Customer Reviews

Dear Mr. Jefferson: Letters from a Nantucket Gardener

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This isn't a book that will explain why aphids are eating your roses, or why the tomoatoes are yellow---but it will tell you why a gardener cares. It would make a lovely gift for a gardener at Christmas or Hanukkah--the time of the year when we long for a little bit of sun, or perhaps a weed to pull. Simon's prose perfectly captures the essence of _why_ we garden, and the added whimsy of the "correspondance" with Jefferson allows her to add fascinating information about gardening and how it has changed over the years. An excellent read on a rainy, non-gardening day

What a delight it was to read this book. I couldn't put it down and it was just the tonic this gardener needed in the dead of winter.

Since others have already extolled the virtues of this book I will simply say that since it was given to me in 1999, DEAR MR. JEFFERSON has become a perennial for me. I read it through every spring while waiting for gardening weather to arrive. It is truly delightful and written from such a unique perspective. The only thing that would make it better is if it were available on Kindle. Dear Mr. Jefferson: Letters from a Nantucket Gardener

I just read Laura Simon's "Dear Mr. Jefferson" in one delightful day. She not only makes me realize what I have missed, culinary-wise, but she laced her account with fine historical references, laugh-out-loud humor, and solid information for the new and experienced gardener. The conceit of writing to Mr. Jefferson is engaging.

Here are just a few things I learned. Simply put, mixing chives and mint to add flavor sounds like a delicious blending. And her account of peeling freshly picked and tender asparagas spears, rubbing them with olive oil and sprinkling with coarse salt, then roasting them in the oven "until their buds get slightly crunchy and their stalks are like cream" has me drooling still, especially when she tops it all with a perfectly poached egg. The "most haut French chef would give all his stars to achieve it," she declares (p.153).

In particular, I love the seasonal aspects of her book. Each in its own time the onions, potatoes, eggplant, green peppers, and tomatoes "came to table." She and several friends did a spaghetti sauce taste test. She peeled and chopped four types of plum tomatoes, placing each in a separate hot pot to be "melted down." At the very end, she seasoned each pot the same, with a tiny dice of garlic, a chiffonade of basil, and salt (p. 209). The Romas won out!!

Read this book, if for no other reason, to learn about bees. In her notebook recollections, Simon is no less than a Thoreau in observing nature.

The book is filled with gardening plans and touts favorite seed catalogs. Laura's enthusiasm for gardening is contagious. My only regret is that I have so little space to grow my own garden (something I considered a positive this morning). But after reading Laura's book, I vow to tend my heirloom roses with the love and care they deserve. I have taken them for granted far too long. Every morning they give me an indescribable pleasure.

I recommend this book to gardeners, of course, but also to anyone who enjoys a fantastic recipe and a good read. Please accept the assurance of my great esteem and respect, Laura Simon, for your well-penned book.