to becoming a plant parent and keeping your green gurls growing and thriving.

Anyone can be a plant parent! It's all about TLC - taking the time and energy to focus on a plant's needs, and ultimately your own. Featuring 200 full-color photos and illustrations, practical instructions and tips - on everything from propagating to measuring humidity to repotting - activities, and stories, this fun and joyful guide shows how to green-up any space and have it serving those lush lewks.

The New Heirloom Garden by Ellen Ecker Ogden 

Whether you have a small plot of land just outside your kitchen door or a wide-open field waiting to be tamed, you have an opportunity to honor the past and discover the future through long-lost plant varieties that are full of flavor, fragrance, and old-fashioned charm. By digging deeper into their history, you’ll learn why saving and planting heirloom seeds are key to the past, the present, and the future of our food gardens.

In The New Heirloom Garden, award-winning food and garden writer Ellen Ecker Ogden guides you to designing and harvesting from your own kitchen garden, with expert advice, twelve themed garden designs, and sensible tips for a successful harvest. Each design includes an illustrated layout based on a historical garden with a detailed plant key featuring the best-tasting heirloom vegetables you can grow. Discover the unique stories behind the fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers that have been growing in gardens for centuries, and why seed saving is vital to maintain food diversity.

The Month-by-Month Gardening Guide by Franz Bohmig 

To be a successful gardener, you need to know two things: how to do something and when to do it. Both concepts are thoroughly tackled in The Month-By-Month Gardening Guide. This comprehensive approach to gardening guides home gardeners - whether you are growing vegetables, flowers, or houseplants - through a year of growing. Throughout, the emphasis is on organic, wildlife-friendly techniques. By following the guidance detailed in this hardworking primer, you’ll be well on your way to a beautiful and bountiful garden that will provide pleasure throughout the year.

Growing Flowers by Niki Irving 

In the mountains of Asheville, NC, Niki Irving's boutique flower farm grows specially cut, mountain-fresh flowers with sustainable, natural practices. Now, she brings her organic gardening techniques to your home, helping you grow, harvest, and arrange lush, seasonally inspired flowers.

Revel in flowering plants. This beautifully photographed book features simple, and engaging know-how enabling you to grow, harvest, and arrange a cutting garden of flowers. An instructional guide to gardening for beginners or if you're looking to hone your botanical skills, Growing Flowers teaches everything from caring for a cut flower garden to making simple-yet-gorgeous flower arrangements and botanical bouquets.

An indispensable gardening guide for homebody horticulturists and floral foragers. A flower book with a whimsical twist, Growing Flowers is a go-to reference for those new to herb and flower gardening. Discover flower arranging techniques using blooms, greenery, and even artichokes, vines and berries. Learn about tools of the trade. Get down and dirty with dirt, seasonal rotation, starting from seeds and/or seedlings, and more.