The Adventurous Gardener: Where to Buy the Best Plants in New England [Paperback]

Ruah Donnelly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0967730317 | ISBN-13: 978-0967730318

THE ADVENTUROUS GARDENER: WHERE TO BUY THE BEST PLANTS IN NEW ENGLAND offers a warm, lively, and appreciative guide to the region's outstanding plant sources, personally visited by the author.

THE ADVENTUROUS GARDENER reveals

Specialty sources for dazzling plants, rare bulbs, heirloom seeds, plant-hunter's trophies, and the newest hybrids for New England gardens

Growers and suppliers of unusual, locally grown plants that will thrive in your garden

Picturesque nurseries, from family farms to elegant greenhouses

A comprehensive plant finding index, maps, clear directions, and travel tips for New England gardeners

An indispensable sourcebook for gardeners, designers, plant fanatics, and explorers of horticultural New England.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ruah Donnelly is an attorney and native of Massachusetts with a lifelong interest in New England gardens-mainly other peoples'. Her first plant, acquired at age 11, was a white iris rescued from a derelict rock garden. Childhood chores included vegetable gardening in New Hampshire and an early trialing of Butter and Sugar' corn. She has planted a tree at every property she has owned, including a white dogwood, copper beach, and variegated pagoda tree.

She is an active member of the Board of Directors of the Worcester County Horticultural Society, owner of the 132-acre Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts. Her urban container gardens have won Making Boston Grow' awards for several years. She lives with her husband in Boston.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Horticultural Pr (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967730317
• ISBN-13: 978-0967730318
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,296,939 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique and very readable gardening guide, April 4, 2000

By 

Eric Laursen (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Adventurous Gardener: Where to Buy the Best Plants in New England (Paperback)

While this book is something of a paean to New England gardening in general, and I do not live in New England, I still found it wonderful. Donnelly hasn't simply reviewed the big, obvious names (White Flower Farms, etc), but has also investigated many interesting, off-the-beaten-track nurseries that specialize in unusual and hard-to-find plants. She provides clear directions to all of them from the main roads.

The book is well-written and entertaining, with excellent profiles of each nursery. The author obviously is a knowledgeable and devoted horticulturalist, judging from the names she rattles off and her intriguing descriptions of some of the more unusual varieties mentioned here. Reading this book was an education, and a fun one.

I suspect it could also serve as a fine vacation guide. Some of the nurseries seem to be fairly out of the way, and given that they are located in some picturesque parts of New England (Berkshires, northeastern Connecticut, central Vermont), it's tempting to tie them together into a spring or summer driving trip.

Hopefully, The Adventurous Gardener will consider some other parts of the country to sift through as well.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Guide to Plant Adventures, June 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Adventurous Gardener: Where to Buy the Best Plants in New England (Paperback)

This is a true gem of a book for the gardener who is looking for unique plants. I have throughly enjoyed the book and having visited many local nurseries listed in the book for Massachusetts, I would say that the descriptions are very accurate. I have recommended the book to several gardening friends. My friends and I have already visited a couple of new places after having owned the book for a mere few weeks! I look forward to discovering a few more nurseries this summer. The only problem I found was that the driving directions do not include which city the driver is approaching from so I was lost once in Connecticut.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous book!, July 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Adventurous Gardener: Where to Buy the Best Plants in New England (Paperback)

A gardening book focused on New England wouldn't generally be my first choice for reading material -- unless they were all like Ruah Donnelly's wonderful Adventurous Gardener. Even for a confirmed non-plant type such as myself, this book is pure delight.

Ostensibly a where-to-find book of New England plant resources, The Adventurous Gardener is part plant education, part local New England travel book, and part expose, albeit in the kindest of ways. For those of you who wondered just how those flower obsessives might be a bit.....odd.......,Ms. Donnelly pulls back the curtain and delivers the straight skinny. Her thumbnail sketches of nurseries and their keepers nail the nature of both plants and their guardians in the most satisfying way. This book is like popping bonbons.

The Adventurous Gardener has ended up my bedside reading, with me dogearing pages of places I can't wait to visit on a day with little to do. I am contemplating whether an orchid could survive my care. If you are at all interested in New England, go ahead, indulge.....buy this and don't worry if plants aren't your thing.