Green Thoughts: A Writer in the Garden - Eleanor Perenyi

nUnlike any other gardening book I know, with its Old World charm, its down-to-earth practicality, its whimsy and sophistication.--Brooke Astor, The New York Times Book Review nA classic in the literature of the garden, Green Thoughts is a beautifully written and highly original collection of seventy-two essays, alphabetically arranged, on topics ranging from Annuals and Artichokes to Weeds and Wildflowers. An amateur gardener for over thirty years, Eleanor Per nyi draws upon her wide-ranging knowledge of gardening lore to create a delightful, witty blend of how-to advice, informed opinion, historical insight, and philosophical musing. There are entries in praise of earthworms and in protest of rock gardens, a treatise on the sexual politics of tending plants, and a paean to the salubrious effect of gardening (see Longevity ). Twenty years after its initial publication, Green Thoughts remains as much a joy to read as ever. n n This Modern Library edition is published with a new Introduction by Allen Lacy, former gardening columnist for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times and the author of numerous gardening books. n nYou do not have to be a good gardener to fall in love with Green Thoughts. It reads with the intrepid assurance of a classic.--Mary McCarthy, The New York Review of Books n nOne of those dangerous reference works that you reach for at a moment of horticultural crisis or indecision only to find yourself an hour later browsing far beyond the page where you began.--The New Yorkern