Customer Reviews

Ken Druse: The Passion for Gardening

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This book is about people who find gardening as essential as breathing. A passion, for sure, perhaps even fanatical. I know a lot of gardeners who fit into this category and I wouldn't hesitate to include myself as well. Druse's books are always a treat and this one is no exception. He writes about his own garden in New Jersey and how he has developed it since 1995 and his future plans for it. He also profiles ten other gardeners and the spectacular gardens that they have created. Most of these gardens are filled with native plants, trees and shrubs and tropical plants (you won't any flower gardens here). They are all beautiful and the photographs are spectacular, the book is truly a visual feast. He also includes sections with practical advice on transplanting, incorporating water into the garden and garden photography. Perfect for the winter gardener needing their creative juices fired back up before next spring.

Ken Druse is an amazingly gifted writer, photographer and gardener. I would not know what title to give him first. Passion is indeed a word that fits all these talents. In a world were all kinds of technical information is easy to be had, Ken Druse's book goes beyond the world of coffee tables and how to's. This book imbodies what is our gut instincts & passions, It is about responding to our intuition and letting loose with the child within.

The photographs in Druse's books are lessons on their own. I am always tempted to create some new tapestry after looking at them. The photo esay at the end of the book that depicts his own garden through the seasons and the swirling motion of a rain induced flood are my favorite. It is usually from memory that we see our gardens in the clothes of a former season. These images are not only beautifully composed but are great lessons from a seasoned gardener.

I read many a garden book, my sagging bookcases speak to that.Ken's are ones that I often and joyfully return to.

Do you have a NEED to garden, an instinct that simply can't be denied? Do you gain a joy, a tranquility from gardening? And do you long to know of others who share this need and love?
Finally, do you love Ken Druse's other wonderful, wildly beautiful books on same?
"The Passion For Gardening" combines all in a typically (for Druse) gorgeous volume, plus it introduces others for whom gardening is not simply a matter of "plant material" being "installed" by some local garden center. You meet people for whom gardening, in all its aspects(from the Giverney-like selection and placement of the plants to the mundane and often satisfying acts of weeding and soil improvement) is almost a genetic imperative. You meet others for whom gardening is the thing that makes all right with the world.
Even in the dead of Winter, this book is better than three therapy groups or five bottles of pills. It is one you will hold onto till the pages are tattered. It is what that urge to garden is all about.

I enjoyed this book more than any "plant" book I have read in years. It is so well written and accompanied with beautiful pictures, I know that I will enjoy revisiting the book many times as I plan my new garden. No matter your garden style, there is something to be found within these pages that will inspire you.

Simply said, AWESOME!!! Ken's writing, his pictures, and his passion for telling the stories of the gardeners and their gardens is inspirational. If you have enjoyed his earlier work or are reading for the first time, you will not be disappointed.

Much has been written about Ken Druse's photography. Throughout his books his photos stand out as among the most beautifully done in garden publishing. In this book the generous sized pictures seem to reflect that here, he pulls back to look at the "big picture" of the gardener's heart and sensibilities.

And here the words are achingly true and personal. It is a real gift to us readers of the author to share how the experience of being a gardener is indeed filled with rewards, but also moments of self-doubt, vulnerability and even conflict. It is the kind of humble writing (coming from an amazing gardener) that does a great service by reminding us that it is natural to feel moments like these as we experience the kind of life and values we, as gardeners and lovers of living things have chosen to live.

By awakening the reader to the courage it demands is a balm for anyone who feels they are just doing a lousy job at gardening. Ken reframes the question away from the judgements of the cognoscenti and taste makers to valuing the experience itself the way we wanted to.

I was very pleased with the new condition of the book and the content. I thought it took a long time to arrive, but was happy when it arrived safely.