Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Emily Whaley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 1997

In conversation with William Baldwin. Emily Whaley's garden on Church Street in Charleston, South Carolina, may be the most visited private garden in the country. And no wonder. It is the life's work of a vibrant, sociable, opinionated, determined, forceful woman who has spent the last eighty-five years cultivating whatever life offered her. MRS. WHALEY AND HER CHARLESTON GARDEN captures and preserves Emily Whaley's distinctive voice and braces us with a clear understanding of how one might cultivate a practical personal philosophy alongside one's garden. "An ageless and captivating visit." --Publishers Weekly; "South Carolina gardener grows into phenom." --USA Today, cover story; "Emily Whaley is wonderful, both in and out of her garden."--Rosemary Verey, author of THE AMERICAN WOMAN'S GARDEN. As seen on CBS Sunday Morning. Now in its 6th printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In the event a visit to coastal South Carolina is not possible, the next best thing is an introduction to Mrs. Whaley by way of William Baldwin's engaging conversation with this grande dame of Charleston's gardening world. Mrs. Whaley, who has reached her eighty-fifth year, is happy to share details of a rich, full life, and her thoughts meander through an extensive range of topics. Baldwin's approach is to let Mrs. Whaley do all the talking, so the narrative is her's alone--and a delightful, rather breathless account it is, incorporating the evolution of her own renowned garden with reminiscences of childhood and a personal history of southern life lived most graciously. Gardens cultivated by other generations of her family feature prominently in Mrs. Whaley's tales, and as she reveals how the gardening tradition fostered her own avid dedication, it is apparent how tending one's plants can enrich the spirit and forge admirable connections with friends and acquaintances. Alice Joyce

From Kirkus Reviews

A sweet but slight bouquet: a gardening memoir told in a Southern drawl. Whaley, an 85-year-old South Carolina gentlewoman, sits down, as it were, in her Charleston garden to summon up memories of camellias past. Baldwin, a South Carolina architect and novelist (The Fennel Family Papers, 1996, etc.), observes that she ``moves with the imperial bearing of a grand Southern matron. But on the inside she's a knobby-kneed 14-year-old country girl.'' The matron's account of life and gardening can come across as regrettably mild. ``It's an awful lot of fun to live into your eighties,'' she declares. ``It helps to have some money, though.'' Likewise, she remarks, ``People are the greatest--the most fun that life offers.'' But Whaley also delivers some choice comments and vignettes: ``Dad said if everything Nan planted had taken, a rabbit couldn't have run across the yard.'' And she can be folksily tart: ``You have a muscle here between your ears. When you play tennis, when you do exercises, you use muscles. The muscle up top is the same. Unless it's used it is going to be flabby.'' Whaley devotes chapters to her rural childhood, her parents, and her lawyer husband; she also offers her thoughts on her dog, on self-esteem, and on her favorite recipes. Discussions of her Charleston garden, measuring 30 by 110 feet, takes up about a third of the book, and though her description of it is charming, one doesn't walk away with a convincing sense of place. Her gardening advice is pretty basic: ``DO water your plants in the morning so that the leaves are dry by nightfall. You'll have less trouble with fungal diseases.'' And too many of the non-gardening vignettes seem slender, unrevealing. It would have been better to drench those portions with details, which count for as much in life stories as they do in gardens. (illustrations, not seen) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books; 1st edition (January 3, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565121155
• ISBN-13: 978-1565121157
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #144,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #80 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Regional U.S. > South

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars southern delight, April 15, 2003

By 

B. Ward (Bozeman, MT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden (Paperback)

While reading this book, I felt as if I was sitting in a backyard garden on a lovely iron park bench with a glass of lemonade in hand, visiting with Emily Whaley herself. Opinionated, honest and full of Southern charm, Emily is a woman of character who has been blessed with the gift of gardening and a heritage of living right. When I first began reading, I expected gardening tips and descriptions of prolific gardens, which I was given. Yet delightfully surprising was having the lessons she had learned in her life unpretentiously and often humorously passed down to me by way of uncluttered recollections. She taught me to "find my own charms" in life and to "compete only with myself" to name so very few. This is one book I will certainly re-read the pages of often throughout my life.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful story of growing up in South Carolina gardening., July 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden (Hardcover)

Mr. Whaley has a wonderful way of drawing you into her stories about learning from her family and friends how important gardens and gardening is to life in South Carolina. You feel as if you are sitting at her knee listening to her tell her stories, rather than reading a book.

I have been to her garden and met her and she truly is a marvel. A true South Carolina gardener and gentlewoman.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars practical gardening tips, May 1, 2004

By 

martha barkley (charleston, sc) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden (Hardcover)

A small town girl makes it big in downtown Charleston, SC without becoming part of the sophisticated establishment. She is refreshing and free in her opinions and plantings. From simple potted plants to ancient camellias and restful blue hues, Emily gives anyone a sense of peace in her garden. She relates the destruction of three feet of saltwater from Hugo in her garden and how nature bounced back with tender care. Enjoyment in her 80's is contagious for all ages. As I walk the sidewalks in April and see the lavender blossoms from wysteria, I think of young at heart Mrs. Whaley.