Farmbrarian

The New York Times called Michele Owens’ Grow The Good Life (2011) “breezy, cantankerous and funny.” That description alone should peak anyone’s interest, but here’s a bit more about the book.

Owens has been gardening for more than two decades and is a contributor to the popular blog Garden Rant. Her book is a memoir of sorts that discusses the many joys of vegetable gardening. Growing your own food can be good for the earth, good for you physical and mental health, and good for your pocketbook. Owens shows that the benefits are many. Her book might be just what you need to go from contemplating gardening to getting your hands dirty.

On Amazon or at your local library.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds has been a leader in selling rare seed varieties for years. And now the founders of Baker Creek, Jere and Emilee Gettle, have published a guide for growing 50 different heirloom vegetables. The Heirloom Life Gardener (Oct. 2011) includes advice on planting, growing, eating and seed saving–and I’m sure much more! The Gettle’s play a crucial role in supporting sustainable agriculture with their seed saving business. Now they’re helping even more by sharing their wealth of knowledge about how to cultivate these foods.

Read an excerpt of the book on NPR.

Find it on Amazon or at your local library!

Click to find at a library near you!

Anyone who has stumbled across a fruit tree while walking the dog probably shares the sentiment of author Darrin Nordahl. To pull a fig, apple or orange from a tree and eat it on the spot is a great experience. Perhaps we enjoy the  fruit because of its freshness, but I suspect there is something more innate about it; as though our bodies simply know this is the healthiest way to eat. Indeed, our ancestors survived exactly this way.

Public Produce (2009) advocates for gardens and fruit trees on public land not just for the enjoyment of dog walkers, but also to improve access to fresh, healthy food. Many of society’s most vulnerable lack the ability to find or afford what has sadly become somewhat of a luxury.

Many cities and municipalities are taking steps in the right direction. Michelle Obama’s much publicized White House garden is a great example. Public land already must be maintained – why not increase its value and grow nutritious foods at the same time? If done with conviction, a community stands to benefit greatly.

Click to find at a library near you!

The Curious Garden  – Written and Illustrated by Peter Brown

One day, in a city devoid of vegetation, a curious boy named Liam stumbles upon a smattering of dying wildflowers and plants growing along an abandoned railway. Though he knows little about gardening, Liam resolves to do what he can to save the tiny garden. As a result of Liam’s dogged determination, the plants flourish. Before long, Liam’s garden begins to spread, not just along the railway, but also throughout the entire city. As the garden grows, so does the community’s involvement in it, until Liam becomes just one of many gardeners in the city.

Inspired by the growth of a real garden along the abandoned Highline railway in Manhattan, this gentle story celebrates both the beauty of nature and the power of one individual to make a difference. The lovely acrylic and gouache illustrations, which include many wordless spreads, depict the almost magical transformation of the city from a bleak place to one full of lush greenery. In a concluding author’s note, Brown encourages his young readers to follow in Liam’s footsteps and look for nature all around them. Recommended for ages 5-8.

Click to find at a library near you!

Over in the Garden – Written by Jennifer Ward, Illustrated by Kenneth J. Spengler

This charming take on the traditional counting rhyme “Over in the Meadow” illuminates the roles played by different critters in a garden. The bright gouache illustrations depict ten large, cheery insects, from pouncing mantises to buzzing bees and glowing beetles. Children will practice both their counting and detective skills, as each spread contains a hidden number reflecting the number of insects on the page. Readers wishing to learn more about the creatures in this tale will find additional information about many of them presented in a “Fun Facts” section in the back. The book concludes with a musical score for those unfamiliar with the tune to Over in the Meadow. Recommended for ages 3-6.

Reviews graciously contributed by our friend Cassandra who works as a Children’s Librarian in the Boston area. If interested in submitting a guest review, contact us!

Click to find at a library near you!

Leslie Marmon Silko, a well-known Native American author, delivers rich prose and a captivating plot in Gardens in the Dunes (1999). The book is a rare work of fiction that fuses imaginary stories with historical and horticultural facts that will pique the interest of many.

Set at the turn of the 19^th century, Indigo and her older sister are the last members of a little-known tribe living in a desert garden oasis. The story follows the young girls as they struggle to survive persecution by American authorities.

Eventually ‘Indian police’ capture the pair and Indigo is sent to an Indian boarding school, while her sister is forced to move to a reservation. As the two displaced sisters try to reunite, the plot thickens. Silko includes a diverse character set and discusses a great number of historical issues, but the gardens in the dunes remain at the heart of the novel.

An intricate fictional storyline and reoccurring themes of botany, horticulture, and respect for the natural world will keep readers turning the pages. For a more thorough summary, see a brief synopsis in Time magazine or a longer review by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The great majority of our reviews will focus on nonfiction. But occasionally we all need a good fictional tale. Finding fiction that incorporates themes of agriculture, ecology, or other related subjects has proven difficult. If you have any suggestions, please share!

Click to find at a library near you!

In July 2005, artist Fritz Haeg arrived in Salina, Kansas to create an exhibition commissioned by the town’s art center. Haeg proceeded to replace the tough Bermuda grass of a selected Salina lawn with a completely edible landscape. Thus began the Edible Estates series.

Haeg warns in the preface that “this book is not intended as a how-to or technical resource for making your own Edible Estate” (11). A scrapbook is a better term.

The book (2008) begins with a series of essays condemning the front lawn, including excerpted text from Michael Pollan’s Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education.  Each essay presents a different perspective, but all of the authors agree that traditional lawns are a useless monoculture. The second portion profiles the Edible Estates Haeg designed throughout the United States and beyond. Reflections from the homeowners who volunteered their lawns are also included here. The next section of the book is comprised of testimonials from others who have transformed their front lawns independent of the Edible Estates project. A planting calendar for each climate zone, a selection of statistics, and a helpful bibliography conclude the book.

The hodge-podge theme is reinforced through the book’s style: matted black and white pages are followed by vibrant, glossy ones, which are proceeded by undyed, textured pages. Just as Haeg’s text combines varying styles and stories to create one-cohesive text, Edible Estates are created by fusing climates, communities, personal preferences, and other influences.

Collectively, lawns comprise more than 30 million acres in the United States (118); and just like lands used for conventional agriculture, most of this acreage is doused yearly with chemicals.  Although this book is far from comprehensive, it serves as an accessible introduction to alternative landscapes that are more productive and more environmentally friendly than the green that likely encircles your home now.

Click here to find at a library near you!

In her book Plant Seed, Pull Weed, Zen Buddhist teacher Geri Larkin tells of achieving spiritual goals through simple acts of gardening. She specifically focuses on the teachings of the ancient text The Ways of the Bodhisattva—which discusses generosity, enthusiasm, patience and other attributes.

The book is much more about Zen than gardening. In each chapter, Larkin uses lighthearted prose to illustrate ways to nurture your soul and improve your outlook on life. Some stories focus on gardening, but many others are about miscellaneous topics.

Plant Seed, Pull Weed is an enlightening read about finding joy in everyday events that gardeners and non-gardeners alike will enjoy.