Category: Non-Fiction

Garden, History, Non-Fiction

Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature and the Shaping of the American Nation by Andrea Wulf

I’ve long been a fan of Andrea Wulf’s non-fiction. So when the follow-up to The Brother Gardener was announced in 2011, Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature and the Shaping of the American Nation (it’s a mouthful!), I immediately pre-ordered a copy. Despite my initial enthusiasm, though, it sat on the shelf. In the end, it took me eight years to read, and even then … Continue reading Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature and the Shaping of the American Nation by Andrea Wulf

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Garden, History, Non-Fiction

Throwback Review –Brother Gardeners: Botany Empire & the Birth of an American Obsession

Today’s post is a throwback to my June 2009 review of Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession by Andrea Wulf. I was and remain a huge fan of Wulf’s nonfiction… I even attended a reading at a local plant nursery in 2011 to hear her speak about her (then) new book Founding Gardeners. I also seem to be a bigger fan … Continue reading Throwback Review –Brother Gardeners: Botany Empire & the Birth of an American Obsession

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Essay, Garden, Memoir, Non-Fiction

“The two central activities in my life — alongside writing — have been reading and gardening.” – Penelope Lively

Penelope Lively was born in 1933. She’s written over fifty books — novels for adults & children, plus some non-fiction. Life in the Garden is a collection of essays very like the series of gardening articles by the American writer Katherine S. White. Originally written for The New Yorker, White’s pieces were collected and published by her husband after her death in Onward and Upward … Continue reading “The two central activities in my life — alongside writing — have been reading and gardening.” – Penelope Lively

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Garden, Non-Fiction

“All that is very well,” answered Candide, “but let us cultivate our garden.”

On her website, Mary Reynolds refers to herself as a “reformed landscape designer”. This Irish gardener, whose first Chelsea Show Garden won a gold medal in 2002 and introduced the general public to wilderness gardens, incorporates lots of dry-stacked stone, wildflower plantings, and spiral walls into designs that wouldn’t look out of place in The Shire. Her gardens have a distinctively Celtic flair. They involve … Continue reading “All that is very well,” answered Candide, “but let us cultivate our garden.”

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Garden, Memoir, Non-Fiction

Return to GhostTown Farm

The San Francisco Chronical published this article on April 19, 2019 under the headline: Did Rising Rents Kill the Bay Area’s Urban Homesteading Movement? by Samantha Nobles-Black. The final two paragraphs give an update on Novella Carpenter, whose Farm City: The Education of An Urban Farmer had a huge impact on me when I reviewed it back in 2009. More than any other book, it … Continue reading Return to GhostTown Farm

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