Surprising as it may seem, the first place an experienced gardener looks for advice and ideas is not the local gardening store or even the nearby botanical garden, but a good library. Gardeners have been sharing their wisdom for thousands of years, and their books and treatises still provide a rich resource for growers and landscapers today. Here in this volume is a bouquet of quotations that will strike a responsive chord with anyone who has ever worked the soil or just admired natures handiwork. Areas that are covered include the metaphorical
- Some men like to make a little garden out of life and walk down a path.
Jean Anouilh, The Lark (1952)
words of encouragement
-Then seek your job with thankfulness and work till further orders,
If it's only netting strawberries or killing slugs on borders;
And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden,
You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the Garden.
Rudyard Kipling, The Glory of the Garden (1911)
reflection
- To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure, is the most perfect refreshment.
Jane Austen, Mansfield Park (1814)
and the practical
- Three fundamental aspects of border designsite, shape, and sizehave at least as great an effect on the ease of garden maintenance as does the actual selection of plants.
Frederick McGourty, The Perennial Gardener (1989)
and much more. Drawing on sources ranging from the earliest agrarian civilizations to the present, The Little Red Book of Gardening Wisdom is a treasury of great ideas that will delight amateur and expert gardeners alike.
