FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Page & Palette, 32 S. Section St. in Fairhope, will host author Margaret Gratz April 10. From noon until 2 p.m., she will sign copies of “At Home in Earth Lady’s Garden” and “Wildflower Watch.” Both books will appeal to gardeners and nature lovers alike.

Gratz has her own column in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, and she is the garden editor for Mississippi Gardeners magazine. She is an active member in several garden clubs and plant societies.

Gratz’s books and columns inspire nature lovers. Her enthusiasm for all her garden friends, from the lowly ant to the soaring hawk, is contagious, and after reading her charming books, people gain a new respect for all creatures who live in gardens in the South.

Next, the downtown bookstore will host author William Barrick. From 2 until 4 p.m., he will sign copies of “How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth.”

Whether it’s finding spiritual harmony, reducing carbon emissions, quelling hostilities among races, cutting taxes, or feeding the hungry, every single person has the capacity to change the world for the better.

Longtime New Orleans writer, editor, and philanthropist John E. Wade II has asked some of our most prestigious thinkers, writers, artists, experts and leaders to consider how to improve the world. The result –– this ambitious volume –– is as much a social mission as it is an inspirational anthology.

Herein lie thoughtful and hopeful reflections on a rich variety of issues, ranging from racism, poverty, religious persecution, genocide, and environmental deterioration to individual consciousness, mental well-being and community development.

One hundred one contributions from such notable personalities as Mobile resident and Bellingrath Gardens executive director William Barrick, Al Gore, Tony Blair, Nicholas Kristof, Thomas L. Friedman and George W. Bush explore variations on the themes of peace, security, freedom, democracy, prosperity, spiritual and racial harmony, ecology, health, and moral purpose and meaning.

Focusing on the large problems of the world without losing sight of the little challenges people face every day, this collection of essays encourages readers to find meaning in their own lives and share it with others for the betterment of the world.

Religious and secular, liberal and conservative, old and young, the luminaries who have contributed to this work offer their voices and thoughts to inspire movement toward creating a more harmonious world community.

Barrick went to Auburn University, then Michigan State University, where he obtained his Ph.D in landscape horticulture. He was an assistant professor of ornamental horticulture at the University of Florida and then became director of gardens at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga.

He has been the executive director of Bellingrath Gardens since 1999.

The authors will exclusively sign all books purchased from Page & Palette.

For more information, call (251) 928-5295, or visit www.pageandpalette.com.