No One Gardens Alone : A Life of Elizabeth Lawrence

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Summary: A gardening life
Review: To many gardeners in the south, Elizabeth Lawrence was a source of inspriation as well as an icon. Her first book, "A Southern Garden," published in 1942, has achieved a classic status today and it is a book that readers return to again and again for the pleasure of reading as well as Lawrence's opinions on certain plants. Lawrence lived her entire life in North Carolina taking care of her mother, writing and creating her famous garden. Her first garden was the one her mother created in Raleigh, N.C. Later, mother and daughter moved to Charlotte, N.C. to be nearer to Lawrence's sister and it was here that Elizabeth created her most famous garden. In addition to "A Southern Garden," Lawrence published several more books during her lifetime - "The Little Bulbs" and "Gardens In Winter" as well as writing a weekly column for The Charoltte Observer. A manuscript that she was working on at the time of her death - "Gardening for Love," was published posthumously.

Lawrence was a keen observer of plants and kept meticulous records of bloom dates and her experiences growing them. Her interest was not confined to her own garden though - she corresponded with many gardeners throughout the United States (some well known, some not) and recorded their bloom dates to compare with her own.

A biography of Lawrence's life has been long overdue and author Herring has done a great job depicting the life of this extradordinary woman. Granted, Lawrence led a fairly staid life, but there are some surprises along the way (for example, she did receive a marriage proposal in her later years!). What the book notably achieves is exploring the special friendship that existed between Lawrence and her friends and letter correspondents (many of which - Caroline Dornan, William Lanier Hunt, Katherine White, etc. - are profiled in detail). The title itself refers to a quote from Lawrence which emphasizes that gardening is not a solitary endeavor.