1 comments about Notes from Madoo: Making a Garden in the Hamptons.

1. It's winter and I can't work in my garden, and I've already ordered seeds and plants for Spring. I miss gardening! Well, I discovered a really great book about gardening. It's Notes from Madoo by Robert Dash. He is a painter,author and gardener who has had a garden in eastern Long Island NY since 1967. His book is all about his experiences, what plants survived, which ones didn't, his tips and techniques. For example, he uses hand tools and no chemicals. It's not a reference book or highly technical. No pictures and no index. Mr. Dash is not preachy (he's no Martha Stewart, if you catch my drift). But it is a beautifully written, almost poetic collection of articles from a man who clearly loves gardening. And I love this book!

1 comments about The Tennessee Fruit & Vegetable Book (Southern Fruit and Vegetable Books).

1. I bought this book as I was beginning to plan my first kitchen garden. It's great- tells you what to plant when, the conditions the veggies like, and some good varieties. The thing I like best about this book is that most garden books are written for northern or central-us gardeners. This one tells me what will work in Memphis, and when to start it. Plus, Felder Rushing is really, really funny. I've had this book for several years and refer to it frequently during the growing season and for planning, when I'm thinking about trying new vegetables.

No comments about Native Plants in the Coastal Garden.

5 comments about French Dirt: The Story of a Garden in the South of France.

1. I really loved this book. It made me laugh out loud. It made me tear up. It made me want to get my hands dirty.



2. Beautiful writing, and a delight to read. You will go back to it over and over again!



3. As May came to Wellsboro, I longed for the smell of fresh air and the feel of my hands in the dirt. Reading Richard Goodman's "French Dirt" satisfied me when my garden efforts were stymied. An account of an American who eventually gets to know his new neighbors in a small village in France, I think "French Dirt" is better than the more well-known books by Peter Mayle.
   
   Editor,"Of A Predatory Heart"



4. As an avid gardener, I was excited to read this book and then sorely disappointed. The author is clueless and not in a charming way, he seems to approach his garden as one with ADD would, later abandoning it entirely after much help and assist from others. His infatuation with a young frenchman is strange. The book does not give insight into the french not does it illicit any clear gardening instruction or technique. He and his girlfriend simply plop the plants they bought into the ground. With nothing else to do, he is at the garden twice a day weeding and watering. The author clearly has friends in publishing for this story to get binded.



5. This book is a prime example of a first-person account gone wrong. The main problem is that Goodman is just too self-aware to give us any unfiltered view of his experience.
   
   Goodman agonizes over his gardening decisions, and tries to present himself as a humble student of the people of the village. But beneath a thin layer of humility lies a gargantuan ego that rears its head on every page.
   
   By his own account, Goodman pesters locals for help, advice, and affirmation at every turn. After prevailing on a couple of new friends and acquaintances for a lot of help, he abandons the effort and moves back to America before the season is even completely over. He doesn't even seem to recognize that this might be unfair to the people who have helped him in various ways.
   
   More importantly are the glaring omissions and gaps. Goodman's relationship with girlfriend Iggy is probably the most important thing in his life during the time the story takes place, but we never get a sense of how that relationship progresses from seemingly functional to rocky to over. He's happy and willing to speculate on the gossip surrounding the locals, but he won't share the dirt on himself. Indeed, some passages read like a passive-aggressive appeal to his now-ex, either wooing her back or shifting blame away from himself.
   
   Goodman does do one thing right, and that is to give a very interesting window into the life and people of the tiny French village. But too often, that window is spoiled by the images of Goodman fawning over the locals, practically begging them for affirmation that he is a member of their little community (which, of course, he isn't).
   
   So, I can't really recommend this book. The writing is not honest, the protagonist is not likable, and the garden itself is too transient to accumulate any weight.

No comments about The Arkansas Lawn Guide: Attaining and Maintaining the Lawn You Want.

No comments about The New Ontario Naturalized Garden.

No comments about Mama Wears Two Aprons: Women in Farming and Farm Marketing.

No comments about Can't Miss Water Gardening for the Northwest.

1 comments about Gardening Month by Month in Ontario.

1. Interesting concept, very helpfull for a gardener, would make a great gift. Have found all the books by Alison Beck to be top quality and have wonderfull pictures.

1 comments about The War on Weeds in the Prairie West: In the Prairie West.

1. The War On Weeds In The Prairie West: An Environmental History by history buff and weed control expert Clinton L. Evans covers four centuries of the history of pervasive and tenacious Canadian weeds, since their arrival as seeds from England in the sixteenth century. Agricultural battles against these weeds through the centuries are traced in this aptly researched, informative compendium filled with amazing cross-connections in the natural world and human cultivation. The War On Weeds In The Prairie West is a very strongly recommended addition to gadening and agricultural studies supplemental reading lists as well as academic horticultural and ecological history reference collections.