Garden Book Reviews December 2012

I rarely find a garden book that will hold my attention all the way through.  But The Laskett: The Making of a Garden by Roy Strong captivated me.  I found myself enchanted with the way the author wound the story of his marriage around the story of making their garden.

And what a garden he and his wife made!  Situated on four acres, this garden is known as the largest private formal garden created in England since 1945.  All the trials and tribulations of making a garden are told here: waiting for small plants to mature, creating a garden along with working a career, diseases that wiped out portions of the garden, tweaking another portion of the garden for years before it finally came together, and of course, having a limited amount of funds available to spend.

This book may be a personal story, but, as gardeners, one in which we can all relate.  His journey is our journey.  For instance, when he realizes that color and foliage make the garden interesting and beautiful all year, it brings to mind when I first realized that, too.  When he waits for years for the right piece to be placed in a spot of the garden, finally spending a bonus on a piece of statuary, it recalls times that I have let a part of the garden lie undone until I was able to afford what I had envisioned there.  When he talks about how his gardening friends influenced him through the years, I think of all the gardeners I know (mostly virtually) and all the ways in which they have influenced my own garden.  When he says at one point that it takes 15 years to make a garden, I look back in time (and forward, in my case) 15 years and realize that my garden will take about that same amount of time to complete.  These stories inspire me to continue in my own journey.

He does give some gardening advice in his book, but it is so woven into the story, that I found myself taking notes.  I never take notes!  But, I didn't want to lose the advice, and was afraid I wouldn't find it again without reading the entire story all over.

How much did I love this book?  So much so, that I left it on my bedside table for a few weeks after I read it, just so I could see and touch it, in order to remember the inspiration it gave me.

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This my last post until after Christmas, so I wanted to say

Merry Christmas!

And if you don't celebrate Christmas, I wish you a

Happy Holiday

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Now it's your turn!  You are invited to join us on the 20th of each month with your own garden book review.  Any book with a garden influence qualifies!  Please visit each of the other participants, too!  :)