The days are getting noticeably shorter and I’m glad I got the chance to read Garden Spells while it was still summer, what with all the gardening and flowers and that cheeky apple tree. Thanks for reading Garden Spells with me. I thought it was a nicely written story if a little shallow on the subplots. It’s definitely piqued my interest in cooking with edible flowers though; I’ll have to try some of those recipes from the last post.

The nice folks at BelleBooks were kind enough to send a copy of Sarah Addison Allen’s In My Dreams, an audio collection of short stories that’s due out Nov. 1. Watch the blog for a review of the audiobook and a special giveaway to come!

If you liked Garden Spells, you might want to try:

Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate

Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic

Sarah Addison Allen’s The Sugar Queen

Morag Prunty’s Recipes for a Perfect Marriage

Judith R. Hendricks’ Bread Alone

Bharti Kirchner’s Pastries: A Novel of Desserts and Discoveries

Feel free to leave your final thoughts (or any edible flower-cooking stories!) in the comments section below.

Join me during the month of September as I read Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris. More to come tomorrow!

If Garden Spells has tempted you to spend more time in the kitchen and the garden as summer comes to a close, here are some real-life “garden spells” you can try (warning — I haven’t tried any of these, so browse and bake at your own risk, or reward!):

Edible flower recipes

Allegheny County Gardens edible flower recipes (four years’ worth!)

Baking Delights’ Baking in Bloom: 50 Best Edible Flower Recipes Ever

Urban Garden Casual’s Edible Flowers (and Recipes)

SheKnows edible flower recipes

Update: Look what I found on the shelf — APL’s own copy of The gourmet’s garden : cooking with edible flowers, herbs and berries by Anne Gardon.

Apples have long had a role in history and folklore, from the apple from the tree of knowledge that’s consumed in the Garden of Eden to Snow White’s bite of the poisoned apple proffered by her evil stepmother who’s disguised as an old hag, to Newton’s apple and Johnny Appleseed. The apple tree in Garden Spells is virtually a character, one that tosses apples at people and holds the photograph of Lorelei Waverley in its branches.

What other foods can you think of that have powers or myths associated with them?

Magic aside, why might the residents of Bascom attribute such power to the Waverleys’ garden and their apple tree in particular?