Books for the Holidays

With the Covid-19 crisis getting worse, I'm guessing a lot of people will do their holiday shopping from the comfort of their hibernation holes this year. For me, that isn't much of a stretch as I don't enjoy shopping.  After moving to a huge, bustling city, I find that I generally don't like to go out at all. I'm becoming a hermit! The stress of battling crowds and the traffic always puts me in a bad mood. I've learned to go to the grocery store either very early in the morning or late at night. 

Fortunately for people like this, there is online shopping. I love online shopping!

If there is a gardener in your family that you want to buy a gift for, I'm certain that books are a terrific gift. I can't think of a gardener that doesn't like a good book and winter time is the best time to enjoy them. And I know that digital books are becoming the norm now (actually I would guess that they are already the norm), but for me, gardening books are enjoyed better in your hands and not presented on a glaring screen. 

Timber Press, located right across the river in Portland, is the only publisher I can think of that deals solely with the gardening world. Their books cover a wide range of topics, from basic how-to-grow manuals to studies on particular plants.  The content is not only excellent but they also do an excellent job with the presentation and design of the books. 

Here are four recent titles that would all make great gifts this year -

Uprooted: A Gardener Reflects on Beginning Again
by Page Dickey

Having experienced leaving a garden and starting anew, I was very interested in Page Dickey's new book Uprooted: A Gardener Reflects on Beginning Again  (Timber Press, September 22, 2020)

After almost thirty four years, the author left her celebrated garden, "Duck Hill" in North Salem, New York and moved with her husband to Falls Village, Connecticut. At "Church House", the name they gave their new property (it was once used as a place of worship), they inherited a garden that had been designed by Nancy McCabe twenty years earlier. Their new property was larger (17 acres) but the garden around the house was much smaller than the one she left behind.

 

The author eloquently relates the pains of leaving a cherished garden and the adventures of discovering a new one. At Church House, the main bones of the garden were kept intact. After some renovations on their house, their focus shifted to the garden. They added a small greenhouse, built cold frames and created gardens around the pool, planted an orchard and added a cutting garden. Dickey brings to life the rustic nature of the garden, describing favorite plants like viburnum, old shrub roses and hydrangea and the local wildlife and particularly the bird inhabitants.

 

Much of the land beyond the house was uncultivated. During that first year, Dickey explored the woods. One day she discovered a woodland bluff where she would later add more native plants as well as wage war against invasive species. She takes the reader through every season in the garden (and wilderness) and reflects on the nature of change.

 

This is a beautifully written book and a calming one to read especially during these unsettled times. The photographs by Ngoc Minh Ngo and Marion Brenner are especially beautiful.

 

 

The Modern Cottage Garden: A Fresh Approach to a Classic Style
by Greg Loades

My heart did a little flip when I saw the title of this book. Are there people out there in this day and age actually interesting in creating cottage gardens? There is hope for the world! Working at a retail nursery, I find that I mostly spend my day listening to requests for privacy hedges or plants that are evergreen - they want everything evergreen! But I digress.

After looking at the book closer, I saw that the author is from the UK, but I am being optimistic that there are young gardeners here in the US who want such a garden. If there are, this book is a good primer on creating one for anyone, no matter where you live. 

The cottage garden was popularized in the late 1800s by William Robinson and Gertrude Jekyll. Characterized by dense plantings of perennials and annuals in herbaceous borders, it provided maximum color and dramatic plant combinations. 

The “modern” version of the cottage garden maintains the same principles with some minor changes. It combines elements of the traditional cottage garden with newer trends (the author calls this "the new perennial movement").  Instead of rigid straight lines like the ones used in borders, the modern style advocates flowing lines. Pockets of color from perennials are punctuated by ornamental grasses popularized by Piet Oudolf. Particular attention is given to the use of containers, gardening in small spaces and ideals for plant combinations. 

Each season is highlighted with a summary of the best plants of the season and tips for caring for them. An A-Z listing of fifty essential plants showcases popular varieties. 

This is an attractively designed book with sections sprinkled throughout that showcase particular gardens in the UK. Well written and beautifully illustrated, this one is highly recommended.

 

 

Windcliff: A Story of People, Plants, and Gardens
by Daniel J. Hinkley

Windcliff is the home and garden of Daniel Hinkley and Robert Jones. It is their second garden, the first being Heronswood, the famous botanical garden and nursery in Kingston, Washington that they created in 1987. In 2000, Heronswood was sold to the Burpee corporation, who ended up closing the business in 2006. In 2012, the Port S'Klallam tribe purchased the property and set about restoring the neglected gardens and Hinkley returned as consultant and director. 

Before returning to Heronswood, Hinkley was focused on creating a new garden at Windcliff, a six-and-a-half-acre property overlooking the Puget Sound with Mount Rainier visible in the distance on clear days. While Heronswood is situated amidst a forested enclave, Windcliff is aptly named, sitting on a wind-swept cliff exposed to the elements. Hinkley says that his greatest challenge here was how to compete with the dramatic inlet view.

Both gardens, however, share a common trait - they are filled with plants collected by Hinkley during his world travels as a plant hunter. 

Hinkley recounts the creation of the garden and the plants, people and places that influenced him. Many of the plants he grows will be unfamiliar to most readers (at least they were for me). Unusual and exotic varieties of agapanthus, begonias, hydrangea, dierema, scheffelera and a catalog more are showcased in sweeping swaths that are punctuated by dramatic grasses, cactus and agaves. He writes about how he used plants on this grand scale and how he incorporated balance, repetition and focal points. Hardscape elements, like gates, ornaments, totem poles and prayer flags are also highlighted. In the final chapter of the book, he profiles some of the people who have influenced him like JC Raulston, Christopher Lloyd and Jamaica Kinkaid.

According to the website, Windcliff is open on appointed days. If you can't get there in person, this is certainly the next best thing. Loosing yourself in this beautiful book will be a worthwhile armchair excursion.

 

 

The Earth in Her Hands: 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants
by Jennifer Jewell - (the following description is from the publisher)

In this beautiful and empowering book, Jennifer Jewell—host of public radio’s award-winning program and podcast Cultivating Place—introduces 75 inspiring women. Working in wide-reaching fields that include botany, floral design, landscape architecture, farming, herbalism, and food justice, these influencers are creating change from the ground up.

Profiled women include flower farmer Erin Benzakein; codirector of Soul Fire Farm Leah Penniman; plantswoman Flora Grubb; edible and cultural landscape designer Leslie Bennett; Caribbean-American writer and gardener Jamaica Kincaid; soil scientist Elaine Ingham; landscape designer Ariella Chezar; floral designer Amy Merrick, and many more. Rich with personal stories and insights, Jewell’s portraits reveal a devotion that transcends age, locale, and background, reminding us of the profound role of green growing things in our world—and our lives.

 

I was provided with review copies from the publisher.

 As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy