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Garden Reading

May 16th, 2017

I’m always thankful that Amazon has a wide variety of used books for sale. In fact, I appreciate that it gives used bookstores a great outlet to sell their books across the country. It also saves me searching high and low for books I want, especially those that are out of print. Most recenlty, I purchased ‘The Intimate Garden’ by Gordon & Mary Hayward. I have all of Gordon’s books, since he’s a Northeast gardener, I find his books to be extremely useful for me.

This book was of special interest to me, because it chronicles their personal gardens throughout the 20 years or so they have been gardening there (in 2005 when the book was published). I’m always interested to see gardens as they grow and mature and throughout the seasons as well. I’ve always thought more gardening magazines should have gardens that are featured each month as they grow and develop. I’m always happy to purchase books that chronicle the development of a garden as well. Way too often we see gardens at their peak, both seasonally and in maturity. But in reality, gardening is the process, not the final product. Way too often we see the final product and not the process, which is what matters most to many of us.

While I don’t especially want to incorporate his garden design ideas into my gardens, I can appreciate his principles and advice. I can glean planting ideas and recommendations for specific plants as well. Most notably in this book, he used Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium) for a hedge around his herb garden. As I’m planning a hedge around my main edible garden, this was of interest to me. Originally, I planned on using beech, but now I’m thinking this is a much better option, especially since it’s native (and it will be about half the price of a beech hedge).

What are you gleaning from gardening books this week?

4 Comments to “Garden Reading”
  1. kristin @ going country on May 16, 2017 at 5:57 am

    This reminds me that I need to order a copy of “The Cook and the Gardener” by Amanda Hesser. I used to check it out from the library periodically, but our new library system doesn’t have it. It’s not exactly a gardening book, but I love it.

    This year I’m having to restrain myself in the garden, both because it’s not my garden–so I sadly can’t plant my beloved rhubarb and asparagus–and because I know that as this fourth pregnancy progresses, I will have less energy and physical ability to do the work. The spring stuff is in, though, and I am overly excited for the arugula. :-)

    Reply to kristin @ going country's comment

  2. Misti on May 16, 2017 at 9:21 am

    I’ve been flagging a lot of gardening books to read over the coming months/years in HooplaDigital, one of our libraries digital lending frameworks and on Goodreads. I just finished Michael Pollan’s Second Nature and it was fascinating and very insightful for being a 25+ year old book now! I’m reading Braiding Sweetgrass which is a beautiful and poetic book. I just got a subscription to Garden Design magazine so I’ll be looking at that for awhile, too!

    Reply to Misti's comment

  3. Nebraska Dave on May 16, 2017 at 6:35 pm

    Susy, I do have a lot of garden books and subscribe to a few magazines but my favorite thing to do is watch gardening videos on YouTube. The British are the best at it. I seldom so what they do but the developing of the their gardens from the planting of the seeds inside the green house to the harvesting of the vegetables and fruits in the Fall are all documented through out the growing season. Some allotments as they are know there are weed free and others are more like mine with an abundance of weeds. Some even throw in a few ways to cook the harvest with simple straight forward recipes. Things that I can actually cook. The older I get the less I can focus on books so videos are a real handy way for me to still keep up with new ideas and old ways of gardening. I’m always up for a new way to grow something.

    Have a great day outside in the sunshine.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

    • Susy on May 17, 2017 at 7:09 am

      I agree, LOVE those British gardening shows!

      Reply to Susy's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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