Gardening Secrets That
Time Forgot by John Yeoman (The Village
Guild Ltd. The Old School House, Ivinghoe Aston
Leighton Buzzard, Beds LU7 9DP, UK; 2004) is a delightful
book. Not only will it make the reader chuckle,
or guffaw but, as advertised, it shares unusual
medieval garden lore still useful today. The author
transports us to 15th Century England with writings
from his "ancestor." He also acts as present-day
editor with sidebars that comment on different elements
of the "15th Century writings." Cleverly
written, well researched, Yeoman's book is a yeoman
production that will enliven any reader's gardening
library.
The Curious Gardener by Jurgen Dahl (The Timber Press, The Haseltine
Bldg., 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland
OR 97204-3527; 2004; $24.95) is a series of essays
by a gardener who honors and appreciates the complexities
and richness of the natural world. The author states,
"[The curious gardener] is much more concerned
with trying out old and new ways of doing things,
in seeking out unknown plants, with perceiving the
traces of life that often go unnoticed as they wind
their way through the garden." This is the
theme of the book through Dahl's diverse observations
and musings about his own garden in Germany. With
child-like exuberance he shares his observations
on subjects as seemingly diverse as puff balls (they
can be sliced and pan fried) and warty cabbage.
Dahl devotes a whole section to plants that smell
bad, pointing out that what is acceptable as an
odor varies widely among people and cultures. This
book may inspire the reader to observe more closely
the life of her own garden.
The Hidden Messages in
Water by Masaru Emoto (Beyond Words Publishing,
20827 NW Cornell Road, Suite 500, Hillsboro OR 97124-9809;
2004; $16.95) is a continuation of the author's
first three volumes, Messages from Water. In this
book Emoto ponders the meaning of what his research
with water crystals has brought forth. He has photographed
water crystals from many different sources and from
water that has been exposed to music, photographs,
and written words wrapped around the water container.
The book includes many photos, all of which seem
to indicate that water responds to these external
sources. Emoto believes that since so much of the
Earth is water, and since people themselves are
50 to 90 percent water, we can influence with our
thoughts and actions what happens in the world.
He believes that the words "love" and
"gratitude" are the key to change. The
color photos beautifully convey the book's message.
In Continuous Bloom: a
Month-By-Month Guide to Non-Stop Color in the Perennial
Garden by Pam Duthie (Ball Publishing,
335 N. River Street, Batavia IL 60510; 2000), photographs,
rather than text, are used to encourage the reader
to let her garden bloom throughout the year. Large
color illustrations of what perennials are growing
each month, from March through October, make up
the heart of the book. Each flower is then briefly
described, including what it best combines with.
At the end of the book Duthie provides a summary
of growing tips and appendices of resources.
The What Color Is Your
Parachute Workbook (Ten-Speed Press; 1998;
$9.95) presents an expanded version of one of the
most popular exercises from the original Parachute.
This exercise guides the reader step by step through
a process of discovering what s/he truly wants in
a job and what skills, training, values and beliefs,
among other qualities, s/he possesses to manifest
this job. The workbook is comprehensive, presenting
factors not often found in other career guides.
Tipi Living by
Patrick Whitefield (Chelsea Green, distributor;
1987; 2000) describes the author's own experience
and what he has gleaned "from other tipi people."
He offers it "as a door opening on the possibility
of a new way of life," one directly connected
with nature. Whitefield states his own reasons for
living in a tipi, how to choose and put one up,
and how to maintain and move it. He looks on the
fire as the heart of a tipi and describes the best
types of wood to use and how to build the fire.
This is a very small book that contains useful information
for potential tipi living.
Country Wisdom and Know-How:
Everything You Need to Know to Live Off the Land (Distributed by Workman Publishing Co., 708 Broadway,
New York NY 10003; 2004; $19.95) is a compendium
of Country Wisdom bulletins, first published by
Storey Books in the 1970s. Included are complete
directions for making cheese and yogurt, instructions
for keeping chickens and rabbits, and butchering
livestock. There is a section on simple home repairs
and another with lots of practical information on
what to do when the power fails. A large gardening
section has good information on soil and many other
aspects of gardening. This is a lot of information
for a small price-the book's cover advertises "8,167
Useful Skills and Step-by-Step Instructions."
Not all are survival skills; there are many for
crafts, bird watching, etc. But with this much to
choose from, the reader is likely to find a great
deal that is useful for his or her situation. |