No comments about Cuttings: A Year in the Garden with Christopher Lloyd (Pimlico).

2 comments about Avant Gardening: Ecological Struggle in the City & the World.

1. I found this book, which is an anthology of essays on the subject of the community gardens movement in New York City and other urban areas, to be very informative and a good source of history. Though I do not have an intiuitive understanding of the consciousness of most environmentalists, and I have grown little more than an avocado plant in my lifetime, this book helped me better undertstand the importance of natural surroundings to the urban community. The opposing forces are the indigenous, autonomous, self-help movement that created the gardens on garbage-strewn, abandoned lots during the 1970s; and the government's favoritism toward private developers and other forces of gentrification which threaten the ethnic and class diversity of the city.



2. "Avant Gardening" is an inspirational anthology of essays on the community garden movement. Set mostly in New York City, these essays explore the struggles of the urban poor to reclaim public space, grow wholesome food, build community, and resist gentrification. Readers interested in organic gardening, food security, and urban politics will enjoy this short but informative book. By transforming vacant lots into community gardens, these inner-city farmers are planting not only medicinal herbs, healthy crops, and trees for oxygen; they are planting the seeds of hope and the seeds of change.

5 comments about Radical Prunings: A Novel: A Novel of Officious Advice from the Contessa of Compost.

1. Life at Miltonhurst is organized around two things--gardening and the Q & A column of one Miss Mertensia Corydalis. As for the rest--not so organized. She comes from a long line of expert gardeners--it is in her blood, but please, please, don't ask her about lawn care. This makes her blood boil.
   
   Mertensia's operation is small, organic and old world. Her publication is rival to the ever expanding landscaping empire of Norton Doyle. Norton, who is decidedly non-organic in his approach, happens to be her ex husband. Her brother Artur, and assistants Tran and Miss Vong, add to the chaos in a book that reads like an unintentional diary. You are eager to find out what else slips into her column besides sound advice. However, it can get personal.
   
   Miss Mertensia seems prudish and formal on the surface--but not so. She is never crude but always full of double entendre. It is the reader who has the dirty mind. Never the less, Abbott's star character is highly literate. Her lush descriptions and it must be said, rapier wit make this the intelligent reader's humor title of the year.
   
   Beyond their antics, you can truly learn a thing or two about the real world of horticulture. Abbott is the gourment of the garden. Included is a recipe for candied violets from the backyard. Yum. Please buy this book--you will laugh and learn simultaneously.



2. This book is at times a hoot! A little confusing to begin with as I thought it was strictly a gardening book, however, anyone with a sense of humor (the darker the better) will get a kick out of the author's fictitious persona and hopefully, fictitious gardening columns. There are actually some pretty good horticultural gems, as well.



3. While RADICAL PRUNINGS is fiction, any gardener will relish the opinionated reflections of one Mertensia Corydalis, a cutting set of vicarious garden reflections presenting the 'collected horticultural columns' and catalog of a prickly botanical advice writer. Any gardener will find it filled with fun moments and gardening reflections.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



4. Subtle, tongue in cheek humor. Especially for gardeners who know a little something about horticulture - you need some knowledge to 'get' her humor. Loved it!



5. My husband found this lovely little book in a cute little bookstore in Winona, Minnesota. We bought it and brought it home, and I attempted to use it for one of my favorite passtimes, which is to read a book aloud while laughing so hard I can't speak! My husband kept having to rip the book out of my hands in order to finish reading a sentence. I decided that my mother-in-law, who is an avid gardener, needed to read the book, but I refused to give up my copy, so I had to order a copy from Amazon. She loved the book too.
   
   This book is the perfect gift for the gardener who has everything.

No comments about Words For Gardeners.

5 comments about Out in the Garden: Growing a Beautiful Life.

1. That is probably too mean a title for a very, very personal book, yet it seems appropriate. Mr. Riddle is a sincerely down-to-earth person, it seems, and when he says something is "purdy" I suppose he means it. His A-shucks persona gets in the way of some very good advice, however.

   But this is not to say that Mr. Riddle is a poor writer -- far from it, or that he does not know his subject -- he is a classically trained horticulturist and writes a well-received garden column for Elle Décor magazine. He knows what he is doing.

   There is not much in this book to learn, or that you cannot learn elsewhere -- but as the travel industry says, half the fun is the journey. The process Mr. Riddle uses to refine his design ideas is the real essence of the gardening parts of the book. His humanity and the depth of his friendships provides the soul of the memoir part of the book.

   My advice if you buy this book is to read through it twice to pick up the bits you miss when you are rolling your eyes at his hokey expressions-- it is worth it.




2. I am really enjoying this book. I am not done yet, but I have already started looking at my garden differenly. I am thinking about getting some more garden books to help me improve my garden. This book is whimsical and delightful. The author writes with a wonderful style. I hope that he is allowed to stay at his rented bungalow forever. My only complaint is the books that Amazon suggests you should get if you enjoyed this book. They all seem to be about being Gay. This book is so much more than a book about a man coming out of the closet. I think anyone would like this book straight or gay. Have to go and stroll in my garden. Enjoy the book!



3. Out of all the gardening books I've purchased for our public library in the last four years, I would recommend Dean Riddle's book first and foremost to our readers as a balm to the soul, an inspiration to gardeners everywhere, and a plain old good read. The focus of the book is informative yet personal: it is the story of one man's coming of age in the garden, his connection with the strange and often-ignored vibrancy of the horticultural world, and his joyous appreciation of people, plants, dirt, sticks, old glassware, fried eggs, and just about everything else.

   For four months a year I read virtually nothing but gardening books of all types as our orders come in to the library. Very few of the writers are able to touch and inform readers at the same time, and it is this gift that Dean Riddle brings to his writing. The book is organized in such a way that Riddle is able to incorporate stories into his highly readable and clear descriptions of his own garden plans. Within the space of a few paragraphs, the reader finds himself in Dean's world. The fully-colored images and sensations of Dean's garden stay brilliantly painted in one's mind long after the book is closed.




4. The librarian at Skene Library in Fleishmanns, NY foisted this book upon me as I had missed Dean Riddle's personal appearance and reading. I politely took it home. I started to skim read and three hours later had finished the book and made a list of pages to return to for information. This book is a jewel of a read and a must for any Catskill gardener. I have had a "failed garden" for ten years in the Felishmanns area. I used to be a good gardener. Not in the Catskills! Mr Riddle provides a virtual how to manual for my next year's garden. But beyond the practical, it is a delightful, fast paced, funny read.



5. I first picked up this book on a whim in Dean's friend's shop in Phoenicia and assumed it would be just another gardening how-to book. Boy was I ever wrong! I have never had a gardening book inspire me in such a way! I wanted to go out straight away and work in the garden and smell the rich earth and let the sun warm my back. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of reading this book during the long Catskill winter! Now, I read Dean's book each and every spring to give me the inspiration to spend hours digging and planting, and I frequently browse for articles and/or other books written by Dean, or similar in style. (I haven't found any that compare!) Not only do I wish Dean was my neighbor, but I wish he would write another book! This book is one of the few that I am actually wistful when I finish the last page....I want it to go on and on.
   
   I also had the great fortune of touring Dean's garden during a garden tour 2 years ago...what a treat that was! I went home and wanted to rip everything out and start over, or at least have Dean come and advise me. His garden is every bit as beautiful and inspiring as his book.
   A "must read" for EVERY gardener!

1 comments about The Gardener's Bedside Reader.

1. Any gardener seeking a bedside companion will relish this reader which pairs stories and essays with vintage ads, gardening memorabilia, botanical drawings, and color photos to inspire and entertain readers. Celebrated gardeners share their techniques and inspirations, while reflections on spiritual connections with the land and tips on design round out the offerings.

No comments about The Gardener's Way : A Daybook of Acts and Affirmations.

1 comments about The Gardener's Guide to Life: Timeless Lessons Based on the Principles of Gardening.

1. I was shopping for vegetables yesterday morning in a local grocery store. I was en route to my brother's nursery to give a children's workshop on plants with special emphasis on Fathers' Day. A dear friend was in the gift section and was reading this book. She said she just couldn't stop reading it. She showed me a few of the quotes. One that caught my attention was the one by Victor Hugo, "Nothing awakens a remininscence like an odor." I commented that this sure was true. A little while later, she sought me out in the store bearing a little brown bag marked "paid." She had purchased the book for me. I was delighted. Many of the book treasures I have in my life have come to me by way of a friend. I read it all on Fathers' Day morning and decided to give it to my father. Criswell's introduction story about radishes was my motivation to give it to my dad. He is a 75 year old retired farmer and now has a tiny garden on which among other things he sows radishes. I have always loved to garden, too. I especially like the way the author has divided the book in sections for gratitude, planning, diligence, attention, silence, optimism, patience, perserverance, lifetime learning, time, reverence, and enjoying the bounty. There is nothing that can nurture my soul more on bended knees than getting my hands in the dirt. Seeds truly are a miracle. I think so every time I put sunflower seeds in the ground and patiently and lovingly watch them become giant sunflowers. I also really enjoyed quotes which dealt with the "weeds" in our lives and how we perceive them. The book is a quick uplifting treasure for the silence of an early summer morning. I highly recommend it to gardeners and non gardeners.

No comments about A Garden Blessing.

5 comments about The Herbalist's Garden: A Guided Tour of 10 Exceptional Herb Gardens: The People Who Grow Them and the Plants That Inspire Them.

1. What a joy to discover this book! The De La Tours find a deep spirituality in gardening, even everyday gardening like I do, and convey that inspiration and meaningfulness to the reader. I enjoyed the beautiful photographs, the recipes, and especially the personal stories about each herbalist and their garden. The writing style is straightforward and often humorous and touching. I expect to enjoy gardening more than ever now that I have read The Herbalist's Garden.



2. Enhanced with the color photography of Saxon Holt, Shatoiya and Richard de la Tour's The Herbalist's Garden provides the reader with an exception, fascinating, and informative guided tour through ten unique herb gardens, introducing the people who grew them and the plants that inspired those master gardeners. After an informative introduction (The Path of the Herb Gardener), we are treated to the Dry Creek Herb Farm & Learning Center (Auburn, CA); Rosemary Gladstar's Sage Mountain (East Barre, VT); Deer Run Herb Sanctuary (Napa, CA); Plimoth Plantation (Plymouth, MA); EverGreen Herb Garden (Placerville, CA); The City Garden (Sacramento, CA); Dr. Duke's "Farmette" (Fulton, MD); Ravenhill Farm (Vancouver Island, British Columbia); Caprilands (Coventry, CT); and Saso Herb Gardens (Saratoga, CA). A very highly recommended, inspiring, beautifully presented work, The Herbalist's Garden is enhanced with a concluding commentary (Manifesting Your Own Vision), a resources section, and an index.



3. THE HERBALIST'S GARDEN is subtitled a "guided tour of 10 exceptional herb gardens" and it is just that. I don't think you could get much closer to the real thing unless you made the actual physical trip to each of these gardens. Perhaps the only drawback for me is that so many of them are on the West Coast because seeing them makes me want to SEE them.

   The photographs by Saxon Holt are some of the best. In each picture, I can clearly distinguish one plant from another--no small feat since to capture one plant clearly often causes others to be distorted. For example in one shot the viewer can raise her eyes from lettuce in the first row to cabbage in the second row to onions in the third row. I guess this is "trick" photography, but it's great. Although the photos are not three dimensional, they remind me of old 3-D viewer I had when I was a kid or the holograms of today where you can hold the picture to your eye and feel as if you are "inside" the frame.

   The de la Tours have done a fabulous job of compiling, writing, and editing their book. They are down to earth and friendly and the text is newsy and informative. The de la Tours own Dry Creek Farm and Learning Center in Auburn California--the first garden on the guided tour which features the gardens of several other herbalist/gardeners and writers. Each section shows a ground plan for the featured garden. There are plenty of shots of the gardens including entrances and paths, and unique features found at the various sites.

   Dry Creek Farm features a children's garden, a medicine-wheel garden, and a moon garden. The medicine-wheel garden is festooned with multi-colored prayer ribbons--hung out by the de la Tour's students at the Spring Equinox--that will be burned at the Winter Solstice. Along the edge of the medicine-wheel garden are plants representing the Zodiac Signs--Lavender for the Gemini, Mint for Virgo, and Lemon Balm for Cancer.

   The Moon Garden is composed of a Catalpa tree surrounded by a circle shaped garden. The garden surface is composed of white gravel chips and outlined with smooth river stones. Both the full moon and the cresent are delineated. The full moon is white pebbles sans plants, the crescent is set off by Artemesia, the ghostly white plant that bears the "other" name of Diana, queen of the Fairies, Queen of the Witches and Queen of the Moon. A statue of a coyote (Diana's hund?) sits below the mobile moons hanging from the Catalpa tree.

   There are photos of garden layouts, photos of specific beds, photos of smiling owners/gardeners and plenty of close-ups of the herbs recommended by the 10 herbalists. The text is extremely informative and inspiring.




4. Herbalist Shatoiya de la Tour, her husband, Richard, along with a very talented photographer, Saxon Holt, have produced a treasure of a book! This book takes us on a journey to visit ten exceptional herb gardens in the United States. First stop - Richard and Shatoiya's own garden which she describes as "a garden to serve the community". She shares her story of how her garden, Dry Creek Herb Farm came into being and has evolved over the years to become a refuge for herb lovers and learners across the country. Next stop is Sage Mountain, the Vermont garden of the highly respected herbalist, Rosemary Gladstar. Also spend time at Deer Run Herb Sancuary, Plimoth Plantation, Evergreen Herb Garden, the city garden of Brian Fikes and Greg Howes, Dr. Dukes "Farmette", Ravenhill Farm, Caprilands, and Saso Herb gardens.
   The photographs are exquisite, probably the best gardening photography I have ever seen. You will also get to meet these very interesting gardeners, get a glimpse into their own life stories to learn what first attracted them to herb gardening and how herbs have become the focus of thier lives. I LOVE this book and have turned to it for inspiration over and over again. I feel you will be very pleased with it. Buy it!



5. I number THE HERBALIST'S GARDEN among the most inspiring books I've read. This guided tour of several outstanding herb-based gardens (public, private, small, large, urban, rural, you name it) is filled with informative and charmingly written text along with gorgeous color photography, and augmented by little "boxes" that suggest ways to incorporate an idea into your own gardens, or provide neat recipes for teas and baked goods. (The peppermint brownies are especially fantastic -- and easy!)

   As a novice herb gardener tending my first 4x10 bed in its first season, I was deeply impressed by the gardeners (and plants!) featured in this book. I got the book from the library, started reading, and immediately purchased my own copy from Amazon. I need to have this one around! It's a great book to come back to for tips when you're worried, glorious colors when it's wintertime, and inspiration whenever you want it.

   Each section tells the story of a lovely garden and the people who have made it what it is, then profiles their three favorite herbs, suggesting culinary and medicinal uses and giving instructions for planting and care. Gardeners and herbalists will not regreat the purchase of this beautiful book.