Welcome! Thyme Will Tell is the name of my gardening-related
mystery series from WaterBrook Press, a division of Random House. (Click on my books to read descriptions, excerpts, and reviews of my novels--now available as Kindle and Nook ebooks.)
Thyme Will Tell is also the name of the herb farm owned by the heroine, Regan Culver. And it is a belief common to those of us who love heirloom plants that time proves true quality.
I prefer plants with a past. I'm not a fanatic about this; I do grow my share of hybrids too. But the older varieties link us to prior generations who were also in tune with the earth, its Creator, and the changing seasons. We are heirs to literally centuries of botanical information. As the ad says, "Is this a great time to be alive or what?"
The past has a large influence in my novels too. In each book, Regan must solve an old mystery which has plagued the characters for years before she can understand the all-too-current 
murder. The Thyme Will tell titles are all derived from the Victorian Language of Flowers, where each plant has a meaning--many of them based on ancient folklore.
Granted, some of that lore is pure superstition, but superstition can be fun if it isn't taken seriously. And the ancients do seem to have known the difference. Of mandrake, Gerard pointed out querulously that "there hath beene many ridiculous tales brought up of this plant, whether of old wives, or some runnagate Surgeons or Physicke-mongers I know not. . ."
A lapsed Master Gardener who has been playing in the dirt for a good twenty years at least, I love gossip about plants, the "ridiculous" as well as the practical. So I've also included some free articles on heirloom plants, a seed-starting database to help you with growing your own, and a peek at my garden. If you have questions or comments about my books or articles, please drop me a note at feedback.
In Shakespeare's famous romance, Juliet exclaims "O mickle 
(much) is the powerful grace that lies/ In plants, herbs, stones, and their true qualities;/ For naught so vile that on the earth doth live/ But to the earth some special good doth give. . ."
Plants have certainly provided me much comfort over the years, along with scent, healing, and the pure pleasure of watching living things grow and blossom. Perhaps, as Chesterton suggests, we are in Eden still, and it is only our eyes which have changed!
Don't miss my new fiction e-book, Love and Other Lunacies! It is a collection of humorous romances, both short stories and novellas--a few of them previously published, which I wrote for fun between the more serious mystery novels. You can purchase it from Amazon at the following link:
(Available only as a Kindle edition for 4.99)
If you haven't gotten a chance to read my nonfiction e-book, Inklings of Truth yet, you can purchase it from Amazon at the following link:
(Available only as a Kindle edition for 4.99)
If you'd like to help support the free articles on this site, please consider purchasing some cards or T-shirts from my Zazzle store: Rustic Ramblings. Most are adapted from my own photos. I leave most of the cards blank inside, as Zazzle allows you to customize them by adding your own text. I do plan to add some gardening T-shirts when I get the time!
Stock photography by Audrey Stallsmith at:
