How Does Your Garden Grow?

The weather forecasters keep predicting nice weekends that don't materialize, and it's frustrating because I think it's time to get the hoe on the road. Gardening wisdom for the mid-Atlantic coastal regions is that small plants and seedlings are probably safe from Jack Frost after Mother's Day, which is on its way. Since we seem to be hovering about 20° below the average for this time of year, my usual gardening activities have been put on hold. While I'm waiting, it's appropriate to move onto Plan B: armchair gardening.

When I think of gardening mysteries, Sheila Pim comes instantly to mind. She was an Irish author who wrote her first detective novel, Common or Garden Crime, to satisfy her father's thirst for detective stories. There was a dearth of these, because publications of the same had been curtailed due to the paper shortages that affected neutral Ireland during what they called the "Emergency," and the rest of the world called World War II.

Pim was one of the first mystery writers to integrate a gardening background into her novels. For Pim, as well as the protagonists in her work, the horticultural details were essential to the plots, but they were also pivotal to the characters' daily lives. Gardening was not just a hobby, but also a necessary way of living, because it provided crucial foodstuffs in times of scarcity. It was also a part of the social activities in the community, such as flower shows and vegetable competitions.

Common or Garden Crime takes place around 1943, when things were looking better both on the war front and in Clonmeen, a small village on the outskirts of Dublin. Lucy Bex lived there with her brother, Linnaeus, at Annalee Lodge. She had taken care of her sibling and his son, Ivor, who was away in the R.A.F., for many years. On one particularly beautiful summer morning, she was contemplating how peaceful everything was in this edenic locale, while parts of the world were anything but. She felt that the unnatural serenity was too good to last. She was right.

The Bexes and all their neighbors were looking forward to the upcoming flower show. A prelude to this was a small tea party at the neighboring Beechfield, inhabited by the Nichol-Jervises. The Osmunds, a couple new to town, were part of the gathering.

At any affair given by the N-Js, a tour of the garden was de rigueur. As the party circled the yard, one particular planting became the center of the conversation. It was a grouping of Arabian monkshood. Linnaeus labeled it Aconitum ferox, and it was so named because it was ferociously poisonous. All monkshood is toxic, but this type was more rare and more potent. Still, the general feeling of the members of the party was calm and untroubled. There wasn't much concern, either, when the next day it was found that the monkshood had been taken in the night.

It can be said that many grow up believing that all evil began in a garden. I was one of these. I wasn't too old when I realized that, like many other things, it was simply another case of cherchez la femme or better said find a femme to blame it on. In this particular story, it was a femme, Lady Madeleine Osmond, who was found poisoned the next day from monkshood mixed in the horseradish sauce.

Horseradish

Monkshood

Sheila Pim recounts the events in a slightly unusual format, by presenting two non-adversarial, but parallel, investigations. The Guards pursue their investigation, while Lucy Bex––an amateur sleuth who is privy to her neighbors' secrets––pursues her own inquiries.

It is through the small domestic details that the murderer is uncovered. For instance, in those days, planning meals was dictated more by circumstances than desires. Lack of freezers and most refrigeration was not on hand, so the weekend before a bank holiday, you had to think of having something cold left over for Monday. Lamb was scarce and what was available was only enough for one meal. Nobody liked cold mutton, and pork was no good in August. The only choice, therefore, was beef and since mustard was no longer available, it was natural that horseradish would be served.

Pim's books might be described as novels of how ordinary people react when their lives are disrupted by extraordinary events, such as murder or war. While she wrote many things, her gardening mysteries number only four. The others––all standalones––are Creeping Venom, A Brush With Death and A Hive of Suspects, all of which were republished by Rue Morgue Press. I can recommend them all.

Michelle Wan is another author who writes interesting stories with a botanical background. Hers take place across the pond in the Dordogne, in northwest France.

Slipper Orchid

Deadly Slipper features more exotic blooms and presents a different scenario involving flora and felony.

Julian Wood is pottering in his workroom when he gets a call from a woman who needs his botanical expertise, particularly his knowledge of orchids. Twenty years ago, Bedie, a young woman hiking in the forest in the southwestern forest of France in the area of the Dordogne, disappeared. The only clue in all those years to finally come to light is a camera with the film still intact. The girl's twin sister, Mara, has had the film developed and it reveals a series of landscapes and very good pictures of orchids. One orchid in particular has never been seen in this area before. This series of pictures might help in the location of Bedie's last day if the area of the orchids can be identified.

Aside from the exotic plants the countryside is peopled with eccentric characters. There is a woman nicknamed "hoe" because she was lethal with one in her hand, with a hulk of a son who communicated with few words and is thought to be unusual. There is a local well-known family who live in the "chateau" with a sad history and the locals are protective of them. There are others who have lived in the area since the time of Bedie's disappearance. Julian himself has been somewhat of a hermit and he does have an interest in horticulture and orchids.

The book is rich with descriptions of the Dordogne and is spiced up with savory details of French cooking. The theme ultimately is one of a serial killer preying on young women, and Mara does not know whom to trust. But for a killer to hide so well in plain sight, he must have on very good camouflage. You or I would possibly think him very likeable, non?

The next in her series is The Orchid Shroud.

Aside from the visual beauty and gratification of other senses, some gardens have more to offer. They can tell, or contrarily bury, a story.

Even in Europe, it has been colder than usual this year, but Italy is a wonderful place for gardens. In The Savage Garden, a Mark Mills mystery, Adam Strickland is a Cambridge scholar who has taken a slightly lazy approach to his studies. His professor suggests a trip to Italy to study a famous garden. The professor believes that this will pique Adam's interest.

 Naturally, there is a secret in this garden, a cipher, and Adam also believes there is a secret to be discovered in the villa itself. His natural instinct, or maybe nosiness in disguise, soon leads him to some startling conclusions about both the recent and the centuries-ago past.

 I don't know if it could be called brashness or arrogance when he begins to delve into the personal lives of the occupants of the Villa Docci. He definitely has no problems with blurting out his suspicions. As one person tells him: "You have been here hardly a week! What business is it of yours?" 


He certainly takes liberties as he toys with the rules of the house and the emotions of its inhabitants.


Aside from that, as he digs into the meaning of the statuary in the garden, he has to use all his classical knowledge to piece together this enigma. The reader is educated as well, as we are reminded of ancient myths and allegories. I am also tempted to read the book Adam was reading on his trip, which was Dorothy L. Sayers's translation of Dante's epic poem The Inferno.

Martin Edwards has written a series that takes place in the Lake District of England, where gardens abound. This series has developed some critical acclaim among blogs and British mystery discussions. I began the series at the beginning, which is a smart thing to do because the subsequent books frequently talk about people, places and things that appear in the first book, The Coffin Trail.

 The main characters are Daniel Kind, an ex-Oxford historian who is seeking the quiet life in a new location, and DCI Hannah Scarlett, a police detective who had a case fall apart on her and had been shunted to a newly formed cold case unit, of which she has been put in charge. Hannah is called to reopen a case in the series opener. The two protagonists dance around the case poking it to see if it stirs. This occupies the first 2/3 of the book.

Finally the investigation begins and proceeds nicely to an interesting conclusion.

 In The Cipher Garden, Daniel and Scarlett dance the same dance around another case of the murder of a local lothario who was also a mean, disliked man who was part owner of a landscaping business. Both Daniel and Scarlett worry at the edges of the mystery until finally the case opens up. There is a new murder and it is this one that helps the historian and the detective find the killer.


Mean while back at the ranch or the lakeside cottage Daniel is trying to figure out the mystery of his unusual garden which is called a cipher garden because it is a puzzle set up by early owners of the home to explain either their lives or their deaths. A subplot running through the story is the relationship between Daniel and his live-in girlfriend who always appears to me to be straining at the leash which is just as well because Daniel has eyes for Hannah who is already in a long-term relationship in which there are several cracks in the foundation. These little characterizations don't paint Daniel in the strongest light because the reader really questions his judgment. But not his gardening knowledge.

So now I wait with  gardening gloves in hand, trowel at the ready for my turn at the soil and the only mystery will be what kind of a mess I will make this year.

Stocking Snuffers

So Black Friday has come and gone and Cyber Monday is history. My major decisions about gift giving have been made for the most part. So now it is time to concentrate on the little things that make holidays so special. Maybe it's time to follow through on the resolutions for 2011 before another year is upon us. I have some small suggestions for you to either put on your wish list or to give to the needy members of the family. All of these things would fit in a Christmas stocking or a St. Nick's shoe on December 6.

Do you have a co-worker who is driving everyone in the office mad? Then I suggest this small poison-containing ring. Perfect for a little sleight-of-hand during coffee break and you will start a new year happier at work, and maybe even nab a promotion. Agatha Christie always called poison a woman's weapon, I don't know about that, but I will say that the poison rings available on Amazon seem to favor the feminine tastes.

Then there is that brat next door who keeps parking in your spot and leaving you to carry groceries an extra 20 feet. He is sort of a rat, isn't he? Just head straight to Amazon for a great selection. Two-day delivery. It would probably look nice sprinkled on some gingerbread. I could put this in my husband's stocking but he would just think we had a rodent problem and miss the point entirely.

Is there someone you know who has a boss who keeps harassing her? A small gift in a variety of colors might give her the hint about how to take care of her problem. After handling the situation she could leg it out of the crime scene wearing the weapon. Anthony Berkeley might be able to give you some hints if you read his The Silk Stocking Murders. In this story several young girls were killed by this gentle-looking weapon. Sherlock Holmes had a time with them in his story "The Case of the Silk Stockings." These days, although not worn as commonly, you will find them on Amazon.

Your friend doesn't want to be discovered doing the dirty deed? The old ice pick in the ear befuddles the police sometimes. There is even one with a cover so it won’t stick though the Christmas stocking and it will look like a pen in a pocket. This way, he won't have to use whatever is at hand––like the murderer in Black, White and Dead All Over. John Darnton's killer used a paper spike sitting on a newspaper editor's table. You can quietly order a number of the usual picks from Amazon––or maybe from a spearfisherman company.

On the other hand, here is something that is easily available, yet appears innocuous. It is the easy-to-carry, non-threatening USB cord. It is so much better than the old lamp cord, which comes attached to a lighting appliance. I have not read about a murder using this method of strangling, but I will admit to having been driven to murder when needing to use some USB cords for more banal purposes. But the Apple techies in Bangladesh are too far away to strangle.

If the problem is that your cousin doesn't really like blood on her hands and would prefer to be setting up an alibi elsewhere, she might find some uses for this little gem. Certainly Inspector Foyle and crew had a time with a murder by this method in the case of "The German Woman." The Foyle's War series is available on DVD. Please keep in mind that these wires leave marks wherever they rub, so this is another use for the silk stocking.

Have you been misjudged once too often and can't take it any more? Well, these handy little items come in a variety of shapes and sizes. You can pretend you are mashing potatoes. The most recent story I read involving death by blunt instrument involved a baseball bat. This gavel is much more symbolic and is much easier to conceal. Just use One-click ordering at Amazon.

Cyanide Capsules

On the other hand, something much less messy and quite painless is the little old red capsule. I don't know how everyone in mysteries is so well acquainted with the smell of this poison. How many of you are familiar with the scent of bitter almonds? I can't even smell regular almonds unless they are the candy-coated kind. In Blotto, Twinks and the Ex-King's Daughter, Simon Brett opens the story with a nice case of the poisoning of a special agent of a king. And the smell, of course, gives away the modus operandi immediately: cyanide!

Is your uncle unconcerned about collateral damage? Well, Alfred Nobel may have had murder in mind as a side effect when he made these little sticks so handy. Stephanie Plum gets on a lot of people's nerves and Janet Evanovich writes that villains have used these handy small bombs to blow up plucky Stephanie's vehicles. I just wish these detonations would make her more decisive, especially about the men in her life. She could use a little brain rattling every now and then to get her out of her rut.

Those of you with green thumbs may not need this handy little how-to book, Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants. Naturally, it is available on Amazon. Just use your pay phrase for easy shopping. Even though I took plenty of chemistry classes in my time, I would need help going from pod to poison. Sheila Pim does a wonderful job of educating us on the dangers in gardening and the knowledge one can acquire for nefarious purposes in her Irish series, which include Creeping Venom and Common or Garden Crime. Bartholomew Gill also uses a foxglove as the MO to make Peter McGarr cudgel his brains looking for a suspect who fits his frame in Death of an Irish Lover.

Foxglove

Hemlock

Socrates used the attractive hemlock plant to end his own life when under a sentence of death. The Hemlock Society, founded as a right-to-die organization that would help people take the final step, took its example from the old philosopher who was deeply into the study of ethics. It has morphed into another society called Compassion and Choices. But these days so far, one man's easy crossover is another man's murder. Those of you who have hemlocks in your backyard can easily make a treacherous tisane if you find it necessary. If you are not so blessed, Amazon has a Hemlock Tree Growing Kit. The rest just requires patience.

If being creative is not for you, there is always the old standby: the pistol. These special items would fit easily into any stocking. These days, guns are at the top of the list as a choice of a deadly weapon here in the U.S. But it is always less expected in England. Still, P. D. James in The Black Tower has the murderer use a pistol. But I must warn you, that with these weapons that would be easy to drop in a stocking, you won't ever be in a position to say, "Do you feel lucky today, punk? Well, do you?"

These pocket-sized weapons may seem to be more to admire than fire but here you must rely on location, location, location. Nonetheless, don't try to take them on an airplane or you will find yourself out-gunned.

The most up-close-and-personal method for murder is the knife. Since they are readily available in one's kitchen I might have to remind you that it is best to use a weapon that can't be traced back to you. Here again Amazon has quite a selection on sale.

There you have it. For most of your murderous shopping needs, Amazon is the place for one-step ordering. I did not overlook the once-ubiquitous letter opener used to great effect in so many murder mysteries. It too would fit the small-but-lethal criteria that makes for such a special touch for the holidays. I fear using the letter opener would date you because only a few of us still get mail in envelopes. So have fun filling those stockings.