Mrs. Greenthumbs: How I Turned a Boring Yard into a Glorious Garden and How You Can, Too (Paperback)

~ (Author) "A lot of people think that to make a garden, all you have to do is put a few seeds in the ground..." (more)
Key Phrases: sylvestris zebrina, lilac hedge, double digging, New York, Gertrude Jekyll, Aunt Dotty (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Witty, informative, and fun, Mrs. Greenthumbs proves that Cassandra Danz is to flower gardening what the Frugal Gourmet is to cooking! More like an experienced neighbor than a gardening authority, she offers advice based on hard-won experience that just can't be found in other gardening reference books. 13 line drawings.

From the Inside Flap

Witty, informative, and fun, Mrs. Greenthumbs proves that Cassandra Danz is to flower gardening what the Frugal Gourmet is to cooking! More like an experienced neighbor than a gardening authority, she offers advice based on hard-won experience that just can't be found in other gardening reference books. 13 line drawings.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (March 2, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517880105
• ISBN-13: 978-0517880104
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #530,993 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cassandra Danz is the ultimate Earth Mother., February 10, 1999

By A Customer

I bought this book as a last minute gift for my best friend, a nursery owner, fully expecting her to send it back to me after she finished reading it, as she usually does ( as thrifty as Mrs. Greenthumbs!). It is now circulating around the garden club members in Prince George, British Columbia. Her rave reviews prompted me to buy my own copy. I can see why it never got back to Vancouver. This book has made me less anxious about my gardens and more at peace about my failures. Gardening has become sexy!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Making Gardening The Way It Should Be - Fun, April 18, 1998

By A Customer

For anyone who is thinking about putting in a garden, yet intimidated everytime they walk into a nursery, this is the book for you. Not really a how-to book, but more of a witty, down to earth overview of gardening as a whole with plenty of help hints and advice. I've read this book over and over and I still find it both funny and inspiring. Should be required reading for everyone new to gardening.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of Gardening's Sexier Tomes, February 25, 2004

By	Ashley Lambert-Maberly (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a charming and delightful book, as enjoyable a read for the novice (who will appreciate the practical tips) as for the experienced gardener (who will shake their head knowingly in agreement).

Danz is a very funny writer, and I've reread this book just for the pleasure of such sections as translating DayLily Catalogue Language (basically, "red" = orange, "yellow" = orange, "orange" = bright orange, and "red with a yellow throat" = orange-from-more-than-two feet away).

She seems quite a lusty lady as well, and proud of her married status (she claims that as a married woman, she has a rough sense of what 6-8 inches means and thus doesn't need a ruler to plant bulbs).

Very recommended.

Note: a 3 star ranking from me is actually pretty good; I reserve 4 stars for tremendously good works, and 5 only for the rare few that are or ought to be classic; unfortunately most books published are 2 or less.