Non-instructional reading
I'm looking for non-instructional gardener themed books to keep me company through the winter. For example, I've just finished the second book in Beverley Nichols's trilogy about replanting his garden and refurbishing his country house in post-WWII England. For those who haven't read these books, they are wonderful and hilarious and include his adventures in the garden and house, and with his cats and neighbors.
After finishing the third book, I would like to read more of the same, including novels and non-fiction, about gardening types. I did try one of Ann Ripley's mysteries but couldn't get into it - maybe I started with the wrong one? Looking forward to any suggestions.
Elizabeth, Gardening in Zone 7, Mid-Atlantic
"I have no craving to be rich, but I long to see the blue flower. It lies incessantly at my heart, and I can imagine and think about nothing else. Never did I feel like this before. It is as if until now I had been dreaming, or as if sleep had carried me into another world. For in the world I used to live in, who would have troubled himself about flowers? Such a wild passion for a flower was never heard of there."
--German Romantic poet Novalis, "Henry Von Ofterdingen"
Elizabeth, Gardening in Zone 7, Mid-Atlantic
“Animals are something invented by plants to move seeds around. An extremely yang solution to a peculiar problem which they faced.” -- Terence McKenna
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(post #11466, reply #1 of 33)
arrrrghhhh! i just lost this whole reply! i is an idiot. here goes again:
it took a while to search my ''private library'' to find these. in no particular order, i recommend the following:
Henry Mitchell -- ANYthing by this man!!
Cassandra Danz -- hilarious and informative; this lady died far too young, sadly.
Roy Strong -- Garden Party and A Country Life
Elizabeth Sheldon -- A Proper Garden and Time and the Gardener
Christopher Elliot -- The Transplanted Gardener
Rayford Reddell -- Full Bloom
Leslie Land and Roger Phillips-- The 3000 Mile Garden
Sara Stein -- Noah's Garden and Planting Noah's Garden
Reginald Arkell -- Old Herbaceous
Richardson Wright -- The Gardener's Bed-Book
and for fiction, John Sherwood mysteries. do give Ann Ripley another chance -- i like her books, myself, and you might have read the wrong one first (or not been in the mood, perhaps, which happens to me all the time)....
hope you will enjoy these! happy reading.
Roxanna
forgot to add -- what books have you been reading besides Beverley Nichols (one of my favorite authors!)?? i'm always looking for new garden-related books...
Edited 1/23/2006 5:08 pm ET by roxanna
(post #11466, reply #6 of 33)
Roxanna, I have been away from the computer all week and return to find your long and wonderful looking list! Thank you so much for all the time you spent choosing titles and typing it up. I will keep the list and go through it gradually, as I have time.
You asked about what else I have read. For books of this type, so far only Green Thoughts by Eleanor Perenyi, and something about nature and ecology -- can't remember the author or title. I really have been enjoying Nichols and want to pursue other books of that type, including the other titles of his at my library. I love the combination of personal anecdote (which, for me, could also be fictional) and love of gardening. I am a new and very amateur gardener, and I appreciate writers who have a love of the plants themselves.
If I give Ann Ripley another try, which book would you suggest first? The one I tried and didn't get into was about a garden tour.
Elizabeth, Gardening in Zone 7, Mid-Atlantic
"I have no craving to be rich, but I long to see the blue flower. It lies incessantly at my heart, and I can imagine and think about nothing else. Never did I feel like this before. It is as if until now I had been dreaming, or as if sleep had carried me into another world. For in the world I used to live in, who would have troubled himself about flowers? Such a wild passion for a flower was never heard of there."
--German Romantic poet Novalis, "Henry Von Ofterdingen"
Elizabeth, Gardening in Zone 7, Mid-Atlantic
“Animals are something invented by plants to move seeds around. An extremely yang solution to a peculiar problem which they faced.” -- Terence McKenna
(post #11466, reply #10 of 33)
Roxanna, you mentioned giving Ann Ripley another chance. Which of her books is/are your favorites? My library has several, so I should be able to find something you recommend. Thanks!
Elizabeth, Gardening in Zone 7, Mid-Atlantic
The look of the garden we plant isn't what matters most, but rather what planting a garden does for us.
Elizabeth, Gardening in Zone 7, Mid-Atlantic
“Animals are something invented by plants to move seeds around. An extremely yang solution to a peculiar problem which they faced.” -- Terence McKenna
(post #11466, reply #11 of 33)
Elizabeth -- chalk it up to another 'senior moment', lol. i had read the Ann Ripleys quite a while ago, and had only a foggy recall -- i think her titles are what appealed to me the most. after checking the Amazon site to refresh my memory a bit, i realize now that her books are more mystery than garden-related. so perhaps she is NOT worth bothering with as much as the titles led me to think! apologies to you....
i do most heartily echo BeeJay's recommendation of anything by Henry Mitchell -- you will love him. i have all the books available, and only wish there were more of them.
another excellent one, i think i mentioned, in an entirely different vein, is Jack Sander's The Secrets of Wildflowers. even if wildflowers aren't particularly of interest, this is a fascinating read. a very good pick-up-and-put-down bed-time book.
i'm just now getting into The Blue Rose by Anthony Eglin. it seems so far to have more relating to gardening than just the mystery aspect of the story. so far, i like it very much. this is the author's first book, so maybe a good series is in the making....
i'm typing this as the snow falls unrelentingly and the drifts are piling up nicely. my gardens are grateful for the warm blanket. it's been one of the warmest winters here west of Boston with no snow cover for the past several weeks and temps in the 40s and 50s. we expect between 12 and 18 inches. gardening books are soooo appealing at this moment!
(post #11466, reply #12 of 33)
I love all of Christopher Lloyd's books and am deeply saddened by his recent passing. His more recent books have been a little more instructional, but his earlier books were compilations of the essays he wrote for Country Life magazine--titles such as In My Garden and others. And instructional or not, his books are always insightful and funny--I often catch myself laughing out loud at stories about the weiner dogs and various other things. I have read them all cover to cover at least 3-4 times and I never tire of them. I laugh out loud and learn something too.
Troy
www.troybmarden.com
"The great wonder, in gardening, is that so many plants live!" Christopher Lloyd
(post #11466, reply #13 of 33)
yes, Christopher Lloyd has always been a favorite. i had the pleasure of attending one of his lectures a number of years ago at Tower Hill Botanic Gardens, meeting him (very briefly!) and spending a glorious summer day at Great Dixter ten years ago.... loved the gardens (and the house even more! the quintessential English manor to me) -- a very fond memory. i feel as tho he will be a gentle tho irascible spirit forever drifting about the place.
(post #11466, reply #14 of 33)
Roxanna, thanks for the time you spent on amazon on my behalf. I think you understand the type of books I like, and I hope you will let me know when you finish The Blue Rose, how you liked it. The books that blend half gardening with half memoir or fiction are so much fun to read.
We had the same storm here, though not as heavy as what you experienced. Glad to hear that the snow cover is good for the garden. My pepper seedlings seem to be gazing out the window in wonder. Post shoveling, sinking into a book -- and a hot cup of tea -- just the thing!
Elizabeth, Gardening in Zone 7, Mid-Atlantic
The look of the garden we plant isn't what matters most, but rather what planting a garden does for us.
Elizabeth, Gardening in Zone 7, Mid-Atlantic
“Animals are something invented by plants to move seeds around. An extremely yang solution to a peculiar problem which they faced.” -- Terence McKenna
(post #11466, reply #15 of 33)
There's also "In the Eye of the Garden" and "A Gentle Plea for Chaos" by Mirabel Osler.
Julia, zone 7a Maryland
http://jdgreen.smugmug.com/gallery/162228
Julia, zone 7a Maryland
http://jdgreen.smugmug.com/gallery/162228(post #11466, reply #18 of 33)
Thankyou SO much for your list. I just received my first Henry Mitchell book "The Essential Earthman" and have gone bonkers over it. "One Man's Garden" is on it's way, and I also have "The Blue Rose" to explore. This was a Great Idea!
Thanks again,
Pat
(post #11466, reply #19 of 33)
you are most welcome! i do adore Henry Mitchell. such a pity he is permanently and irrevocably planted now.... wish he would 'ghost write' now and then from the Great Infinite Garden.
if you'd like some humor with your gardening books, do try Cassandra Danz. i loved her.
let me know what you think of The Blue Rose.
(post #11466, reply #20 of 33)
Eroom, it;s taken me a long time to get back to this list from The Gardener's library.
Groundwork. Roger Swain
Coountry Gardening. Margery Fish
A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm. Edwin Way Teale
A Thousand Mile Walk To the Gulf. John Muir
In A Gloucestershire Garden. Canon Ellacombe
The Pleasure Garden. Anne Scott-James & Osbert Lancaster
Reading the Landscape of America. May Theilgaard Watts
By Penn and By Spade . An anthology edited by Davis Wheeler
The secret Life of Plants. Peter Tompkins & Christopher Bird
Seeds of Change, Five Plants That Transformed Mankind, Henry Hobhouse
The Country Gardener. Penelope Hobhouse
Capability Brown an the 18th century English Landscape. Roger Turner
Lanning Roper and his Garden. Jany Brown
Green Inheritance. Anthony Huxley
Also in the stack is Two Gardeners, the edited letters between Katharine White and Elizabeth Lawrance. But this one belongs to The Gardener's daughter, Tish.
My list includes;
The Plant Hunters. Tyler Whittle
Seeds of Change, The Living Treasure. Kenny Ausible
Vols I and II, Plant Hunting. Ernest "Chinese" Wilson (autographed copies)
Did I list Botany of Desire by Michael Polan?
I haven't read everything in these lists myself. I'm still working on "Chinese" Wilson.
BJ
Edited 3/25/2006 4:23 pm ET by BeeJay
(post #11466, reply #21 of 33)
Aaah! Now I can get this stack of books off the computer desk and I can start on my taxes.(:-)
BJ
(post #11466, reply #22 of 33)
BeeJay,
Wow! That is some wonderful library list! Thank you for taking the time to write it up. Now where shall I begin? I may take a look at the book on Capability Brown.
Now, be sure to put them away as you said. You will enjoy things better once the taxes are completed.
Eroomgardener, Zone 6 or 7 depending.
Eroomgardener, Zone 6 or 7 depending.
(post #11466, reply #23 of 33)
I'm resurecting a very old thread here. Several of these posts have lists of the gardeners books. I think it is time that I should share them. In fact, me kids may even thank me for lightening the load of stuff I've got. I told them that leaving my collection for them to dispose of is my revenge for their having once been teenagers.
So, does anyone see a title that she would like to have?
6707.5 and 6707.22 are the book lists. I'v also got a bunch of old issues of The Weeders Digest
BJ
Edited 11/6/2009 11:59 pm ET by BeeJay
(post #11466, reply #24 of 33)
So, does anyone see a title that she would like to have?
me, me!! if you are serious about off-loading these, please email me via the forum so we can set up shipping, reimbursement, etc. i'd love the following (not that i'm greedy, or anything. but i missed out on the library book sale this year due to new grandchild arrival):
Abby Adams (The Gardener's Gripe Book)
Canon Ellacombe (In a Gloucestershire Garden)
Anne Scott-James (The Pleasure Garden)
Allen Lacy (both)
thanks, BeeJay!
(post #11466, reply #25 of 33)
Wow, the things I miss when I'm away from the computer for a couple of days. Me too! I'll go thru your list in a bit, and send you my wish list. Also, do you have the older Fine Gardening issues? I'm still looking for issues 5, 22, 23, 85 and 103.
Thanks!
(post #11466, reply #26 of 33)
Charter subscriber to FG. I should have them all but I'm careless so I'm not sure. Wouldn't want to breakup the set if it is complete.
Nobody wants the back issues of Weeders Digest?
BJ
(post #11466, reply #27 of 33)
That makes sense about not wanting to break up a complete set. Please check and let me know what you think.
I've never seen the Weeder's Digest, so I don't know.
Edited 11/8/2009 8:49 pm ET by Catskill Deb
(post #11466, reply #29 of 33)
Hey Bob, did you get the email I sent you from the forum, mentioning the 4 books I was interested in? Let me know if it went astray. I've had occasional mail trouble this month. Thanks. Deborah
(post #11466, reply #30 of 33)
Gotcher email. I don't use the Dewey decimal system. I hate the evil library of congress system. I knew the man tha developed it. (He wasn't evil) Anyway I'm hunting for stuff. Trouble is, when I find a book it askes to be re-read. They tend to migrate to the magazine basket in the "reading room" By Pen and By Spade is a pleasure just to hold in hand. Printed on rich creamy stock, it feels as though it should be leather bound.
BJ
(post #11466, reply #31 of 33)
I know what you mean about it taking a while to go thru books. (Are you having second thoughts?) Last winter I started trying to get rid of some of my novels (to make more room for garden books), and had stacks of them sitting everywhere for months, while I browsed through them. I did finally get some of them boxed up and out of here and got all my books up off the floor, because two of my husband's friends threatened to visit on the same weekend. I thought it would be nice if the one that had to sleep upstairs could get up the stairs past my books.
(post #11466, reply #32 of 33)
Not having second thoughts. Just real slow about getting around to the first ones.
BJ
(post #11466, reply #33 of 33)
at least you can remember your first thoughts, Beej. there are so many days lately that i have been wondering if i had any first thoughts, let alone what i was thinking...
(post #11466, reply #28 of 33)
I would be interested in:
Beverley Nichols: Down the Garden Path
Elizabeth Lawrence: A Southern Garden
In A Gloucestershire Garden. Canon Ellacombe
Thank you, BeeJay. How kind of you to share the Gardener's books. Please let me know the shipping costs.
(post #11466, reply #2 of 33)
another fascinating book is Jack Sanders's The Secrets of Wildflowers....
(post #11466, reply #3 of 33)
bumping this up to see if anyone else want's to join in! i realize this is close to another post about gardening books, but that one seems to offer more on the technical side than might be suggested here.... =)
(post #11466, reply #4 of 33)
The Gardener loved a good read about gardens. I've gone through her library and I've got a 2 foot stack (25.5 inches) of books here that are about garden, plants, gardeners, and such. Here's a list
Allen Lacey: Home Ground, and Farther Afield. He also edited Elizabeth Lawrence's Gardening For Love sometime after her death.
Olive Pitkin: My Garden and I
Eleanor Perenyi: Green Thoughts
Abby Adams: The Gardeners Gripe Book
Betty Massingham: Miss Jekyll. (She also had many of Miss Jekyll's books)
Richardson Wright: The Gardeners Bed-Book
Donald Culross Peattie: Flowering Earth
Beverly Nichols: Down the Garden Path
Rosemary Verey: A Country Womans Year
Phillipa Nicolson, Ed.Vida Sackville-West's Garden Book
Robin Lane Fox: V. Sackville-West, The Illustrated Garden Book
Elizabeth Lawrence: A Southern Garden
Penelope Hobhouse, Ed.: Gertrude Jekyll on Gardening
Jens Jensen: Siftings
Louise Beebe Wilder: Color In My Garden
Anthony Huxley: Green Inheritance
Well, that's the first foot, I'll wait and see if you all want me to post more of The Gardener's "good reads"
BJ
(post #11466, reply #7 of 33)
Thank you, BJ! You have given me a great looking list. I think that, between you and Roxanna, I have enough to keep me busy for some time. I will keep these lists and go through the books as I have the time.
Elizabeth, Gardening in Zone 7, Mid-Atlantic
"I have no craving to be rich, but I long to see the blue flower. It lies incessantly at my heart, and I can imagine and think about nothing else. Never did I feel like this before. It is as if until now I had been dreaming, or as if sleep had carried me into another world. For in the world I used to live in, who would have troubled himself about flowers? Such a wild passion for a flower was never heard of there."
--German Romantic poet Novalis, "Henry Von Ofterdingen"
Elizabeth, Gardening in Zone 7, Mid-Atlantic
“Animals are something invented by plants to move seeds around. An extremely yang solution to a peculiar problem which they faced.” -- Terence McKenna
(post #11466, reply #8 of 33)
Hi, BeeJay!
I just came across your list. What a great list. Thank you for sharing The Gardener's "good reads".
I am very interested in seeing her second "foot" of books.
Also, do you recall which were her favorites or highly recommended?
Edited for spelling error
Eroomgardener, Zone 6 or 7 depending.
Edited 2/6/2006 12:26 am ET by Eroomgardener
Eroomgardener, Zone 6 or 7 depending.
(post #11466, reply #9 of 33)
Sorry it took so long to get back. I had forgotten where I posted that list. The rest of the books in the list are stacked on the floor beside me but I'm not going to try to list them righ tnow.
I think that Henry Mitchel was The Gardeners favorite writer. It was a sad, sad day when the Washington Post reported that "Henry Mitcheldied while sitting in the garden of a friend." He was irascable, opinionted and stubborn and his obit stated that "he suffered fools not at all" He was a wonderful writer.
I think that The Gardener somehow managed to get ahold of each of Christopher Lloyds books before the ink dried. He was irascable, opionate and stubborn. As he has just passed from us his obits have recently been published.
Alan Lacey would also be in her list of favorites. I'll not go farther because my own idea of favorites might influence the selection. Maybe I'll work on my list when I've finished hers.
BJ