Book Launch Party Update

Wow so much has happened in the last few weeks I can hardly keep up. Of course, in the end I found myself sick in bed for nearly a week with the same crazy end o’ winter virus everyone seemed to be carrying so that’s my official excuse for the delayed posting about recent events.

The Launch Party was fabulous! We were very worried in the hour or two preceeding the event as our gorgeous springy weather suddenly turned into a winter blizzard. You should have seen us transporting bags of soil and other props through the neighbourhood (thankfully the Gladstone is only a block or so from my place) in my trusty “shopping cart” through a blizzard wondering how we were going to push that thing back if the snow kept up! Happily TONS of people still managed to make it out. I was very thrilled by the turnout and appreciate the effort that everyone made to come out and support the book.

Unfortunately, we were all so busy during the party that we forgot to take pictures, waiting until the end when most of the crowd had gone home. Here are a few pictures I did take:

  • Davin runs the merch table – This photo does not do the awesome tulip lamps we borrowed from INabstracto justice. That’s a slideshow of garden photos in the background.
  • The party reception table (before people arrived) where guests were given raffle tickets and free stuff.
  • The bar area at the end of the night – MattB, Johanna, her friend who won one of the raffle books, my community plot pals Uvie and Vivienne and others.
  • Hanging out – Jim, Jim’s mom, Claudia and Scott in the foreground.

Thanks to the team at Simon & Schuster Canada who not only made it downtown to support the launch but took turns working the door too! They also brought me this lovely bouquet of flowers. Orange just happens to be my favourite colour!

I want to thank all my Parkdale locals who have supported both the party and the book including The Gladstone Hotel (I think they got pics for their newsletter), Kate at InAbstracto who dedicated an entire window of her store to promoting the book, and all the stores (too many to name) that displayed our poster for a month.

To DJ General Eclectic for donating his skills and time playing tunes, setting up, and promoting like mad. He fell sick a day or two before the party but still came out with his party hat on.

To my partner Davin who worked on all aspects of the event — there’s too much ground to cover here.

I also want to thank my You Grow Girl gals for coming out to the event. And to the two women who took control of the Mystery Seedling Swap table. Thanks!

If you took a Mystery Seedling home from the party, please do send me an email, or pic to update me on what you got. I will post a list here in a month of all the seeds I donated to the swap. I can assure you my donations were all edible and legal!

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Bitch Magazine Reviews “You Grow Girl” Book

- From: BITCH Magazine Spring 2005

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“How can you not be inspired by a gardening guru who sports a Joy Division t-shirt, a practical (and stylish) homemade gardening apron, and cat-eye glasses? Taking cues from feminist DIY manifestos like Stitch n’ Bitch and Get Crafty, Gayla Trail, creator of YouGrowGirl.com, invites you to take it outside. Don’t have a ayard? Don’t worry — Trail offers up a weatlth of info on guerilla gardening on city streets and vacant loys, community gardening, container gardening in wondow boxes or on fire escapes, as well as full-on backyard planting. You Grow Girl covers everything you need to know about developing a green thumb, from soil conditions to seed starting to pest management to composting, and more. Ample photos and Leela Corman’s cute, clear illustrations provide helpful visual cues, not to mention a pleasing read.” -R.F.

-page 74

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AltWeeklies Reviews “You Grow Girl” Book

- From: AltWeeklies.com (Originally published in Columbus Alive)
Green Thumbs Are the New Black

By Nikki Davis

“Just like knitting and Martha-style home-improvement are the season’s new “black,” gardening is also getting props as the latest take on a perennial classic. In You Grow Girl: The Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening (Fireside Books), graphic designer, photographer and Readymade magazine contributor Gayla Trail proudly reclaims yet another maligned “woman’s activity” from our mothers’ generation and makes it accessible for the 18-to-35 set.

Based on her award-winning website YouGrowGirl.com, Trail offers more than just the basics; she correctly observes—and addresses—the fact that most people aren’t the smiling owners of parking-lot sized gardens, but might have just a fire escape or windowsill to plant.

With instructions on everything from how to grow your own loofah (!) to cultivating and bagging herbal teas, you’ll never look at those ubiquitous plastic pink sponges and generic teas the same again. A real-life urban gardener, the Toronto native’s transformation of her rooftop deck and neighboring vacant lot into a literal oasis has inspired an active online community where novices and experts exchange ideas, projects and support. And that probably makes green the new black.”

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National Post – Down and Dirty

-From: The National Post (March 26, 2005.)

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Book Launch Party & Other Goings On

Just a reminder that the Book Launch Party is coming up this Wed night at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto. Details can be found here.

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The view on my deck is looking somewhat more inviting today. I did not take a photo but it is warmer and brighter with remnants of snow and ice.
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