Reviews (1)

A Superb Read From the Drawing Room to the Frontier
Whether you are a casual reader or a serious garden historian, this book has something for you. It is the second of a trilogy of very fine books written on American gardening covering the 1600s, 1700s and 1800s. Read more

Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. Essays    3. Garden Design    4. Gardening    5. Gardening / Horticulture    6. Gardening/Plants    7. Gardens, American    8. History    9. Landscape Horticulture    10. United States    11. Horticulture    12. Landscape art & architecture   

Reviews (1)

Visions of Grandeur
When you think of gardening and great gardeners you immediately think of the English.For hundreds of years this tiny island has produced some of the most influential gardens and architecture.This book provides a most picturesque view of country estates and the architecture of gardening. PERFECT for us weekend gardeners with visions of grandeur ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 17th century    2. 18th century    3. Art    4. England    5. Essays    6. Europe - Great Britain - General    7. Garden Design    8. Gardening    9. Gardening / Horticulture    10. Gardens    11. Gardens, English    12. History    13. Landscape Architecture And Design    14. Biography: general    15. Garden design & planning    16. Gardens (descriptions, history etc)    17. Works by individual poets: 16th to 18th centuries    18. c 1500 to c 1600    19. c 1600 to c 1700    20. c 1700 to c 1800   

Reviews (7)

Intimidating, but inspiring!
I received this book as a gift, being newly into gardening in the NW, and at first thumbing through I was a little puzzled. It appears to be more of musings then a 'real' garden book and I wondered how useful it would be for actual gardening. But once I started to read, I found this book to be such a delight! So many of the passages made me smile, so many made me want to laugh and all were inspiring. I really enjoy being able to pick this up and read a little on 'spooky' plants or the use of variegated leaves. This and the Western Sunset garden book are helping me make a great new garden here!

Year Round Garden Planning
I'm so glad that I bought this book (irresistible cover!) and am getting acquainted with Easton's garden writings.Her advice makes good sense and the monthly "Now In Bloom" suggestions and photos are inspiring me to plant for a year round garden.How could anyone resist October's "Spooky Plants" list?

A Gardener's Life
An excellent read! As an experienced gardener who is new to the climate of the Pacific Northwest, reading Plant Life was the perfect way to learn many of the nuances of gardening in this region.Valerie Easton not only speaks from considerable skill and practice, but also knows how gardeners think and the questions we ponder.Her essays amuse, inform and broaden your thinking, all at the comfort level of a neighborly chat over afternoon tea.Read more

Subjects:  1. Easton, Valerie    2. Essays    3. Gardening    4. Gardening / Horticulture    5. Gardening/Plants    6. Northwest, Pacific    7. Regional - General    8. Regional - Pacific Northwest (OR, WA)    9. Techniques   

Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Essays    3. Gardening    4. Gardening / Horticulture    5. Gardening/Plants    6. Home Gardening    7. Gardening / Techniques   

Subjects:  1. Essays    2. Garden Design    3. Gardening    4. Gardening / Horticulture    5. Gardening/Plants    6. Gardens    7. Highlands    8. Landscape    9. Landscape Horticulture    10. Marginal gardening    11. Natural landscaping    12. Regional - General    13. Scotland    14. Natural & wild gardening   

Reviews (1)

An intimate view of garden design
This excellent book allows the reader to get inside the head of a great garden designer.It follows the design problems and solutions the Haywards thought out over 20 years in their Vermont garden.It's full of ideas of how to add structure, vistas, destinations, and emotions to any garden design. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Design    3. Garden Design    4. Gardening / Horticulture    5. Gardens    6. Hayward, Gordon    7. Homes and haunts    8. Landscape    9. Landscape gardening    10. Vermont    11. Westminster    12. Gardening   

Reviews (1)

A gentle country life
First published in Britain in 1994 A Country Life is a collection of the authors personal memories and experiences a number of which appeared as regular column pieces in Country Life magazine between 1989 and1994.Read more

Subjects:  1. Country life    2. England    3. Essays    4. Europe - Great Britain - General    5. Gardening    6. Gardening / Horticulture    7. Gardening/Plants    8. General    9. Herefordshire    10. Herefordshire (England)    11. Homes and haunts    12. Regional & Ethnic - European    13. Strong, Roy C    14. Travel / Europe / Great Britain   

Subjects:  1. Design    2. Essays    3. Garden Design    4. Gardening / Horticulture    5. Gardening/Plants    6. Gardens    7. Landscape Horticulture    8. Gardening    9. Gardening / General   

Editorial Review

Not the least of the charms of this collection is that it is printed on quality paper, with delightful line drawings, and is just the right size to encourage the reader to take it in hand and turn the pages--which they will surely want to do once they have dipped into any chapter, where they willfind some of the finest garden writing of the last hundred years. The famous writers of the past, like Vita Sackville-West, Gertrude Jekyll, Elizabeth von Arnim (author of Read more

Reviews (3)

A Wonderful Collection of Brilliant Garden Writing.
The Writer in the Garden, edited cleverly by Jane Garmey, is a terrific little book. It is an attractive book too, the cover is pleasing, the type good, the actual materials of the book itself are well-made, pleasing to hold in your hand. A good anthology for the relatively new gardener...
I had previously read many of the books, articles, news columns etc. excerpted in Jane Garmey's book "The Writer in the Garden" but Iread them again because most are very well written. Now, I'll hand the bookover to my daughter who has recently taken an interest in gardening. She'sapproaching 40 and one of the writers in this book suggests 40 is thefateful age when gardening takes on new meaning. This anthology is the best garden visit I've ever had.
Winter is in full swing here in New York and Connecticut and I've barely noticed.The excerpts and essays keep me from my work and even from the catalogues that have begun to pour in and which usually occupy my time.What is especially wonderful is that this is a book to which I keepreturning.I am inspired and ready for the season.As far as I'mconcerned, Vita Sackville-West finally has a rival! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Essay    2. Essays    3. Gardening    4. Gardening / Horticulture    5. Gardening/Plants    6. Gardens    7. Literary collections    8. Rhetoric    9. Gardening / Essays    10. Gardens (descriptions, history etc)    11. Literary studies: general   

Reviews (3)

An excellent addition to any gardening library

The best food gardening book I've seen
I've looked at a lot of gardening books in my day, and this one is the best I've seen for growing herbs, fruits and vegetables.It's thin and not a page is wasted.
A practical, easy guide to growing fresh fruits & vegetables
The Edible Garden is a practical, easy guide to growing fresh fruits and vegetables. There are a host of unusual ideas here, from kid-friendly projects to different techniques, streamlining gardening processes, and handling diseases, crop rotation needs, and special care. A fine beginner's guide. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Essays    2. Fruit    3. Gardening    4. Gardening / Horticulture    5. Gardening/Plants    6. Herbs    7. Vegetables   

Reviews (1)

Another dimension to your gardening
Written by a father and son, one living in southern England and the other in southern California, this book gives you the skinny on just what is going on in your garden. Who likely lives in this little eco-system you have created, who dines on your favourite plants and who eats the diners. themselves. Read more

Subjects:  1. Ecology    2. Essays    3. Garden animals    4. Garden ecology    5. Gardening    6. Gardening / Horticulture    7. Gardening/Plants    8. Gardens    9. General    10. Natural history    11. Gardening / Essays    12. Insects & spiders    13. Zoology & animal sciences   

Subjects:  1. Aromatic plants    2. Essays    3. Flowers    4. Flowers - General    5. Fragrant gardens    6. Gardening / Horticulture    7. Odor    8. Western music: periods & styles   

Editorial Review

These 14 pieces by Katharine White first appeared in the pages of the Read more

Reviews (2)

Wildflowers are God's gift
There is a forward by E.B. White describing his editor, wife Katharine White.Katharine White was traditional by nature.She liked the flowers of her childhood.A neighboring estate near her house in Brookline, Massachusetts was owned by a prominent botanist named Sargent who founded the Arboretum in Boston.The children of the neighborhood were permitted to trespass and she claims that her sense of what was appropriate in terms of landscaping was formed at that time. Charlotte's Web...
Did you ever wonder where Charlotte the spider lived? I can visualize Mrs. White working away in one of her gardens, E.B. reclining on a lawn chair.He dozes off, and when he wakes finds a lovely garden spider has spun it'sweb exactly over his head. "Charlotte" he exclaims! Read more

Subjects:  1. Book reviews    2. Catalogs    3. Essays    4. Gardening    5. Gardening / Horticulture    6. Gardening/Plants    7. Nursery stock    8. Seeds    9. Gardening / Essays   

Reviews (1)

Chatty exchange of letters....
A YEAR IN OUR GARDENS by Nancy Goodwin and Allen Lacy is a chatty exchange of letters and faxes between two old friends, both of whom have many years of gardening experience to their credit. Ms Goodwin ran Montrose Nursery for many years and is very informed and informing about plants -- native, cultivated, imported, and home-grown. Read more

Subjects:  1. Correspondence    2. Essays    3. Gardeners    4. Gardening    5. Gardening / Horticulture    6. Gardening/Plants    7. General    8. Goodwin, Nancy    9. Hillsborough    10. Home Gardening    11. Letters    12. New Jersey    13. North Carolina    14. Reference    15. Essays, journals, letters & other prose works    16. Gardening / Essays    17. Northeastern & North Atlantic states    18. Southeastern & South Atlantic states   

Reviews (4)

A glimse at a personall created garden
Awesome book. Beauty created from the most simple situations and common flowers. Written with great personal enthuisiasm and illustartions to match the mood.

Toobusylooking
I havn't actually read this book yet since I'm too busy being stunned by the excellent photographs of natural beauty. Simply gorgeous!

The Soul of the Garden
This is a collection of the most gorgeous photographs of the garden and natural land surrounding the home of one of North America's best known and most respected photographers. Accompanying each of the photographs is a brief, elegant commentary. The commentary itself is thought-provoking, prompting readers to dig deeper into their understanding of gardens, nature and growth - growth of plants and growth of the person.Read more

Subjects:  1. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    2. Essays    3. Gardening / Horticulture    4. Gardens    5. Photo Techniques    6. Photography    7. Pictorial works    8. Subjects & Themes - Plants & Animals    9. Gardening    10. Gardens - Pictorial works    11. Photographs: collections    12. Photography / Nature & Wildlife   

Subjects:  1. Essays    2. Garden Design    3. Gardening    4. Gardening / Horticulture    5. Gardening/Plants    6. Gardens    7. Quotations, maxims, etc    8. Gift books    9. The Arts: General Issues   

Reviews (1)

Get more from your garden with this book!
Once again, Lillian Too manages to compile feng shui information in a way that is thorough, interesting, and easy to understand.As the publisher of a weekly feng shui ezine, redlotusletter.com, I read A LOT of feng shui books.This book has it all and explains everything in a way that anyone can understand.Unfortunately when it comes to feng shui, many people overlook their garden.Gardens are a very important element in the complete feng shui of your home or office, as they are the "arms" that surround your location.Anyone seriously interested in feng shui, should not overlook this important area.What's wonderful is that Feng Shui for Gardens explains in very easy terms all the considerations such as shape of the lot, elements such as wet or dry areas, and how to activate areas of your garden to improve your life or business.Best of all, the book has many, many beautiful images to accompany the text, which I personally find to be very helpful because they demonstrate ideas visually.Like the spaghetti sauce commercial says, "it's all in here."From rock gardens, to water gardens, greenhouses, to fishponds, you'll find it covered in this book.The book also has an index (I love these!), a glossary, and sources for further information.In short, this is a wonderful book for anyone who wants to incorporate feng shui in their garden.It's on my bookshelf. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Essays    2. Feng Shui    3. Feng-shui    4. Feng-shui gardens    5. Gardening    6. Gardening / Horticulture    7. Gardening/Plants    8. General    9. Landscape    10. Garden design & planning    11. Gardening / General   

Reviews (5)

On my list of favorite books
I first discovered this book at my local library, and read it two times, and shared it with my husband to read before returning it, reluctantly, to the library's collection. I hastily decided that I had to have my own copy, and ordered one here, in the bundle with "From the Ground Up" which I also recommend. Bad gardeners unite!
Plant journals may sound dull, but if you find the right one to read you will not only laugh your head off, but you'll learn a lot about plants as well. After reading Gayla's Plant Journal on YouGrowGirl.com, and then attempting to write my own, I was lucky enough to find this book crammed in the back of the gardening section of my favorite used bookstore. Slug Tossing: And Other Adventures of a Reluctant Gardener by Meg DesCamp is the hilarious saga of her attempt to grow flowers at her home in Portland. While she learns about soil, compost, feeding plants and so on, you do too. It's like taking a horticulture class where you spy on the worst student in the room. You'll find yourself giggling while reading about evil slugs, peat moss (as DesCamp says, "Peat moss. What the hell is peat moss?"), ladybugs and weed pulling. By the way, this is a great book to give as presents for your gardener pals.

I couldn't stop laughing
I read this book in one day, and could not stop laughing.I learned a lot about gardening in the process.I think many of us come to love gardening in the same way.Great book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. DesCamp, Meg    3. Essays    4. Gardeners    5. Gardening    6. Gardening / Horticulture    7. Gardening/Plants    8. General    9. Oregon    10. Portland    11. Regional - Pacific Northwest (OR, WA)   

Reviews (1)

This book is so useful.It actually makes gardening easy!
Month-To-Month Gardening Utah is the best book I've read yet on successful gardening in Utah.The books offers hundreds of tips on things you can be doing to create a beautiful garden.I especially love the journal providedthroughout the book.By journaling facts about my own garden, the book hasbecome my own personal gardening guide.I love this book and wouldrecommend it to anyone interested in successful Utah gardening. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Climatic - General    2. Essays    3. Gardening    4. Gardening / Horticulture    5. Gardening/Plants    6. Regional - West (AK, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, UT, WY)   

Editorial Review

"Adam and Eve were born in the garden, and gardens are still wherepeople go to renew themselves by meeting creation," explainsCarolWilliams. Although she is conscious of this spiritual link to gardening,Williams has managed to write a book that could prove to be the most exquisite anduseful tool in the gardening shed. Williams is a captivating writer, whethershe is explaining how to be an intuitive pruner or how to get the best returnon spring bulbs. What is most impressive, though, is that she understands the realities and dilemmasof gardening; for instance, do you ultimately desire a yard or a garden? Howdo you integrate the artifacts of life--clotheslines, plastic children'stoys, woodpiles, and old cars--with the glorious vines, shrubs, and flowers offancy? Find the answer in Read more

Reviews (5)

A wonderful friend for you and your garden.
Carol Williams has written a gardening book that is as instructive as it is eloquent, as practical as it is spiritual. I found the book at the library, just after I (nervously) embarked on my first garden. I quickly realized it needed a permanent place in my home, and I bought my own copy. As a rookie, I savored its useful advice and encouraging tone, but with each year of experience, I return to it for so much more. Just a great book.

For all those who truly enjoy gardening
I've given this book as a gift to three people, each of whom raved about it. A book not only about gardening, but about life
There are many things to be learned in the growing, the germinating, the flowering, the pruning, the harvesting, the compasting, the living, the dying, and most of all the watching. This book is filled not only with practicalities for the gardener and philosophies for the human being, but philosophies for the flowers and practicalities for life. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Essays    2. Gardening    3. Gardening/Plants    4. General    5. Nature    6. Philosophy    7. Reference    8. Gardening / General