4 comments about Diary of a Compost Hotline Operator: Edible Essays on City Farming.

1. You could read this book just for the fun of it. Or you could read it to get a thorough grounding in all the current basic reduce, re-use, recycle wisdom.

   The writer works to City Farmer, an organization in Vancouver, Canada that specializes in urban agriculture and in enhancing the sustainability of our cities. The writer may spend some time as operator of a compost hotline but she knows an awful lot about all the ecological issues facing people who live in cities. Similarly, while she lives in Vancouver, her writing is relevant to almost all cities.

   In the eight chapters she deals lightly with compost, bugs, cob houses, yard waste, water conservation, dog (and cat) poop, and critter control. Nowhere does the reader felled preached to. There is no "You ought to....or else" There are just gentle, humorous stories and observations. If you discovered something new to you (Wow! Bags of dog poop can explode in the compactor of a garbage truck! Who knew?) then maybe you might act on that. There is also a chapter on urban agriculture initiatives in New York and in Havana, and the issues facing the people involved in those cities. Each chapter ends with a generous list of resources, mostly publications, websites and organizations.

   There is so much delicious jam enfolding the pill of learning that you don't know you're swallowing it. This bok was a delight when it might have been a bore. I enjoyed it tremendously.




2. You could read this book just for the fun of it. Or you could read it to get a thorough grounding in all the current basic reduce, re-use, recycle wisdom.

   The writer works to City Farmer, an organization in Vancouver, Canada that specializes in urban agriculture and in enhancing the sustainability of our cities. The writer may spend some time as operator of a compost hotline but she knows an awful lot about all the ecological issues facing people who live in cities. Similarly, while she lives in Vancouver, her writing is relevant to almost all cities.

   In the eight chapters she deals lightly with compost, bugs, cob houses, yard waste, water conservation, dog (and cat) poop, and critter control. Nowhere does the reader felled preached to. There is no "You ought to....or else" There are just gentle, humorous stories and observations. If you discovered something new to you (Wow! Bags of dog poop can explode in the compactor of a garbage truck! Who knew?) then maybe you might act on that. There is also a chapter on urban agriculture initiatives in New York and in Havana, and the issues facing the people involved in those cities. Each chapter ends with a generous list of resources, mostly publications, web sites and organizations.

   There is so much delicious jam enfolding the pill of learning that you don't know you're swallowing it. This bok was a delight when it might have been a bore. I enjoyed it tremendously.




3. Not the book to get if you're seeking to learn much about composting. Sure, there are some tidbits but overall the info presented is the basic stuff available free in pamphlets at garden stores, via internet, libraries, municipal fliers, etc., such as ratio of greens to browns.

   The book is intended to be humorous and I suppose it may be to the ya-ya sisterhood crowd. The humor leans heavily on goofy puns and wacky scenes such as dressing up in whimsical costumes and performing ceremonies to stop bees from stinging. Tee-hee!
   Oh, and they also do a compost "rap", ha ha! what a hoot!

   If you still want it I'd give you mine but it's stewing in the compost pile.




4. I loved this book. puts a funny, witty humor twist on something tht can be boring like composting. I found myself unable to put it down, becasue you felt part of their everyday lives trying to brign the farm mentality to teh city folk...

2 comments about Gardening on Long Island With Irene Virag.

1. While I think this book has some good general topics and it is obvious a lot of work went into it, I was very disappointed in the information included. By its name, I expected it to be gardening topics tailored to Long Island - descriptions of all the native plants, historical information, specific soil conditions, bug problems, differences in climate conditions from the north to south shores, and the like. Don't expect to see this at all. It is a nice gardening book, but the information in it you can find anywhere.



2. I'm thrilled with this book...it's very informative and I like how it is organized by season. The quality of writing and the personal way Irene Virag writes about her gardening life makes it fun to browse through.

No comments about More for Your Garden (In Your Garden).

No comments about Garden Party: Collected Writings 1979 - 1999.

2 comments about The Spirituality of Gardening.

1. This book is a 'must have' for anyone who loves gardening!



2. Journalist and award-winning writer Donna Sinclair presents The Spirituality of Gardening, a beautiful discussion of the soul-enriching wonders of gardening. Chapters discuss gardening as connection, balance, memory, healing, hope, spiritual practice, and resistance throughout the ages, and the beautiful full-color photography throughout illustrates breathtaking close-ups of flowers and wide-angle views of trees at sunrise and sunset. The thoughtful text reflects upon the author's personal awakening through gardening, ancient parables, the bounty of the earth, being thankful for the joy of life, and more. The Spirituality of Gardening is not a practical how-to book, but rather an inviting treasure especially for gardening and book lovers, to be savored for personal inspiration and reflection.

5 comments about Time and the Gardener.

1. TIME AND THE GARDENER brings together Elisabeth Sheldon's unpublished writings, from the last 13-14 years, on flower gardening. The author begins by calling gardening "delightful, absorbing, intensely gratifying, maddening, and exhausting" digging, planting, weeding, working, and reading, reading, reading. It's also mind-changing, because of "lost plants and new ideas."

   Sheldon once gardened properly, in white, silver and pale yellow or grey and pink, lavender and lime. Then she gardened flamboyantly, in hot-colors. Next, she border gardened, with purple flowers and leaves. That took her garden full circle. In fall, purple looked so good, with Lespedeza thunbergii 'Pink Fountain', 'Ballerina' rose and Dianthus; dwarf sage, grey 'Hidcote' lavender, and helianthemum; and white-leaved prickly poppy.

   Just as with color combinations, plant dislikes and likes change. Hot-color gardening got Sheldon to plant dahlias, marigolds, petunias, and zinnias. Border gardening in sulphur and wine let in yellow-leaved plants.

   So gardening might well leave the gardener with "nothing to hate." But it won't always grow better people or weed out curmudgeons. For example, on a cold winter night, nineteenth-century gardening know-it-all William Robinson opened windows and put out stoves in a hated former employer's greenhouses.

   In large part, though, Sheldon finds gardeners "exceptionally" gentle, as students of humbling lessons. In the second part of her book, she therefore shares gardening trials and errors, in central New York. There, on a Cayuga Lake area farm, her garden shows its age. How can it do other than sicken and die along with, or shortly after, her? It's the only way, what with the three "b's" of bad weather, beasts and blunders.

   It's blundering over trees Sheldon regrets. To her, they were thirsty rivals to plants for nutrients and water. Now in her 80s, she wishes that she had long ago set aside one of her fields as an arboretum. It's not just because of what trees do, for air and dirt. It's also for color and looks. What can beat the year-round "silky" grey bark of European beeches, the ruby red of sour gum in fall, and the flaming torch patterns of apricot-, crimson- and flame-colored Korean maple leaves against the sky?

   Sheldon's practical lesson-learnings are helpful and well-written, with excellent examples. They cover all bases, from seed collecting and growing; through plant breeding; to shady and woodsy gardening and mixed shrub and tapestry bordering. But it's the ending sections, on favorite plants and history-making gardeners, that stay with me.

   Plants that pass Sheldon's test of time are astilbe, border clematis, chrysanthemum, columbine, gaura, lysimachia, and nepeta. If she lived more southerly, she might favor the pale lemon or white marguerite. Up north, though, Dianthus caesius (gratianopolitanus) is where she hopes to end her days.

   Finally, her five history-making gardeners are Gertrude Jekyll, Jane Loudon, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Alexander Pope and Horace Walpole. Not surprisingly, something Miss Jekyll once said perfectly sums up Sheldon's book and gardening. Never let an idea get in the way of beautiful plants and combinations.




2. If you've read and appreciated Elizabeth Sheldon's PROPER GARDEN and can distinguish among the varieties of sage and salvia you will probably enjoy her `sequel' TIME AND THE GARDENER a little more than if you have not and can not. Sheldon has traveled all over the U.S. giving talks on gardening to mixed audiences. Her colorful slides and gardening anecdotes are always appreciated no matter what the background of audience members, however, she does not write for the novice or new gardener. In addition, whereas PG at least included a number of colorful illustrations, there are none in TG. So, it helps if you are an experienced gardener who can visualize in the mind's eye how Lathyrus thunbergii might appear when surrounded by asters (particularly A. Frikartii `Mönch') and dusty rose chrysanthemums.

   I heard Sheldon speak at a conference held at the National Wildlife Federation headquarters here in the Washington area. I enjoyed the talk and her beautiful slides but also noticed that over half of the audience was composed of landscape designers, nursery staff, and other gardening professionals while most of the other folks were people who were hiring these professionals to work in their gardens. Only a few of the attendees were "very good gardeners" (some with `Master" gardener status) and non-pro.

   Sheldon's advice is best suited to gardens in areas comparable to Ithaca New York-zone 5 with plenty of rainfall and rich black loam. If you can't grow a garden in the Finger Lakes area you are really a failure. If you don't live in zone 5 and/or don't have rich black loam from the last ice age, you will have to improvise to implement Sheldon's suggestions. You might be able to pull off some of her combinations but not without a great deal of effort. If you can't use her gardening advice, you can still enjoy her sketches of famous women gardeners also included in this book. However, be warned, Sheldon is neither as amusing as Henry Mitchell nor as philosophical as Allen Lacy so don't expect more.




3. Reading "Time and the Gardener" is like visiting an elderly gardening friend whose gentle wisdom and time-honed observations cloak an educated, highly literate mind and an acute wit.

   Elisabeth Sheldon is an experienced gardener - her experience is marked in decades rather than years. Gardening in New York State, she seems to have tried most species of flowers, trees and shrubs that might grow in that area and climate zone, and she has tried many varieties of each of the spcies. She writes about them gently, understanding that some grow politely wile others lean on their neighbours and others scramble over everything within reach.

   I found myself smiling through the first section "What I've learned over time" and learning a great deal from the second section, "Timeless Plants: some of My Favourites". In the third section, "Gardeners of Other Times" I re-visited old acquaintances such as Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, and found a sharp and insightful mini-biography of Jane Loudon.

   This is a delightful book from a writer of great experience. Treat yourself, or a friend, to a copy and curl up beside a winter fire, or under the shade of a tree in summer to relax, learn and enjoy.




4. Le livre est un recueil des ecrits nonpublies, sur le jardinage des fleurs, par l'auteur. L'auteur dit que jardiner ca veut travailler la terre, planter, arracher les mauvaises herbes, et apprendre, surtout par lire. Mais n'importe ce que l'on fasse, les jardins ne durent pas pour toujours, a cause du mauvais temps, des betises et des betes. Dans les dernieres pages du livre elle nous parle de ses fleurs preferees: les ancolie, astilbe, chrysantheme, clematis, gaura, lysimachia et nepeta. Dans le nord ou elle se trouve la fleur la plus preferee de toutes c'est Dianthus caesius, dans le sud la marguerite jaune pale ou blanche. Le livre se termine, a merveille, avec la frase tellement sage de la jardiniere peut-etre la plus estimee des anglais, Gertrude Jekyll: lorsqu'il s'agit des fleurs, la beaute avant tout!



5. This book is a gem among gardening books. As a beginning gardener, I've benefitted tremendously from Sheldon's experienced perspective. It's easy to get caught up in reading, planning and toiling and worry a little too much about the details I can't control anyway. Sheldon reminds the reader that sometimes things just grow, or not. She discusses many kinds of plants, so it is a book I will visit repeatedly as I learn more (the first time through, I knew hardly any of the plant names and still enjoyed it). Reading her book also helped me remember to stop and take it all in, not just rush about the yard with my shovel. I imagine that's the result of so many seasons of gardening - an understanding that the garden is significant because we get to enjoy it, not just because we get it done. The book is composed of short essays, so it's easy to pick it up and read a small, stand-alone section - perfect for a break in a busy day.

No comments about Recollections of Great Gardeners.

1 comments about First Garden: An Illustrated Garden Primer.

1. I have buyed this book because I like how CZ Guest introduce you to managing gardens. I found a lot of ideas to schedule all the things to do and what kind of flowers and bushes and trees you could choose for your first garden. Easy to learn!!

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No comments about The Garden : A Year At Home Garden.