Customer Reviews

People with Dirty Hands: The Passion for Gardening

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
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I absolutely loved this book! It is the perfect gift for the gardening fanatic!!

The author, Robin Chotzinoff, decided to tour the country in search of understanding why some people become obsessed with gardening. What she found was a collection of people, as colorful as the plants they grow. A man who grows 450 tomato plants in his backyard, because "You can't buy a tomato." The Texas Rose Rustlers, who propagate old-fashioned roses they find in cemeteries, because "tea roses are impossible!" Then there is the man who earns a living by selling thousands of gallons of ladybugs. Oh, and we must not forget the Green Guerrilla who delivers manure to New York City gardeners.

Like many obsessive gardeners, I use to wonder:

"Am I alone? Why wasn't everyone an obsessive gardener? How could they not be?"

Fear not obsessive gardeners! You are not alone! Robin Chotzinoff says she likes writing about gardeners because they are much more interesting than real people. As I always say, "Anyone can be normal."

This is a very fun book. I have a big stack of gardening reading, and this one stayed at the top until it was done. If you manage to get through this book not wanting to plant roses or peppers or some new plant for you, then you are stronger than I am. It brings humanity into gardening in well told stories.

Most gardening books are targeted for the avid gardener--and rapidly lapse into the 'how' and 'what' of gardening. This book comes firmly down on the side of the fence labeled "why"--and explores the whimsical and unpredictable roads that lead to planting a garden--and maintaining it. This is a book for the random gardener who may not follow all the rules, but gardens because they love dirt and the stuff it produces. Great gift book for the haphazard garden lover.

Some gardening books are about particular gardens, others about favorite plants. Some writers look back over lives of gardening and living and write reflective passages. Others travel to beautiful gardens that have stood the test of time and share what they find. This little book does a bit of all these things.

Gardeners will appreciate "People With Dirty Hands." While it does not describe the elementary aspects of gardening, it does take a new angle -- describing some of the action behind the scene at the local plant nursery.

In the past few years, Rosarians have noticed an explosion in the quality, kind, and appearance of roses. In a day when hybridizers are splicing genes and bringing all kinds of mutants into the commercial world, a number of naturalists, gardeners, and botanists are saying, "Look what we're leaving behind!" Once lost, the past can never be recovered.

"People With Dirty Hands" follows the adventures of those concerned with saving the past. The 'Rose Rustlers" are my favorites. These plant collectors drive all over the old rural areas, particularly in the plains states (Texsas) looking for old, abandoned but still thriving roses. The roses can be found in cemetaries, on fences along the road, and covering the collapsed timbers of old houses, barns, or pig stys. The 'Rose Rustlers' take grafts from the old plants and start new plants and pass them along to caring gardeners. The idea is to propagate the old roses and keep them going. Some biologists do this for scientific reasons, but many ordinary gardeners are joining hands across the nation to keep the old plants alive. They are saving the past for the future generations.

This book is a most for anyone who gardens or knows someone who gardens. Funny, down to earth, and full of interesting stories from across the country. Robin is a gifted writer, I recommend this book highly.

What drives some people to obsess about their tomato plants so much that you wonder if they need a straightjacket as much as
a nice gardening hat? Author Robin Chotzinoff went in search of eccentric gardeners who do more than grow veggies, flowers
and herbs - they show us how magical a patch of dirt can be. In People With Dirty Hands, read about the Texas Rose
Rustlers who find old roses growing in the oddest places (like graveyards), propagate them and then sell the flowers to people
who aren't interested in raising genetically-altered blossoms. This book also has tales about ladybug farmers, big city manure
delivery folks and more. (...)

It was a joy to read about others that perceive gardening to be a spiritual experience.Funny,delightful,heart-warming. One destination...many paths.Enrich yourself.

More chatty and narative, less like a botony text, more like a chat with an old gardener style wise, well many old gardeners, young gardeners, heck just happy gardeners of every sze, shape, color and style. After reading the chapter on roses, my formerly greatest hated flower, I am now an avid rose rustler. Just a great book. Gotta go, working on my garden tonight.

Holly

Some cute, quirky people featured in here. Shows the emotional need that gardening can often fulfill. When describing strangers, the author spins interesting and compelling stories. Unfortunately, when she writes about her family and friends, she loses her thread and the tales become self-indulgent and unfocused.

This wonderful book is fast reading and humerous. It is full of stories about growing whatever is your passion. Great for all gardeners and those who aren't. I absolutely enjoyed this book, and I am not a gardener. Just one who appreciates those who are!