MIchelle Obama American Grown White House Kitchen Garden First Lady 4 Seasons

American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America by Michelle Obama American Grown blends the first lady's personal gardening experiences with stories from the White House Kitchen Garden. She writes about the time in her life when she had "no idea that tomatoes didn’t come in green plastic trays, covered by cellophane, and that they could be any color other than pale red." A section on the White House beehive describes how an apple tree in the Children's Garden produced fruit for the first time in 25 years after introducing bees. Through her research for the book, Obama discovered that her maternal grandmother tended a community victory garden in Chicago. The book is divided into 4 sections (one for each season) and includes color photographs of vegetables, as well as recipes, instructions for making a compost bin, and stories about US community gardens. It delves into the history of gardens at the White House, including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's victory garden and Thomas Jefferson's attempts to grow a four-foot-long cucumber. Obama describes how the Kitchen Garden's Jefferson beds include a quote from the former president that is also a guiding principle for the garden: "the failure of one thing repaired by the success of another; and instead of one harvest, a continued one throughout the year." 272 pages, hardcover, with text and beautiful photos. Inscription on the front leaf from the original owner. First ed, 2012.