Product Details

Publishers Weekly

Washington Post columnist Mitchell ( The Essential Earthman ) brings together a year's worth of wry observations about the peculiarities and pleasures of gardening in this anthology. His book, designed primarily for small town gardens of less than a quarter-acre, and written from the relatively balmy perspective of Washington, D.C. (climatic zone 5), is the perfect makings of a winter read for those planning next year's garden. Mitchell's chatty style is entertaining as well as informative, and he mixes details of garden advice with liberal doses of Johnsonian philosophy, appropriately noting the vanity of human wishes, the defeat of a gardener's best intentions, and the joy of the unexpected and unplanned. While it contains some unnecessary repetition (perhaps less noticeable when the material was published as a weekly column), the collection manages to include a surprising range of topics, plants and personal asides. Water gardeners in particular will enjoy Mitchell's obsession with water lilies, other aquatic plants and fish. Other essays touch on wildlife in town gardens, and the ineradicable nature of bindweed. The book is divided into 12 chapters corresponding to months of the year, each introduced with an attractive line drawing by Susan Davis. (Oct.)

Library Journal

Gardeners will smile at the wit that Washington Post garden writer Mitchell displays in this collection of short essays arranged loosely by the gardening year. Most gardeners will agree with Mitchell's sensible philosophy: ``Gardening is full of mistakes, almost all of them pleasant and some of them actually instructive.'' This is an experienced gardener/environmentalist who mixes solid gardening information along with the right blend of humor and human interest to hold the attention of gardener readers. His book offers an instructive and mellow look at year-round garden activities. Suitable for most public libraries.-- Dale Luchsinger, Athens Area Technical Inst., Ga.

The New York Times Book Review, 1992 - Anne Raver

...[E]very page is filled with his irascible, wholly unpretentious voice...Mitchell never tries to be funny or erudite. He just is.