Customer Reviews

Gardening by Heart: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Garden (Sierra Club Books Publication)

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Steal some moments from your hectic day and let Joyce McGreevy entertain you. You might want to steal more than a few because once you start this book you will not want to be interrupted.

This is a story book of life inspired by her Mother's death and her Mother's garden. And, her Mother must have been a remarkable woman. She certainly seemed to know how to enjoy and transfer, if even subtly, her love of plants.

Now, a gardener herself, Ms. McGreevy shares the wonders of gardening with both practical ideas and anecdotal musings. Her book contains a smattering of recipes and practical tips all peppered with her miraculous insight.  To quote her quoting her Mother, "Life is like a party. It starts before you arrive and keeps on going after you leave, so you might as well celebrate while you are here."

She may call herself The Potato Queen (you will have to read why for yourself), but Joyce is really the queen of her 'party'. Hopefully, after you read her book you will feel like the queen (or the king) of your 'party' too.

My mother said you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but in this case you can. The assortment of beautiful hybrid sunflowers on the jacket of "Gardening by Heart" speaks volumes.

The jacket says the book is a cornucopia of practical garden tips, and I would agree. This is a rich assortment of nuggets of truth, anecdotes of wisdom, and images of joy.

Author McGreevy is a transplant from Ireland who lives and works in sunny Monterrey California. Her insights into the heart of gardening reflect the reasons for living.

Picture a young girl, naked sitting on a fence in winter singing to the snowflakes. Or a woman up at dawn sampling strawberries at 5:00 a.m. Later in the day the author will fret about schedules and such, but in the quiet morning air all's right with the world.

Ms. McGreevy has suggestions for making the world a little bit better place for yourself: savor the descriptive passages in books; learn the names of five native wild flowers; write your observations of the seasons on the kitchen calendar; come to your senses. How long has it been since you stopped to smell the roses?

The most striking passage for me was Ms McGreevy's thoughts on perfectus negativis. This occurs when you cannot see the beauty in your own garden. Others pick out and admire something, but all you can see is the bare patch or the weed at twenty paces. Ms. McGreevy says you should see the bare patch as the bit of unworked canvas in your painting, and instead of noticing the clover in the petunias, notice the petunias.

I have a beautiful garden. Folks admire it everyday. Sunday, the police came to our house in response to a call my husband made about a radio stolen Saturday night from his car. The policeman wrote up the details, then he stopped in the middle of my front yard which is 100% garden and said "You've got a beautiful garden." For once, heeding Ms. McGreevy, I said Thank you.

The book is a thin volume, 188 pages, with type on only about half the page. When I first opened the box from Amazon I thought, "I've been had" but decided to actually read the book and discovered you can say a lot in a small space if you are as accomplished a writer as Ms. McGreevy.

I really enjoyed reading "Gardening by Heart" by Joyce McGreevy.A lovely A lovely gentle sense of humour runs through it.The authors command of language and her imaginative writimg is impressive. Of course Im not surprised really,having read, several years ago, her hauntingly beautiful poem "These needles through our own lives, too, have moved." Its a book for all seasions, entertaining,humorous, informative. I have always loved gardening, especially the cultivation of roses, but if I had never gardened before I feel that I would be absolutely compelled to "have a go" after reading this lovely book. All the chapters are entertaining but I especially liked the wonderfully descriptive and inspiring prose of "Sacred Gardens are Everywhere". In "Eating, Sleeping and Living in the Garden" we get wistful, nostalgic recollections plus some mouth watering recipes. However I think Ill skip the "Iced Tea" recipe. I tried it once in Concord, New Hampshire many years ago and found that it was not for me! In "Strawberries at Dawn" we get wonderful imagery - "Ones mind is fertile with dreams whose meanings flower best in a hushed world." However I think my favourite is "Its all Rented". Of course I may be biased - its about Galway! But no, really I just love the mischievous humour. In short the book is full of wit and humour and a joy to read. I would also like to commend "Sierra Club Books" for a beautifully produced product. Sean Stafford, Galway, Ireland.

This book is a treasure. With wit and humor, with sensitivity and moving candidness, McGreevy shares her thoughts and experiences with all of us. Reading this book, one quickly feels that one is in conversation with an old and much loved friend. Though I have long recognized my personal joyful connection to "puttering with flowers," this book renewed my passion. McGreevy's love of Nature and ability to find it everywhere, even in the weed growing from the sidewalk crack, is an inspiring reminder to treasure the small gifts of everyday life. This is a book to read, then dip into again and again for laughter and insight. McGreevy is as charming and gracious in person as in her writing. If you get a chance to catch one of her readings, don't miss her!

Perfect reading at bedtime or early morning with a cup of your favorite hot beverage. Actually, it's perfect reading anytime--thought-provoking, warm, and funny. My partner and I both enjoyed it immensely, but the biggest impact it made was on my mother. I sent her a copy for Mother's Day and she read a little bit every day during her radiation treatments for breast cancer. She loved it so much she bought copies for the waiting room--she said it had the power to inspire in the face of physical suffering. A great gift for yourself, a loved one, or--as my mother did--for strangers in need of a boost. Enjoy!

In this touching work I was captivated by the depth of human understanding McGreevy sprinkled with humor that makes you laugh with you soul. A wonderful book- I have already passed it on to my family, a real gift that we will share with our families to come... Bravo! I hope to read more works from this budding author in the near future!

I might have missed this marvelous book had not a friend given it to me. "I know, I know," she said, "You're too busy. But this is to nurture your spirit." Joyce McGreevy captures what is truly magical about the garden--and you don't have to be a gardener to fall under her spell. Until I read this book, my idea of gardening was filling the watering can, pulling the weeds--and hoping for the best. Now gardening has become my passion--from taking up her suggestion to walk barefoot in the grass even on a busy workday, to an occasional night of sleeping out under the stars (or at least dining out) while the scent of wild jasmine fills the air. I too have blossomed. My children are now so excited to take a packet of seeds, any seeds, water them and wait--delighting at the new beginning of life. I recommend this book to anyone--even those who have never gardened--whose spirit longs for fresh growth.

I'm free, free, at last! Emancipated from a gardener's work ethic--weeding, deadheading, fertilizing etc. Joyce McGreevy goes literally to the heart of gardening and nourishes the soul with her grace and wit and exquisite writing. McGreevy's descriptions of her mother's gardens as a place for relating to people, for celebrating the spirit of the day or season, help the gardener to not only grow the roses, but wake up and smell them and share all that with others. Just BE in the garden. Of course, there won't be a garden without some routine work, but this inspirational little book shows us how to use our gardens or other people's gardens to renew our connection to the earth, to all creation, and to heal from modern day busy sickness. I hope to hear more from this talented writer.

This book is a jewel, a profound pleasure to read. From the first page, one enters a world of flowers and tendriled plants, Earth with its seasons and cycles, touching memories, wisdom, and wit. The book uses this material to present a rich philosophy for living life.

The author not only recounts delightful anecdotes, but also offers abstract ideas with precision clarity, utilizing graceful and wonderfully chosen vocabulary. Her metaphors and similes sometimes make you gasp, they are so fresh and original. They are also beautifully couched within the overall garden theme.

This book puts the reader in touch with the richness, depth, and beauty of life. It is true writing by a gifted writer.

GARDENING BY HEART is a delightful collection of heartfelt thoughts written in a way that will charm every reader. McGreevy has to be a very nice person ---her writing makes that very clear to the reader.