An Amish Garden: A Year in the Life of the Amish Garden

Amish gardener Lapp offers an intimate journal of a year of gardening, cooking, family life, and friendships in the small, rural valley in Pennsylvania where she lives. She begins in January, with the study of catalogues. She chronicles the hope-filled days of spring planting with her sons, and long summer days follow, filled with tending plants, harvesting the vegetable garden’s bounty, and working in the garden as the last light fades. Gardeners will be amused by her familiar tales of the Sisyphean efforts required to water and weed, and to coax reluctant crops to grow. The gardener’s life is always one of hope, struggle, and resignation, but ultimately, satisfaction. Jeremy Hess’s photographs beautifully evoke the pleasures of the changing seasons, ripening crops, and sweet moments of family life, allowing readers to step into this world for a few moments. Color photographs. (May)