The Curious Gardener [Hardcover]

Jurgen Dahl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

Now for the first time in English, one of the world's best-loved garden writers explores the connections between the life of the garden and the life of the mind. In this omnibus volume that ranges from discussing why gardeners should grow bad-smelling plants to how readers should eat their flowers, Jürgen Dahl identifies curiosity and patience as the gardener's chief virtues. What matters most to Jürgen Dahl is that a garden is not a sterile copy of a picture in a book, or a beautiful "triumph" that lacks all experimentation and wonder. In Jürgen Dahl's garden, things do not "work," but instead they happen --- or maybe they do not. Many things that please, surprise, or disappoint a gardener do so because the garden's living creatures can only rarely be tricked into obeying the gardener's will; in their own quiet but unyielding way, they follow their own laws. Jürgen Dahl's stories are wise and cheerful, and full of opinions and premonitions, all told with the insatiable curiosity of the true explorer.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

If it is true that gardeners, by their very nature, are keen observers of the world around them, then the late Dahl was a master witness to the comings and goings, sense and nonsense, that constitute life in the garden. A broadcaster, editor, and author, Dahl received prestigious awards in his native Germany for his horticultural and environmental work; now, with this English translation of his essays, Dahl posthumously gains a well-deserved wider audience. As droll as he was knowledgeable, as philosophical as he was practical, Dahl was blessed with two characteristics perfectly matched to garden pursuits: an insatiable curiosity and a seemingly limitless amount of patience. Segueing breezily from topic to topic, Dahl's discourses on parasitic plants might easily give way to a diatribe on odoriferous weeds. But no matter, he says; it's all part of the gardener's world. That Dahl shared his corner of it with us is a gift, for few garden writers were as sharp and opinionated, yet sensitive and wise. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description

Now for the first time in English, one of the world's best-loved garden writers explores the connections between the life of the garden and the life of the mind. In this omnibus volume that ranges from discussing why gardeners should grow bad-smelling plants to how readers should eat their flowers, Jurgen Dahl identifies curiosity and patience as the gardener's chief virtues. What matters most to Dahl is that a garden is not a sterile copy of a picture in a book, or a beautiful "triumph" that lacks all experimentation and wonder. In Dahl's garden, things do not "work," but instead they happen-or maybe they do not. Many things that please, surprise, or disappoint a gardener do so because the garden's living creatures can only rarely be tricked into obeying the gardener's will; in their own quiet but unyielding way, they follow their own laws.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press, Incorporated (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881926574
• ISBN-13: 978-0881926576
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #881,216 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Entertainer, November 24, 2004

By 

Greg Speichert "garden guy" (Cedar Lake, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Curious Gardener (Hardcover)

The Curious Gardener is most definitely a read from the beginning to the end. Reading this book is like reading a letter from a gardening friend or sitting down for tea with him. Dahl connects the garden with the mind by telling stories that will make you look deeper into the art of gardening.
Dahl ranges in discussions from why you should grow bad smelling plants to, how to eat a lily, making this book a truly enjoyable read. After finishing this book, you will look at your garden in a whole new light. It connects us back to some of the pleasures we sometimes miss in our rush to get things done.
From rambles and rants, to carful observations, this book is a delight to read on a rainy or cold wintery day.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All good things take time, August 27, 2006

By 

Douglas E. Welch "New Media Consultant" (Van Nuys, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Curious Gardener (Hardcover)

A good book takes time to read and progresses in a slow and orderly fashion, much like the garden itself. Such is the case with The Curious Garden by Jürgen Dahl

The Curious Garden is a collection of Dahl's previous 3 books, much of which were originally created as weekly gardening columns. The 3 books include How to Eat a Lily (1995), The Stinking Garden (1997) and The Curious Gardener (1998). Each book is divided into easy-to-read sections, probably due to their origin as columns.

According to my library record, I have renewed this book twice, each time for 3 weeks and it is rapidly approaching time to renew it again. This means a total of 6-7 weeks to read one book. How could it possibly take so long to work through 250 pages? The fact is, this book was perfect for dipping into whenever I needed a change of pace. Its short section invited a few moments spent in the joys of gardening before returning to more mundane work. It was a gentle friend in the evenings when no more thoughts of computers or email or web pages could be processed.

It seems to happen more frequently than I would like, but I often find myself wanting to meet authors who have already passed from this world. From his writing, Dahl would have been an interesting gardening pen pal. It would have been a joy to read his columns as they were created, rather than in this final collection of his best. Still, I can enjoy the fact that his work was deemed important enough to collect and translate into English.

The Curious Gardener would be a great book for the reading chair and night stand as Fall approaches and quickly turns to Winter. You could lose yourself in the pages as snow flies and your own garden sleeps and wake with new ideas, new thoughts and a new garden come the Springtime.