Reviews in the News: Armchair Gardening
by Judi Baxter, PW Daily for Booksellers -- Publishers Weekly, 5/14/2004
"Gardening books come in several important flavors," writes Linda Richards in January Magazine. "There are the books intended to actually help you with the important business of getting your hands dirty: how-to books with step-by-step photos and careful instructions. There are the various types of gardening encyclopedias: plants by region, type or purpose all listed alphabetically with background or planting or other kinds of information included. There are herbals, garden-focused cookbooks, manuals on composting and tools and planting techniques and . . . you name it. And then there are the books whose only purpose seems to be to fuel our dreams and awaken us to possibilities."
Thomas Hobbs' new book, The Jewel Box Garden (Raincoast Books, $34.95), with 160 gorgeous photos by renowned garden photographer David McDonald, is that last kind of book. In it, he encourages us to create, as he puts it, "life as we dream it could be."
He explains: "Notice I didn't say 'Life, as we dream it is,' but as it could be. One of the few aspects of life we do have some control over is our gardens. Whether it is an outdoor terrace or balcony or a city plot, we can turn dreams into visions and visions into reality."
Hobbs, who had his first greenhouse at the age of six, runs Southlands Nursery in Vancouver, B.C., and is known throughout the Northwest for his inspirational garden designs.
In 12 enthusiastically-named, well-illustrated chapters such as Gilding the Lily, Investment Potting and Thinking Like a Plant, Hobbs skillfully weaves his gardening-based personal philosophy into his practical observations and advice on developing a discerning eye, learning about color, gleaning cultivation requirements and forming one's own distinctive philosophy of gardening.
"It's a wonderful illustration of someone who knows how to take his own advice: someone who has created his own life as he dreamed it could be," concludes Richards.
Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall, the reigning guru on the restoration of period gardens, has created a complex and exiting story of English gardening in her newest book, The Garden: An English Love Affair: One Thousand Years of Gardening (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, $14.95).
On a complex, exciting trip spanning 1,000 years, Fearnley-Whittingstall takes readers from medieval gardens to the present-day Chelsea Flower Show, exploring along the way, how political, economical, social and cultural values have affected and influenced garden design.
She has incorporated classic paintings, ancient manuscripts, etchings and contemporary photographs with literary extracts, diaries and outrageous anecdotes to explain such trends as the landscape movement, Victorian parterres and the ever-popular cottage-garden style.
"This is her finest literary hour to date: a rich and engaging social history of English gardening . . . her enthusiasm for history is infectious and her story gripping. A perfect gift for anyone who loves a rattling good tale," states GardeningWhich.net.
When armchair gardeners meet armchair cooks, the results grow to be tasty!
Chicago Botanic Gardens Master Gardener John Swenson calls The Chef's Garden by British tycoon Terence Conran (SOMA Books, $18.95) "a very civilized, beautifully designed book."
Conran believes that anyone can cultivate a kitchen garden in the smallest of spaces, be it a deck, patio, window box or rooftop. He sees it as a chance to grow fruits, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers, which provide the ingredients for delicious foods with intense flavors.
Lovers of heirloom vegetables will cheer Conran's numerous recommendations for a number of superior varieties, most of which you will never see in supermarkets. Recipes from the book, based on produce grown in these small containers include Spinach and Ricotta Tart; Sauteed Onions with Garlic, Rosemary and Olives; Fig, Ricotta and Honey Salad; and Framboise Parfait with Fresh Raspberries.
He also gives detailed plans for a 10' x 3' formal herb garden, which holds an impressive array of herbs enclosed by fragrant rosemary hedges; instructions on how to prune dwarf fruit trees; and how to create gardens where no soil currently exists.
Two green thumbs-up for this troika of titles!
