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This 'n That
from Diane Ackerman's CULTIVATING DELIGHT -
"Spring has hit
with a visual thunderclap ... forsythias gush color, their limbs flail in the wind as if on fire, and several bushes can light up a whole street. They startle in early spring by bringing clouds of gold to an overcast world. But when their flowers fade and drop, they return to an existence so ordinary, so timid, so drab, that they're easy to confuse with weed bushes ..."
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In Brief -
A BOOK OF BEES by Sue Hubbell. A book "filled with the rhythm of seasons" as the author talks about her life and tending her bees. 193pgs / 5 1/2 x 8 1/4 / $17.95pb.
| .. | | Although books of garden essays and writing don't immediately seem as practical as reference books, they perhaps are the ones that teach us the most in the end by giving us heart. While reading about other gardeners' successes, failures, foibles, impressions, and disappointments, we learn that others too experience unexplained deaths of favourite plants, don't achieve the perfect garden in just one season, or also find a bit of obsessive behaviour setting in when it comes to squeezing in
just one more plant. They help us stay focused on the joy of gardening rather than the work, and give us the heart to try that plant again!
Enjoy! Evelyn
Books here are in alpha by author order.
| ... | | | CULTIVATING DELIGHTS: A Natural History of My Garden, by Diane Ackerman. Poet, essayist, author , naturalist, and gardener, Ackerman's writing style is bright and to the point - putting the pleasure of the senses as they perceive gardens and plants into words like few other writers have. A this 'n that of life tending a garden, and one gardener and writer's thoughts and perceptions of it, and the individual life forms
in it. A quote from the back of the book- "... the great dramatist and explorer of the sensual world; her books probe, open, take off lids, peel back covers, taste, sniff. There is no limit to her curiosity..." New York Times Book Review. 257pgs / 6 1/2 x 9 1/2 / $24.95hc
~ | | | | QUOTABLE GARDENER ed by Charles Elliott. Austen * Capek * Charlesworth * Frost * Hawthorne * Jefferson * Jekyll * Joyce * Kipling * Lloyd * Mitchell * Proust * Shaw * Sitwell * Thoreau * Thurber * Twain * Wharton * Whitman * Wilde * Wodehouse, and more. An eclectic collection of quotes sometimes warm, sometimes hilarious, and always useful for writers of gardening newsletters, articles, etc. Put it on your garden bench to dip into frequently - short bits of thought or delight, and a great way to
discover new gardening writers. 271pgs / 6 x 7 1/4 / $29.95hc
~ | | ESSENTIAL EARTHMAN and ONE MAN'S GARDEN, both by Henry Mitchell. Gardening columnist for the Washington Post for 20+ years, Mitchell's essays are witty, warm, insightful, thoughtful, acerbic ... a real pleasure share. ESSENTIAL... was the first collection published well over a decade ago, and ONE MAN'S... was the second collection published just after his death a few years ago. Either one is a delight, and will lead you to wanting the other. Makes a great gift. Each - 244pgs / 5 3/4 x 9 1/4 / $21.95pb
~ | | THE COMPLETE SHADE GARDENER by George Schenk. When does a book tip from being a word-of-mouth favourite to being a "classic". 20 years ago I read this book when it was new, and it was one of two books that first got me hooked on gardening. Even with all the books that now pass my hands, I still heartily recommend it as a book to explain and instill the spirit of a gardener to newcomers. While writing about many practical elements of gardening and garden design Schenk is warm and friendly, evoking a gardener who contentedly meanders through life acquiring plants through friends and 
friends through plants. I think his intention was to write a practical book, not a book of essays, but his storytelling sneaks in throughout, and he ended up doing both. It has remained in print for all these years and a new edition (reprint) was published in 2002. Now that's a "classic" for you - never on any bestseller list, but a book that has stood on its own reputation for over 20 years. Enjoy! and then pass it on to a friend. 311pgs / 7 x 9 / b&w plus some colour photos throughout / $29.95pb
~ | | TORONTO GARDENER'S JOURNAL & SOURCEBOOK 2004, by Margaret Bennet-Alder. Quite simply the best reference for sources and places of interest for gardeners in the greater Toronto area. Compiled, updated, and produced annually since 1993 by a local gardener, this indispensable "yellow pages" for gardeners (actually green this year) is more than a calendar journal to jot your notes and guide your activities, but lists everything from TV shows and web sites, to gardens to visit or sources for rare plants or garden accessories.
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