GARDENING LETTERS TO MY DAUGHTER. - Hardcover

Scott, James Anne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0718133722 ISBN 13: 9780718133726

Publisher: Michael Joseph, 1990

Synopsis

Anne Scott-James, by means of light-hearted letters, imparts some of her vast knowledge of gardening to her daughter Clare (sister of Max Hastings) in a most charming manner. Occasionally, Clare will respond. These are written over the period of a year, thus covering the year's cycle in the garden and each letter covers a specific subject such as supplier's catalogues and some gardens to visit.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

Having reached "the creaky years,"sic Scott-James ( Sissinghurst: The Making of a Garden ) began recording her gardening life in a series of letters to her daughter Clare, who was living nearby in the English countryside and had just gotten started on a garden of her own. The result is a comfortably British dialogue on gardening and the cycles of life. Fathers and sons may show love by pondering how life imitates the World Series; this mother and daughter do it by asking each other earnestly, "How do you feel about dahlias?" As with gardening itself, equal attention is paid to the practical ("An actively growing lawn loses nine pints of water per square yard in a day") and the reflective ("I have to garden for myself alone, and I do not like it"). And, as with nearly all mothers and daughters, there is conflict--between the well-planned gardening style of Scott-James and the perceived wildness of her daughter's schemes. For some readers, the tension between the two women will be minor and the mental volleys precious, but for the gardener who calls plants only by their Latin names, it will provide an engaging break from weed guides. Hastings's intricate line drawings are appropriately whimsical.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

When her daughter Clare Hastings decided to start gardening, noted English plantswoman and garden writer Scott-James sent her encouraging letters, offering helpful advice, practical tips, and personal observations. Now, in this collection of her letters with responses from Clare, Scott-James shares her gardening experiences with readers, writing with wit and authority about plants and gardening in the English countryside. Dedicated American gardeners will learn about the English gardening experience from this delightful book. While not an essential purchase, it will sustain the universal charms that many people discover from plants no matter where they garden.
- Dale Luchsinger, Athens Area Technical Inst., Ga .
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Michael Joseph
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0718133722
• ISBN 13: 9780718133726
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192