Customer Reviews

Gardener's Guide to Life, The: Timeless Lessons based on the Principles of Gardening

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was shopping for vegetables yesterday morning in a local grocery store. I was en route to my brother's nursery to give a children's workshop on plants with special emphasis on Fathers' Day. A dear friend was in the gift section and was reading this book. She said she just couldn't stop reading it. She showed me a few of the quotes. One that caught my attention was the one by Victor Hugo, "Nothing awakens a remininscence like an odor." I commented that this sure was true. A little while later, she sought me out in the store bearing a little brown bag marked "paid." She had purchased the book for me. I was delighted. Many of the book treasures I have in my life have come to me by way of a friend. I read it all on Fathers' Day morning and decided to give it to my father. Criswell's introduction story about radishes was my motivation to give it to my dad. He is a 75 year old retired farmer and now has a tiny garden on which among other things he sows radishes. I have always loved to garden, too. I especially like the way the author has divided the book in sections for gratitude, planning, diligence, attention, silence, optimism, patience, perserverance, lifetime learning, time, reverence, and enjoying the bounty. There is nothing that can nurture my soul more on bended knees than getting my hands in the dirt. Seeds truly are a miracle. I think so every time I put sunflower seeds in the ground and patiently and lovingly watch them become giant sunflowers. I also really enjoyed quotes which dealt with the "weeds" in our lives and how we perceive them. The book is a quick uplifting treasure for the silence of an early summer morning. I highly recommend it to gardeners and non gardeners.