Winter Reading

Elisabeth — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 13:46:00 GMT

Starting on December twenty-second, daylight begins returning. For most gardeners, though, it will be at least two months before the very first signs of spring begin to make themselves known. In the meantime, good gardening books can sustain flagging inspiration levels and warm the soul. One of the warmest and best of these books is Passalong Plants by Steve Bender and Felder Rushing (The University of North Carolina Press, 1993).

Bender and Rushing are veteran gardeners and garden writers. They are also southerners with the characteristic southern gifts of earthiness, humor and highly descriptive prose.

"Passalong plants" are not unique to the South. Anyone who has ever gotten a cutting, root, division or a handful of seeds from a friend or relative has become the owner of a passalong plant. The plants that Bender and Rushing describe are easy to grow (sometimes too easy) and easy to love. Some of them, like star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum), can be downright invasive under the right circumstances. Another, kudzu, is beyond invasive, having passed itself around so thoroughly that it has engulfed parts of the South. In the case of kudzu, the authors don't so much encourage people to grow it as pay humorous tribute to its tenacity.

Rushing and Bender celebrate the beautiful plants like cleome, fragrant specimens such as tuberose and even unusual species like Rosa viridiflora, the green rose. Quirky section headings including "Wherefore Art Thou Deutzia" and "A Chaste Tree Kept Them Pure" add flavor. The penultimate chapter, "Well I Think It's Pretty," pays tongue-in-cheek tribute to outstanding examples of southern yard art like pink plastic flamingos, bottle trees and crown tires.

Like all the best gardening books, Passalong Plants instructs, inspires and makes you want to run out into your own garden. Even if you've never been south of the Mason Dixon, you will relish Passalong Plants.

Henry Mitchell

Elisabeth — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 22:40:00 GMT

At this time of year, people who are a bit proactive start thinking about holiday gifts. If you are looking for the perfect gift for a gardener, look no further than Henry Mitchell.

Mitchell, who died in 1992, was a Texas native, a veteran journalist and a passionate gardener. For twenty years he wrote a column, "The Essential Earthman," for the Washington Post. His columns were published in book form, and those books include One Man's Garden, The Essential Earthman and Henry Mitchell on Gardening. America has produced many fine garden writers, but in my opinion, Mitchell was the best. His work was accessible, earthy, funny and inspiring. He was literate without being pedantic and sincere without being cloying.

Mitchell wrote about everything from daffodils to water gardens, and most, if not all, of his writing was based on his personal experience. Some of the chapter headings from One Man's Garden provide a nice sample of the flavor of Mitchell's writing. "Maintaining Your Garden and Maintaining Your Sanity" deals with the pleasures and pitfalls of doing your own garden maintenance; "I Try Not to Do Stupid Things," is about planting large vines spaces that are too small for them; and "In Some Gardens, Only the Shadow Grows" is about trees and shade gardening.

Mitchell's best columns contain information on growing a specific plant or type of plants, together with good doses of wisdom and humor. The columns are short enough so that you can read one or two of them before you fall asleep at night. I can't think of a better way to end the day.

Mitchell's books are still in print and are available in some bookstores as well as from the major online booksellers.

Growing Wise : gifts for gardeners

Winter Reading

Henry Mitchell