If there’s one good thing about the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that we’re reminded to tell people that we care about them. People are gathering for cocktails via Zoom and checking in on others with a phone call or email. I’ve done several online classes and horticultural happy hours for my garden center, garden clubs and GardenComm, and I feel fortunate that we have this way to connect. We often leave such virtual meetings saying “Why haven’t we done this before?” Staying at home has prompted us to remember how precious and important it is to gather with others. 

Yet as wonderful as these online experiences are, they are fleeting and they tie us evermore to the computer screen. I worry that we might develop virtual burnout or Zoom fatigue. So how to send the people we care about a virtual hug that isn’t so transient? As I ponder this question, I realize that the answer is to go old school and send books. 

Remember books? You can keep them on your bedside or kitchen table, and dip into them as the mood strikes. They hold inspiration and information that is concentrated, and doesn’t lead you astray into a black hole of distracting videos, social posts or the ever noisy news. They can be a physical demonstration of caring. “I saw this and thought of you.” 

I suggest that one way to mark this pandemic in a positive way, is to send books…and I’m not talking about an Amazon purchase. Most local bookstores are fulfilling orders online, and many times you can go straight to the publisher or an author and place an order.  St. Lynn’s Press, who has published two of my books, specializes in books that make perfect gifts. You can find books on gardening, cooking, birds, health, and green living and these make life-affirming virtual hugs when sent to the people you care about.

Here are three that are perfect for those who have recently plunged into herbs and edibles. Support an independent publisher and send someone you love a tangible expression that you are thinking of them…while helping them to focus on future growth. 

Find these and all the other great gift books on the St. Lynn’s Press website.  Know that with every order I and the folks at St. Lynn’s are sending you a virtual hug as well. 

And for those who want to send a hug to a Cape Cod resident, the people at David Godine Publishers would welcome your order of Sand and Soil: Creating Beautiful Gardens on Cape Cod and the Islands. 

Stay #GardenStrong.