I have so much to talk about today — but first things first (we will get to the rest tomorrow).

I want to share my book’s promotional trailer with you. This was my first time being in front of the camera in a real way and I have to say it was simultaneously (and somewhat inexplicably) very hard and exhilarating. I learned so much and I have come believe that like with all things, practice is what is needed to get better (i.e. hopefully more video work in my future — my perfectionist tendencies have kicked in and I can’t wait to see if I can do it better)

So if you have watched this, I’d love to hear what you think.  Are you excited for the book?

I obsessed over everything — What to wear (I ultimately went with a less grubby version of what I normally wear in the garden – big work shirts, leggings, and boots in all but the warmest seasons), what to do with my hair (again stuck with what I do typically, a standard clip that sort of holds it out of my face until I start moving too much), if my cat could make an appearance (I’m glad he got a cameo in the final cut – he deserves it – he faithfully laid by my side through the entire writing of the book), how to stand, whether to look in the lens, just above, or somewhere else, how to look natural fake-doing all sorts of things I normally do for real – the list of my obsessions goes on…..  Seriously it is harder than you might think.  I’m just thankful I didn’t have to try to speak at the same time.  The sound part was actually the most fun and the easiest to deal with.  It was recorded in a sound studio which was a cool new experience I’d happily do again – plus I am amazed to hear my voice this way.  I have always disliked the way my voice sounds when recorded…but this sounded different.  Apparently (according to the sound engineer) this is how I sound when you take away all the distortion and extraneous noise.  My mind was blown, this difference, to me, is amazing.

There are a few people I really need to thank and give a whole lot of credit to – this could not have happened without them ….

The first is Kelly Fitzsimmons — she is an amazing photographer – she took stills during the video shoot and as well as lots of pics in the book — words cannot express my gratitude to her.  She is a close friend and her presence helped my confidence – I knew she had my back and would never let me look too stupid on camera (that is what friends do for friends).  If you are looking for help of this sort thing (or you just want awesome family portraits) you can get in touch with her through her website.

My dear sweet friend Jonathan Williams did the video camera work.

Perfection Studios is where I recorded the voiceover. (So fun!)

We filmed at so many locations – many didn’t make the final cut — but I am nonetheless so grateful for them putting up with us.

• Cupp & Cupp in Littleton, MA (who had some seriously crazy awesome giant snapdragons blooming in February!)
• Hatch in Concord, MA
• Nesting on Main in Concord, MA
• Seasons Four in Lexington, MA
• New England Garden Ornament in Sudbury, MA – (your source for amazing garden ornaments!)
• Cavicchios in Sudbury, MA

Softbox Films edited it all together into it’s final form with the oversight of the Timber press team.

And last (but most definitely not least) the music is by Bellas Bartok — a song called Asher (I love this tune – it normally has words and the words take the whole thing in a very different direction — it is simply fantastic).

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

xo – Rochelle