The Literary Garden - A Book Review

The Literary Garden:

“The Literary Garden - Bringing Fictions Best Gardens to Life,” Introduction and narrative by Duncan Brine, published by Berkley Books, New York – 2001. ISBN 0-425-16874-3

This is a fun book for gardeners, garden writers, and avid readers who are thinking of landscaping their yards. There are excerpts from 33 different writers, many of them very famous. Each excerpt contains a vividly drawn garden, from simple kitchen gardens to elaborate estates. It was with great pleasure that I dove into each fictional garden. The images drawn across my imagination were as delicious as the allegory and metaphor that each writer used to create such comely scenes. The excerpts alone make the book a worth while exploration.

Those new to landscape arts and kitchen gardens are sure to take delight in the precise instructions that follow each excerpt. You will find information on everything from passionate tiger lilies to training a grapevine. Personally, I found most of the gardening directions to be so very basic that they were boring. An exception is the section on “An Army of Daffodils.” Quite a variety of daffodils are mentioned. I was pleased to learn about one called Narcissus tazetta that can bloom as early as Christmas in some climates. (My garden is so drab in winter. Any winter color would be a blessing. In fact fall and winter color are going to be one of the focuses of my trading efforts next season.)

I definitely recommend this book to gardeners, garden writers, and those who do their gardening best in the realm of the imagination. Each will find plenty of ideas, projects, and food for thought.

278 words, Copyright 2006 Harvest McCampbell