Customer Reviews

Pleasures of the Cottage Garden

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

 

 

My shelves groan from the weight of gardening books, most of which I never look at twice. But this book is one of the very few which never gathers dust.

First, there are dozens of exquisite photos of different styles of cottage gardens in a variety of locations. Individual plants are identified, as well as pictured within a larger garden context; a welcome change from the many books which provide relatively useless close-up, glamour shots or large landscapes with not a single plant identified. What is truly helpful is to see how the plant will look situated in an actual garden. I know what the flower of Sombreuil looks like: what I 'd like to see is this charming rose actually climbing the front of house. Fortunately, the photos in Pleasures of a Cottage Garden happily oblige.

Secondly, the writing is superb: authoritative, experienced and witty. Whereas many gardening books are either written like seed catalogs or as filler for coffee table photo albums, this book is more like spending a sunny afternoon reminiscing with a wise and witty old gardener. Mr. Rand weaves together a history of cottage gardening, memories of his mother's garden and his own experiences in four different zones, with a wealth of practical information on individual plants, not to mention such important topics as color, light, and fragrance. Not forgotten are the edibles without which a cottage garden would seem only half alive.

Thirdly, in addition to the glorious photos, expert writing, and historical research, this books offers a series of excercises which can help today's cottage gardener to discover what they truly want from their plot of earth, and how to achieve it. Almost a 12-step program for gardeners with creative block. The excercises were surprisingly effective...and delightfully revealing.

Like a cottage garden, this book will catch you unawares with its depth and variety, as it subtly charms you with its humble beauty.

A keeper.

There are a lot of beautiful garden books available right now and this is one of them, but with some differences that make it well worth owning or giving. While it is filled with gorgeous color photos of flowers and gardens, it is the writing that makes it special. Rand Lee writes in an intimate, amusing style that feels like a letter from a friend - I was hooked immediately. His "Ruling Passion" exercises are a wonderful way to begin to envision your perfect garden or fine tune an already thriving one. Also of note are his sample collections of plants to create borders with various themes. My favorite chapter though is "Fragrance in the Cottage Garden". It was a delight to find a whole chapter devoted to a garden pleasure which doesn't get enough attention in either the literature or the breeding of new plants. Woven throughout the narrative is lots of information on specific plants and their cultivation. Some gardeners may be put off by the author's non-linear approach, but as with the cottage garden itself, I found that to be one of the book's charms.

At last, a cottage gardening book for Americans! (Although many of the luscious photos appear to be English.) The most valuable chapter is early on, The Ruling Passion exercise. Please take time out from reading to answer the questions and think about what you really want and need from your garden. You might be surprised by what you discover. I attended a wonderful lecture Rand gave on this topic, which generated more enthusiasm than any talk I can remember. A couple of participants were shocked to discover that what they thought they wanted was, in fact, what their friends or neighbors expected, and not what truly gave them pleasure and satisfaction. The realization was shocking, but also exhilarating and energizing, renewing enthusiasm for the hard work of gardening. This is gardening from the heart and for the soul. It also makes for entertaining reading on a snowy day.

A very enjoyable read. The pictures are lovely and the exercizes for determining your ruling passions for planning your garden are excellent. I highly recommend it for anyone who loves cottage gardens.

A beautiful book with exquisite photography, touching stories (the part about the author's mother & brother made me sniffle a bit) and amusing informative descriptions of the author's garden. May Mr Lee grow anemones
someday!

I am pleasently surprised by this book. It of course has beautiful photos, but very good information on plants as well. I can see this one being useful and kept within reach for ideas. Well done.

A lot of the pictures in this book appear to be digitally enhanced. Flower edges are blurred and blooms seem to float uniformly over masses of green. Where is the imagination in that? I can photoshop a garden and copy the same flower over and over too.