Oh! I am so excited! For nine years, I have had the fun job of writing The Herbal Calendar for Tide-Mark Press. And even though I am not new to this writing thing (I’ve been writing for 18 years!), it is fun to get the first calendars in the mail. Well, it is here…2009 is now available in stores, online and by clicking the little calendar photo on the right side of my blog. (If the photo button isn’t working, you can just CLICK HERE TO LINK TO THE CALENDAR ON AMAZON.)
When you are a writer, it is always fun to get your first, crisp copy of your work and share it with friends. Here is a photo of my fresh copy! See, I am sharing it with friends…YOU.
It features seasonal gardening information, recipes, crafts and homemade lotions/spa treatments using FRESH from the GARDEN ingredients. (Tons of fun!)
It is illustrated by my dear friend, Peggy Turchette, who also illustrates book covers (like The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter by mystery writer/blogger Susan Wittig Albert), seed packets (Botanical Interests) and many other fun gardening stuff. (More info on Peggy below).
The calendar is meant to be enjoyed throughout the year, giving you inspiration and information each month. Then at the end of the year, you can cut up the calendar to save any recipes or information for future use. (My best compliment is when someone tells me they cut up their calendar! It means they wanted to save the information. Nice!)
More about the artist, Peggy…
With each calendar, I hire an artist to do the artwork to illustrate and compliment my writing. Tidemark has always let me have full control in choosing the artist (whom they pay). I work very closely with this person for several months as we colaborate on the illustrations to go with my garden information and recipes. I have worked with many talented artists this way.
For the last six years, I have hired Peggy Turchette as my artist. All of my artist have been incredibly talented, but Peggy and I just "clicked" when we started working together. I not only love her style of illustration, but she is also an avid gardener herself. When I talk to her about gardening issues, she "gets it". Although we have never met each other in person, (She lives in Colorado and I in California) I feel like we are old friends.
For more information about Peggy and her work (including greeting cards and gift wrap), visit her website here.
I realize that people have 1000′s of calendars to choose from, but if you are a gardener and you choose to spend a year with me (figuratively speaking), I think you will have a great time. There are some delicious recipes including a blueberry-lemon verbena coffee cake and lavender shortbread to die for! Trust me, testing the recipes made me gain 6 pounds!
About the Author
Theresa Loe blogs here about taking the garden full circle while striving for a more local, fresh-from-the-garden lifestyle. She is a TV producer, video host, freelance garden writer and a wrangler of chickens and children. (Not necessarily in that order.) For more information on these topics, you can subscribe to her free monthly newsletter.
Theresa Loe is the award- winning Co-Executive Producer & Canning Expert on Growing A Greener World TV. She blogs here about Living Homegrown®, local and fresh-from-the-garden. 
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh my goodness! So you’re the Theresa Loe of the Herbal Calendar! I’ve been eyeing that in my Herb Quarterly Magazine for a couple of years now, and it’s so exciting to find out that you’re the author. I think I’ll have to get it for myself for a holiday present this year.
It’s me! It’s me!
I have been writing the calendar for 9 years now, but 2009 is my last calendar with Tidemark. My royalties have dropped dramatically as the company has struggled to compete in the tight calendar market. It is time for me to move on and sadly I declined to do the 2010 calendar for next year.
My illustrator, Peggy Turchette will still have a calendar with Tidemark in 2010, but it will not have all the garden info and recipes like I wrote for the Herbal Calendar. She is a wonderful illustrator! If you like her work on my calendar, you will enjoy her solo work as well. Peggy and I still work together on other projects.
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that you’re discontinuing your calendar work with them. But, I know a writer needs to eat.
I’ll cherish my 2009 copy, then. I hope Peggy won’t lose out on too much by staying with Tidemark.
I’m always about the last one to the party! Will you miss working on the calendar?
I’ll be happy to order a couple of copies of your calendar. I know exactly who will love them (besides myself, of course!). 
Thanks for all your comments today!
What I will miss about doing the calendar is working with the illustrator, Peggy. We had so much fun doing this. But we have done some articles together and are bouncing around other projects. There is currently a garden journal we were working on…but it got pushed to the back burner at Tidemark. We are hopeful it will eventually be published.
Thanks for the interest in the calendar!
Theresa