Gardening by Heart: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Garden (Sierra Club Books Publication) (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gardens are places where we can witness in hushed amazement the beauty of a hummingbird in flight. McGreevy writes for all who are grateful for such encounters, and for others who may wish to be reminded that those magical moments occur. In essays that reflect on her own life experiences, McGreevy affirms that sacred elements can and do exist in unlikely places, too. Her inspirational reminiscences urge readers to behold the wonders of the natural world, both grand and small. Projects to heighten awareness, and recipes that celebrate the harvesting of vegetables and herbs, commingle with her musings. Whether encouraging readers to gaze on weeds from a new perspective or reflecting on the link between the rain forest and eating a hamburger, McGreevy contemplates the connectedness of all living things. Alice Joyce
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description

A collection of evocative personal essays about the practical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of gardening, including gardening tips, recipes, and ideas.
With warmth, wit, and wisdom, author Joyce McGreevy looks to gardening as a source of creativity, spirituality, and inspiration, and she offers practical ideas for gardening--and living life--to the fullest. Her essays include "Gardening Without a Clue," which asserts that one's sense of wonder coupled with nature's own revelations are the greatest gardening teachers; "It's All Rented," which begins as a humorous account of a gardening experience in Ireland and becomes a gentle call for stewardship, rather than ownership, of the Earth; and "Eating, Sleeping, and Living in the Garden," which invites readers to rediscover the traditional rituals of leisure.
With so many of us longing to slow our frantic pace and live more authentically, this timely book shows us how gardening "by Heart" can help us do just that and thereby enrich all aspects of our lives.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 206 pages
• Publisher: Sierra Club Books (April 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578050510
• ISBN-13: 978-1578050512
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #936,604 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The true meaning of gardening, May 9, 2000

By	V.J. Billings (Mountain Valley Growers Squaw Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Steal some moments from your hectic day and let Joyce McGreevy entertain you. You might want to steal more than a few because once you start this book you will not want to be interrupted.

This is a story book of life inspired by her Mother's death and her Mother's garden. And, her Mother must have been a remarkable woman. She certainly seemed to know how to enjoy and transfer, if even subtly, her love of plants.

Now, a gardener herself, Ms. McGreevy shares the wonders of gardening with both practical ideas and anecdotal musings. Her book contains a smattering of recipes and practical tips all peppered with her miraculous insight.  To quote her quoting her Mother, "Life is like a party. It starts before you arrive and keeps on going after you leave, so you might as well celebrate while you are here."

She may call herself The Potato Queen (you will have to read why for yourself), but Joyce is really the queen of her 'party'. Hopefully, after you read her book you will feel like the queen (or the king) of your 'party' too.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zen Gardening...., July 18, 2000

By	Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

My mother said you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but in this case you can. The assortment of beautiful hybrid sunflowers on the jacket of "Gardening by Heart" speaks volumes.

The jacket says the book is a cornucopia of practical garden tips, and I would agree. This is a rich assortment of nuggets of truth, anecdotes of wisdom, and images of joy.

Author McGreevy is a transplant from Ireland who lives and works in sunny Monterrey California. Her insights into the heart of gardening reflect the reasons for living.

Picture a young girl, naked sitting on a fence in winter singing to the snowflakes. Or a woman up at dawn sampling strawberries at 5:00 a.m. Later in the day the author will fret about schedules and such, but in the quiet morning air all's right with the world.

Ms. McGreevy has suggestions for making the world a little bit better place for yourself: savor the descriptive passages in books; learn the names of five native wild flowers; write your observations of the seasons on the kitchen calendar; come to your senses. How long has it been since you stopped to smell the roses?

The most striking passage for me was Ms McGreevy's thoughts on perfectus negativis. This occurs when you cannot see the beauty in your own garden. Others pick out and admire something, but all you can see is the bare patch or the weed at twenty paces. Ms. McGreevy says you should see the bare patch as the bit of unworked canvas in your painting, and instead of noticing the clover in the petunias, notice the petunias.

I have a beautiful garden. Folks admire it everyday. Sunday, the police came to our house in response to a call my husband made about a radio stolen Saturday night from his car. The policeman wrote up the details, then he stopped in the middle of my front yard which is 100% garden and said "You've got a beautiful garden." For once, heeding Ms. McGreevy, I said Thank you.

The book is a thin volume, 188 pages, with type on only about half the page. When I first opened the box from Amazon I thought, "I've been had" but decided to actually read the book and discovered you can say a lot in a small space if you are as accomplished a writer as Ms. McGreevy.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of "Gardening by Heart", August 22, 2000

A Kid's Review

I really enjoyed reading "Gardening by Heart" by Joyce McGreevy.A lovely A lovely gentle sense of humour runs through it.The authors command of language and her imaginative writimg is impressive. Of course Im not surprised really,having read, several years ago, her hauntingly beautiful poem "These needles through our own lives, too, have moved." Its a book for all seasions, entertaining,humorous, informative. I have always loved gardening, especially the cultivation of roses, but if I had never gardened before I feel that I would be absolutely compelled to "have a go" after reading this lovely book. All the chapters are entertaining but I especially liked the wonderfully descriptive and inspiring prose of "Sacred Gardens are Everywhere". In "Eating, Sleeping and Living in the Garden" we get wistful, nostalgic recollections plus some mouth watering recipes. However I think Ill skip the "Iced Tea" recipe. I tried it once in Concord, New Hampshire many years ago and found that it was not for me! In "Strawberries at Dawn" we get wonderful imagery - "Ones mind is fertile with dreams whose meanings flower best in a hushed world." However I think my favourite is "Its all Rented". Of course I may be biased - its about Galway! But no, really I just love the mischievous humour. In short the book is full of wit and humour and a joy to read. I would also like to commend "Sierra Club Books" for a beautifully produced product. Sean Stafford, Galway, Ireland.