Common or Garden Crime: Sheila Pim

 

This is the perfect book for me. A beautiful skull on the cover, the theme related to gardening, published in 1945 and set in 1943 in Ireland. It is a very cozy mystery and I enjoyed it very much. I like the characters and the village setting, and the story was told with subtle humor.

On the cover of Rue Morgue Press edition that I have, the book is described as "An Irish village gardening mystery set during World War II."  A lot of the action in the book centers around a flower show that all the characters are involved with in some way. The setting is a village called Clonmeen, situated on the outskirts of Dublin. 

There is, of course, a murder... and the protagonist, Lucy Bex, is instrumental in finding the solution to the crime, but the mystery plot does not have as much prominence as in most mysteries. That did not bother me but it could be considered a negative for some.

The setting in Ireland during the war was very interesting, since Ireland was neutral during World War II. I liked especially that the author was writing the story based on her own experiences at the time. In this book the war is referred to as the Emergency and many items were restricted. Lucy's nephew was an officer in the British military and comes home to stay with Lucy when he is on leave. 

I mention that this is the first book in a series. Sheila Pim's four mystery novels are referred to as of the Irish Gardening Mystery series both on Fantastic Fiction and Goodreads, but it appears that each book really works as a standalone and the cast of characters is different in each. They mainly share the Irish setting and the theme of gardening.

I rediscovered this book (and others in the series) when I saw a post at Moira's Clothes in Books blog. I had seen reviews years before but it had slipped my mind. Moira's post sent me immediately to investigate how to get copies of the books. I bought the first three books in the Irish Gardening Mystery series before I even read the first one. (That might have been because of the skulls on the covers.) 

Other reviews for this book: 

• At Furrowed Middlebrow
• At Clothes in Books
• At Dead Yesterday
• At Happiness is a Book

Below is the cover of the first hardcover edition of Common or Garden Crime. It is lovely, and also features a skull.

The 76th Annual Santa Barbara International Orchid Show

 

On Friday, March 8th, we attended the 76th annual Santa Barbara International Orchid Show.  It was a fantastic photography opportunity and most visitors were taking photos as they visited the exhibits. The show is extremely popular but we hoped that Friday would be less crowded. My husband and I and our son all took pictures and I included some of my favorites in this post. Click on the images for the best viewing quality.

From the website:

The Santa Barbara International Orchid Show is one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious orchid shows in the United States, reflecting the rich agricultural and orchid-growing history of Santa Barbara County. Visitors from all over the world return each March to delight in our grand orchid displays installed by local, national and international artisans and orchid enthusiasts. Exhibits of orchid art, photography and floral arrangements, in addition to a comprehensive workshop and demonstration schedule, provide visitors with a rich and unique orchid experience.

 

Plants and Animals at the Plant Nursery

Last week we made our second visit to the plant nursery this year. I have been trying not to overbuy, so as not to put too much pressure on myself to get things planted while I am still working on cleaning up the yard. But we always enjoy looking at what they have and my husband takes photos. This visit it was overcast, the lighting was perfect and he got some great shots.

 

This was the first time that we saw this cat and the chickens.

 

                      

                                      Note:  Click on an image for best viewing quality.

Visits to the Plant Nursery

In the last few weeks we have felt safe enough to go out to our favorite plant nursery. The shop had been open as an essential business from the beginning but we were not ready to go out beyond the grocery store before.

Colorful tomato cages

We have been to the nursery three times to get plants and potting soil for our small, neglected back yard, and each time it has been a good experience. Everyone is wearing masks and social distancing. The parking lot is tiny but people come and go and we had no problem getting a parking space.

I am sharing a few of the photos my husband took at those visits.

On the first trip we left the nursery with geraniums, dusty miller, and succulents and large bags of potting soil. We have since added verbena bonariensis, agastache, yarrow, cuphea, and begonias. And many more succulents.