A Seed Grows : My First Look at a Plant's Life Cycle (My First Look at Nature)

Book Description

The My First Look at series provides young chidren with an introduction to the world around them. In A Seed Grows, follow the growth of a plant, from a peek inside a sprouting seed to the harvest of the fruit. The book suggests ways parents and children can explore nature - without disturbing it.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book on the plant life cycle.......2007-01-31

The life cycle of a plant from seed to seed is beautifully illustrated and told as a story in the rhythmic pattern of the "House that Jack Built". Each page has a flap and under each flap is more information about plants, the garden and its other inhabitants. My 3 year old enjoyed the book and the flaps. I'm not crazy about the flaps because I'm afraid he is going to tear them up, but that is my only complaint about the book. The illustrations are detailed and visually interesting. It kept my small childs attention and he would have liked that I left the book with him. An improvement would be to republish the book with all the same information but make it a board book and no flaps.

A Great Collection.......2003-03-25

This book has been great fun to use while planting our garden. It helps speed the process along to show what will happen next, plus has great illustrations to show what happens under the ground. This entire series of books is top-rate.

Fun and Facts!.......2000-01-27

I really enjoyed this book that I donated to our school library. I seldom see books that are both non fiction and fiction in one edition. The illustrations were great and the flip format was fun.

Inspired: The Ideas That Shape & Create My Design

Average customer rating:

Inspired: The Ideas That Shape & Create My Design

Inspired: The Ideas That Shape & Create My Design
Jamie Durie
Manufacturer: Collins Design
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Landscape | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0061351318
Release Date: 2006-11-28

Book Description

Inspired traces the inspirations and influences behind Jamie Durie's award-winning garden and landscape designs.

A personal and pictorial narrative, it features a collection of Jamie's latest garden designs. From his work throughout Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and America, to art and nature, it reveals how ideas can be found in the simplest of places, and how Jamie translates these ideas into remarkable spaces for outdoor living.

Abundant with stunning gardens, Jamie's personal photography, inspiring imagery and essential information on plants and materials throughout, Inspired also includes cameo profiles of international architects, designers, artists and sculptors who have been influential to Jamie's designs.

The long-awaited follow-up to best selling titles Patio and The Outdoor Room, Inspired is a stunning addition to the Jamie Durie design collection.

Customer Reviews:

Inspired: The Ideas That Shape & Create My Design.......2007-09-14

This book was very inspiring. Perfect for giving me ideas on what I like to change in my environment.

Average customer rating:

Our girls LOVE this fairy book
Enhanced pictures, cute text

My Garden of Flower Fairies
Cicely Mary Barker
Manufacturer: Warne
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0723249261

Book Description

In a large garden live the Flower FairiesÂ™ and their many friends. ThereÂ's mischievous Periwinkle, shy Daffodil, Poppy, who likes to give parties for Flower FairyÂ™ children, and Marigold, who loves the sun. Seventeen fairies in all are featured in this book thatÂ's chock full of the details young readers and listeners love to know about the Flower Fairies and their secret lives.

Customer Reviews:

Our girls LOVE this fairy book.......2006-01-28

The illustrations are really nice. Beautiful. Our 3 preschool daughers are very into fairies right now and they LOVE this book. They love the stories associated with all the flowers. Part of me would think the book would be a bit old for them, but not at all. They love it and want to read it over and over and over.

Enhanced pictures, cute text.......2004-12-16

My 5-year old enjoyed this introduction to the flower fairy friends. It takes the lovely drawings of Cicely Mary Barker and places them with photographs of flowers, and combines them in different ways. It is neatly done. The text describes the different fairies and what their personalities are like. It is sweet but uninspired. We're looking forward to reading others id the Flower Fairy Friends series.

Average customer rating:

Very funny
Hilarious for both cat and dog lovers
Stuff on My Cat: The Book
Like it a lot, one caution...
Extremely funny and entertaining!

Stuff on My Cat: The Book
Mario Garza
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Nature & Wildlife | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Cats, Dogs & Animals | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0811855384

Book Description

It began with a handful of digital photographs of office supplies, toys, and spare computer parts thoughtfully placed on Mario Garza's snoozing cat, Love. Over time, the objects became bigger: remote controls, shoes, empty pizza boxes. And then cat owners everywhere were sucked into the Internet phenomenon that is defined by a simple motto: stuff + cats = awesome. From Stuffonmycat.com (the amazingly popular website that redefines hilarious and that was named one of the coolest sites of the year by Yahoo! And GQ magazine) comes Stuff On My Cat: The Book. Culled from the thousands of outrageous photographs submitted by mischievous animal lovers, here are 200 of the most unbelievably entertaining images of cats with all manner of things on them: wigs, Easter eggs, dogs, cheeseburgers, cookware, gummi bears, action figures, tiaras, beer cans, pinecones, a statue of the Buddha, and much more. An introduction by the site's creator explains the Stuff on My Cat philosophy, and playful illustrations and graphics are sprinkled throughout. Just try to keep a straight face.

Customer Reviews:

Very funny.......2006-12-06

I picked this book up at a bookstore and expected it to be kinda dumb but I had a few minutes to kill so I started flipping through it. It was hilarious. I ended up standing there way longer than I intended to bugging the crap out of my spouse-"Look at this!" "Look at this!". The pictures are very creative and very entertaining-especially if you're a cat person.

Hilarious for both cat and dog lovers.......2006-11-15

First of all, I fully admit that I'm addicted to the stuffonmycat website. It makes me giggle every day.

Second, this book is a priceless "best-of" collection from that site. Cat lovers will be in hysterics seeing their feline friends decorated with all sorts of outfits, food products, and other household goods. Dog lovers will love mocking the cats in all their indignity!

Truly, this is a unique book and SOOOO much better than the bad cat-type book on the market. Great stocking stuffer or white elephant gift!

Stuff on My Cat: The Book.......2006-11-10

Too cute for words. Sent me to see more on their web site!

Like it a lot, one caution..........2006-10-12

This photo collection is great. The pictures are hilarious and strangely mesmerizing. It boggles the mind that people could actually get cats into these poses. This is a great book to just have sitting around for people to flip through and talk about when they visit.

My only complaint (hence the three stars), is Stuff On My Cats slightly questionable policy on animal safety. Yes, I'm overprotective of my kitty, so probably just paranoia on my part. I've just noticed that, infrequently, Stuff On My Cat will have a pic that makes me wonder about the comfort and safety of the cat. Their website has a picture of a kid actually sitting on top of a cat's stomach - hope that is an effect created by camera angles and not for real! Because they take submissions from the public I doubt that there is any way to verify the methods used to take those pictures.

On the other hand, Funniest Home Videos has been cashing in for years on videos of kids falling on their heads, and this is certainly way better than that! Overall, a cute, cute book.

Extremely funny and entertaining!.......2006-10-04

I received this as a gift for my birthday from a good friend of mine and loved it! This is one of those books you see in a book store and look through it but never buy for yourself. This is why it makes a great gift idea. You will crack up every single time you flip through it and would even be good to have in your bathroom. Buy this book for anyone who needs a good laugh even if they aren't "cat people", they will still like it.

The Earth Knows My Name: Food, Culture, and Sustainability in the Gardens of Ethnic America

Average customer rating:

A unique book
A Garden Democracy
The Studs Terkel of Gardening
I wanted more
Will interest not only gardeners, but any intrigued by immigrant history and cross-cultural encounters

The Earth Knows My Name: Food, Culture, and Sustainability in the Gardens of Ethnic America
Patricia Klindienst
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Essays | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0807085715

Book Description

Inspired by her own family's immigrant history, Patricia Klindienst traveled the country, gathering stories of urban, suburban, and rural gardens created by people rarely presented in books about American gardens: Native Americans, immigrants from across Asia and Europe, and ethnic peoples who were here long before our national boundaries were drawn. In The Earth Knows My Name, she writes about the beautiful gardens she discovered, each one an island of hope, offering us a modelâon a sustainable scaleâof a truly restorative ecology.

"A moving tribute to those who keep the ancient love of the land in their hearts, and who stand up to the giants of agrobusiness in their fight to preserve their cultural heritage." âDr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, UN Messenger of Peace, and author of Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating

"Carefully weaving the threads of the cultures that were here before with those that came later, Klindienst makes her case for the deep, life-giving integrity of the earth . . . This is a poignant book that shows, without undue sentimentality, the underlying element we all share and can bring to life with our hands." âEdie Clark, Orion

Patricia Klindienst is a master gardener and an award-winning scholar and teacher. She lives in Guilford, Connecticut, and teaches creative writing each summer at Yale University.

Customer Reviews:

A unique book.......2007-05-16

This is an interesting, beautifully written book describing the connection between a culture and growing food, using specific individuals in different parts of America -- Native American, Hispanic, Japanese, Italian, and so on. Gardening breathes life into the culture and the person. It is an unusual, heartfelt theme.

A Garden Democracy.......2007-05-09

What a beautiful, wise, passionate and informed book. I guarantee you will want to discuss its ideas with your friends, and give copies to those you love most. And of course, if you don't have a garden, it will inspire you to start one. Or, if you don't have the space, to find a community garden. Or, if you don't have access even to a community garden, to start growing some herbs at home!

I would like to share one short quote here, from the epilogue, entitled A Garden Democracy. There's a fellow in Connecticut called Whit Davis, the last surviving member of his Yankee clan, who recently made a gift of some original Indian seed corn to a local tribe. As a result this tribe have been able to finally start recreating the Indian gardens that the first English settlers came across and destroyed in short order.

"How can a gesture as simple as the gift of seeds be a meaningful answer to centuries of injustice?
Because it makes possible the restoration of the seed's place in a structure of meaning. The English imposed on "the garden of New England" the idea of land as commodity, the wilderness as a fund of natural capital at their disposal, and seed as a form of currency. Whit's return of the seeds refuses those meanings."

Exactly. Through reading this book, and hopefully cultivating a piece of land yourself, you will come to understand that it's not just real estate, it's not just a commodity, it's Mother Earth. In other words, the Indians were right all along.

Right up there with Michael Pollan, Aldo Leopold, Sir Albert Howard, Richard Evans Schultes, Paul Stamets, Jane Goodall, Masanobu Fukuoka, Carlo Petrini, Bill McKibben, Wendell Berry, Edward O. Wilson, and all the others who have drawn attention to the fact that our relationship to the earth is more than merely economic.

Thank you Patricia!

The Studs Terkel of Gardening.......2006-09-13

In the early 1970's Studs Terkel traveled across the country interviewing people about their work, and eventually compiled the interviews into the book Working. In the early 2000's, Patricia Klindienst took a similar approach, traveling around the USA to interview ethnic gardeners, immigrants who maintain their cultural identity through their connection to the earth.

While The Earth Knows My Name will never be a musical, it is a marvellous testament to the importance of earth and water, seed and plant, and in sustaining not just our ethnic roots, but also our whole selves. Her words bring to life the feeling of warm sun on your back while you plant corn, or crisp autumn mornings harvesting beans. She lets you smell the scent of flowers, but also taste the flavor of language, in her profiles of 15 gardeners.

This book is well written, it is poignant, and it is gently honest, with the author's love of gardening, and sincere respect for her subjects masking the inevitable political undercurrents.

My only complaint is that there should have been more pictures - I craved a coffee-table presentation, with Klindienst's words matched to lush photographs.

But maybe the mind's eye is the better viewing choice. Buy the book, and decide for yourself. Better yet, buy the book, and plant a garden.

I wanted more.......2006-08-05

I would have purchased this book even if I did not know some of the people and places in this book. Patricia's material and writing are inspirational not just for gardeners but for anyone who is interested in where their food originates. The diversity of the gardens and gardeners made me realize again, the necessity of supporting our local growers. My only complaint is that I wanted more and found myself rationing my chapters. Hopefully there will be a sequel to include the gardens she omitted. I strongly recommend this book. Makes a great gift.

Will interest not only gardeners, but any intrigued by immigrant history and cross-cultural encounters.......2006-07-27

THE EARTH KNOWS MY NAME: FOOD, CULTURE, AND SUSTAINABILITY IN THE GARDENS OF ETHNIC AMERICANS isn't just from a single gardener's perspective: master gardener Patricia Klindienst traveled across the country for three years to write this, gathering stories of urban and rural gardens from American gardeners whose immigrant roots reflect their gardening choices. Hers combines a history of how immigrant Americans grew food and transmitted cultural background in the process, with chapters blending their oral stories with such background. It's a wide-ranging title which will interest not only gardeners, but any intrigued by immigrant history and cross-cultural encounters.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Average customer rating:

Quite different (for a garden book)
Insufferable
the thickness of things
Tedious - Good Word
Skip it

My Garden (Book)
Jamaica Kincaid
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Essays | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Women Writers & Feminist Theory | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Women Writers | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0374527768

Book Description

One of our finest writers on one of her greatest loves.Jamaica Kincaid's first garden in Vermont was a plot in the middle of her front lawn. There, to the consternation of more experienced friends, she planted only seeds of the flowers she liked best. In My Garden (Book): she gathers all she loves about gardening and plants, and examines it generously, passionately, and with sharp, idiosyncratic discrimination. Kincaid's affections are matched in intensity only by her dislikes. She loves spring and summer but cannot bring herself to love winter, for it hides the garden. She adores the rhododron Jane Grant, and appreciates ordinary Blue Lake string beans, but abhors the Asiatic lily. The sources of her inspiration -- seed catalogues, the gardener Gertrude Jekyll, gardens like Monet's at Giverny -- are subjected to intense scrutiny. She also examines the idea of the garden on Antigua, where she grew up. My Garden (Book): is an intimate, playful, and penetrating book on gardens, the plants that fill them, and the persons who tend them.

Customer Reviews:

Quite different (for a garden book).......2007-04-25

I found this book at a library book sale and bought it because of the subject (I enjoy garden writings immensely) and because of the loveliness of the book itself.
The first story about a wisteria that won't bloom at the proper time is the only story I didn't like. The author repeated the sentece "What to do?" so many times that it got on my last nerve. Her writing in that piece seemed to be the meanderings of her thoughts that she then attempted to give a heavy-handed poetic touch. I enjoyed the rest of the pieces.
This book is not typical of garden books and Jamaica Kincaid puts in bits and pieces of her life, touching on racial issues and gardener snobbery. Some sentences widen the eyes and make you read it again because it is so unexpected, tidbits that most other authors would self-censor. The author can come across as a bit offensive, particularly when branding various people "ugly", and I'm not sure if she would be a difficult person to know or a fun person to know - maybe both, but I definitely enjoyed her writings and am glad I didn't let her wisteria story deter me from reading the rest of the book.

Insufferable.......2004-08-18

I found this book insufferable, and didn't get to finish it. The contrived title should have tipped me off. Why isn't Amazon listing it correctly? It should be My Garden (Book):

For started, i don't really care for Jamaica Kincaid's writing style. She uses punctuation sparsely, and you go for what it seems like a mile with no period in sight. In the meantime, she has branched in a myriad of extra information, and after a while it gets to be too much to keep track of. This is not stream of consciousness writing, or at least not the good kind anyway.

What really did me in was the beginning of her anecdote titled "Reading":

"It was a day in late October and I had two thousand dollars' worth of heirloom bulbs to place in the ground [...]"

If that wasn't enough, then she continues:

"I do not like winter or anything that represents it ..."

What is she doing then living in Vermont?!

She came across as a malcontent human being who agonizes over insignificant stuff, like the exact month her wisterias bloom. She takes the joy out of gardening, and out of reading.

the thickness of things.......2004-06-07

"Oh, how I like the rush of things, the thickness of things . . ."

Oh, how I like Kincaid's My Garden (Book). I am halfway through it and realize I had better slow down, because I am not going to find another book on the garden I like nearly so much as this one, probably for a very long time. I've got a stack of other books, none so good, and I will use My Garden (Book) like a tiny slice of truffle among the more common and less delicious food on my plate. Rationing is the only option.

What I like about her (among the everything else I like about her) is that she doesn't like Asiatic Lilies because their colors remind her of a hallucinogenic drug she took once ever seven days for a year when she was young. This is the best sort of confession to make in a gardening book.

She also confesses to amassing large debts and threatening letters from creditors about her garden habit. She confesses to being a messy, careless person with a messy house. All these confessions endear her to me. The weaknesses balance the austere authority of her prose, which also endears her to me.

Her garden aesthetic - odd, overgrown, intense and personal, wild, even, endears her to me. I remember reading a bit of memoir in the New Yorker that involved her experiments with coffee enemas. This struck me as the strangest thing I had ever read (because perhaps I was still a teenager in Kansas and ready to be struck by things). Enemas? The reason for them escaped me, but with coffee none the less - or espresso? I paid careful attention to the byline of that piece, wanting to find more of this sort of writing.

Later, one of her essays was in a book I used as a graduate teaching assistant. When I saw her name, I took a sip of coffee.

I like Ms. Kincaid because she doesn't love the writing of Vita Sackville-West. She says that the best literary companion to Vita's gardens is the autobiography of Nina Simone. How could this not be love? The best companion to life is Nina Simone and gardening like Vita Sackville-West.

How could I not see bringing Ms. Kincaid a bouquet of flowers in exquisite yellows and sharing a cocktail in some overgrown, wild garden someday? How could I not tell everyone I know who enjoys the garden or good writing to pick up this book immediately and fall in love?

Tedious - Good Word.......2004-04-20

I couldn't finish this book, and usually I finish books too quickly. The reviewer who described her book/writing style as tedious wins the prize from me. I think I would have liked her piece if she wrote differently. But...

Skip it.......2003-05-30

Has this woman never heard of punctuation? Her sentences are so long you practically have to tie yourself in a knot to read them. This is a shame, because before I got turned off by the sentence length I had spotted some fresh ideas. I toiled on until I realized there was no depth of knowledge behind the ideas. There are lots of good, even great, books of garden essays out there. Don't waste your time on this one.

Epitaph for a Peach: Four Seasons on My Family Farm

Average customer rating:

epitaph for a peach
Not so much an epitaph, but a love letter to the land
The Struggle Continues
Epitaph for a Peach
Best book about farming I've ever read

Epitaph for a Peach: Four Seasons on My Family Farm
David M. Masumoto
Manufacturer: HarperOne
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Japanese | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Natural Foods | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0062510258

Customer Reviews:

epitaph for a peach.......2007-10-02

wonderful. when you read this work you can actually feel the soil, smell the grass, and taste the fruit. a greeat read

Not so much an epitaph, but a love letter to the land.......2007-08-08

I feel a connection with David Masumoto. Not that I've met him or anything - in fact, there's a good chance I never will (although I keep hoping that one summer day I can make it over to his farm to pick peaches). No, this feeling is based on an impression that we have both fought the same fight over different things, for the same reasons. It is also because he writes so poignantly about a landscape I grew up in. Mr. Masumoto is an organic farmer in the valley of California, and his story is becoming more and more familiar to me as I see this way of life disappearing across the country.

A third generation Japanese American peach and grape farmer, David Masumoto inherited the family orchard from his father. He also had the heritage of his childhood memories of how that particular peach variety, Sun Crest, tasted and ran with juice unlike the pretty red baseballs that have passed for today's supermarket peach varieties. Mr. M wanted to show the world how delightful an old-fashioned peach could be.

When he took over his father's farm, he resolved to not only continue growing his Sun Crests, but to do it organically. This would prove challenging in our day and age of cheap, quick fixes; moreover, it would test his strongly felt ideals. The land needed to heal and replenish itself after years of chemical fertilizers and toxic pest control methods. Masumoto had to take his example from research on other organic farming practices, planting wildflowers to encourage beneficial insect life and sowing "green manure" crops to act as natural mulch and compost. All this took time, patience, and faith that his hard work would eventually pay off.

Epitaph for a Peach is rich in sensory descriptions, philosophy, and nostalgic flashbacks. It is a picture of the way a farmer's life is connected to the seasons, capricious weather patterns, and changing market conditions. Not incidentally, Masumoto also teaches about the obscure history of Japanese farmers in the Valley - something that even I, native to Fresno, had little idea of. Reading this book was a slow, thoughtful experience much in the same manner that one slows down to savor a rich fruit. Recommended to anybody interested in history, growing food, or the vanishing California landscape.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle

The Struggle Continues.......2004-01-24

I live somewhat north of the area Mr. Masumoto writes about - where the San Francisco Bay Area Suburbs collide with the San Joaquin Farmlands. The Peach and Cherry Orchards and the Sweet Corn, Tomatoes and Strawberries are currently holding their own - but like Mr. Masumoto's Peaches and Grapes, only tenuously, and with great courage. If you would like to understand not only how these people live, but who and why they are, you should read this book. It is both beautifully written and thought provoking.

Epitaph for a Peach.......2002-07-31

It is rare to read a book where the author works miracles with his hands and his words. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys non-fiction but finds it dry, without humanity. David Mas Masumoto is anything but dry. His land may be at times, but his poetic prose is anything but. His relationship with his family, his family's farm and nature is a rare combination. I highly recommend this read.

Best book about farming I've ever read.......2001-06-09

"Epitaph" is a gem and a masterpiece. Masumoto is a good farmer, a truly dedicated family man and a gifted writer. The story is in part about his love affair with a wonderful variety of peach.

City people will know why supermarket peaches disappoint and country people will recognize the sad story of a farmer who, the harder he tries the more frustration he finds. The peaches you find in the supermarket are there because the consumer/supermarket/broker/ value "shelf life" more than flavor.

Peaches don't travel well and they don't last long. The farmer must choose the right variety, prune it exactly the right way at exactly the right time, fertilize and water at the right time, pray fervently for the right weather conditions.

Only then, if the peach absorbs enough sun to fully mature, will it have the full bursting ambrosial flavor a peach should have. Only the sun can make a peach sweet and flavorful. Most really delicious peaches won't last more than three or four days after they are picked.

A good peach should be eaten as it is right out of hand. Not put in a pie or jam or cake. Only a good farmer can grow a perfect peach and no supermarket want them. Where is the answer?

You'll fall in love with farming and weep a bit as you read the Masumoto family story. Perhaps you won't fully appreciate what today's farmers are up against, but this book will give you more insight than you ever had before.

Book Description

The first paperback edition of a bestselling gardening classic. David Hicks was one of the foremost designers of the 20th century; this book is superbly illustrated with photos by Dana Hyde.

Customer Reviews:

Out of focus garbage........2004-11-16

I bought this book as a gift for my boss's wife as she is an avid gardener and photographer. I should have saved my money and taken the photos myself. The pictures are amateur at BEST. The talent is non existent and you will see that numerous pictures are OUT OF FOCUS. It looks like most of the photographs were taken with a Kodak disposable camera. The photographer must need glasses if she thinks the pictures are in focus. Conclusion: Save your money. You'd be better off buying your own camera and taking pictures yourself. There are plenty of other GREAT gardening books out there with much better, well thought out, professional, in focus, photographs.

A stunning panorama of world gardens........2000-01-13

Beautiful colour photography and insightful, cutting critique make this a well rounded look at the 20th century world class garden. A highly recommended addition for all garden lovers' libraries, from the late David Hicks. A book you will treasure.

Average customer rating:

fun book
Go to Amazon dot com and get it!

Building My Zen Garden
Kieran Egan
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Essays | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Garden Design | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Japanese Gardens | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0618063781

Book Description

Kieran Egan had a fantasy. Inspired by a visit to a friend's miniature Zen garden on a balcony in Nagoya, he returned home determined to build his own Japanese garden. Like many men his age, with kids grown up and moved away, he was ready to tackle something new and tackle was the right word. Even before he began, he had to spend days hacking at the overgrown thicket where his garden would be. At night, dreaming of roots with nothing to do but grow, he thought less about Zen masters than about Dorothy Parker, who observed, "Every year, back comes spring, with nasty little birds yapping their fool heads off and the ground all mucked up with plants." In spite of the running conflict between Zen philosophy and his own rather slapdash methods, he succeeded in creating "a treat for the eye and spirit." Like Michael Pollan's A PLACE OF MY OWN, BUILDING MY ZEN GARDEN will appeal to men, and to women as a gift for men. In these prosperous times, when men of the baby-boom generation are often looking for something new, building a Zen garden could very well be it even if, after reading and laughing at the author's adventures, they never build one themselves.

Customer Reviews:

fun book.......2006-09-21

While this isn't an all inclusive guide to japanese gardening, its a fun and inspiring read. After reading this book I set about building my own japanse style garden; and while I didn't find myself referring to it for specifics of actually building the garden - I did find myself referring to it for motivation. Egan's self-effacing sense of humour is particularly enjoyable, as he struggles with such tribulations as moving a large rock, or dealing with a leaking pond (problems that I also found myself dealing with). I would highly recommend this book to any do-it-yourselfer thinking about building a japansese style garden.

Go to Amazon dot com and get it!.......2000-11-30

Get this book if you have been suspicious about the hype surrounding the Zen of garden building or if you want a hilarious account of a brave amateur confronting the sham purity of Japanese garden design. But this is also a serious and wryly understated account of how to confront the task armed with the basic philosophy of the design of a garden and teahouse, and as well, a humorous introduction to the kind of characters you might meet if you go past the DIY stores to meet the suppliers.

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