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Summary: Dear Sister, We have a new best friend!
Review: Dear Sister,
We have a new best friend.Joy! Today is Book Club day, and Joyce McGreevy, the author of "Gardening by Heart" is coming to talk to/with our group. We just finished her book and I loved it. It isn't a novel. It is not a self-help book. It isn't a gardening book. It isn't a poetry book. It is a poetic story about nurturing our hearts, our gardens. Hmm, is it a story? No, actually. There is no story-story, just a string of anecdotes and remembrances involving the author's mother and siblings and friends and jobs. Her writing is the thing. She writes like a poet, but it isn't poetry per se. Well, I'll go upstairs and get the book and excerpt it for you...hold on... Without looking, I just opened the book to this page: Strawberries at Dawn "The first pale amber rays of sun have backlit the somber mountains. A coastal live oak rustles. The birds are stirring. In my garden, the poppies are rolled up tightly like saffron scrolls. I'm on my knees, coffee within easy reach, as I set a blue salvia into the ground the way a parent might ease a sleepy child back into bed." Dawn is the best time of day to do almost anything. The phone holds its tongue and there are no appointments. One's mind is fertile with dreams whose meanings flower best in a hushed world." [Isn't that wonderful?] more... "In the garden, time itself seems to expand. Later in the day I may fret about getting to this appointment or achieving that task "on time", but early in the morning I seem to have all the time in the world. The killing frost of anxiety is held at bay, letting ideas and insights establish strong roots." She starts each chapter with a quote from another author or poet. "Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace."--May Sarton, Journals She advocates keeping a nature journal...at the office. "...it consisted of a burgeoning collection of index cards, each of which bore a hastily penciled sentence or two about something I had observed, whether on the way to work, from my window, or during a lunch break....The French say of good gardeners not that they have a green thumb but that they have un main vert, a green hand. With every entry I penciled in I was keeping my hand green and subsequently nurturing the heart, even in the midst of computers, stark white partitions, and fluorescent lighting." Don't you just love her? I can't wait to meet our new best friend. Love,
Your sister
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Summary: WE READ IT....WE LOVED IT!
Review: GARDENING BY HEART is a delightful collection of heartfelt thoughts written in a way that will charm every reader. McGreevy has to be a very nice person ---her writing makes that very clear to the reader.
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Summary: Read this book in your garden!
Review: I just finished reading this lovely book over a two day period while sitting in my garden. Joyce McGreevy's advice about living in the moment and appreciating even the smallest living thing should become words to live by for all of us hurtling through the beginning of this new century. She encourages her readers to establish and maintain contact with nature, even if it is just being aware of the new sprouts on our pepperomia. She offers receipes, practical advice and unique ideas about how to engage even a recalcitrant child or a grumpy crumudgeon in the wonders of the natural world.
This is a MUST read for all gardeners no matter what your experience!
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Summary: Review of "Gardening by Heart"
Review: I really enjoyed reading "Gardening by Heart" by Joyce McGreevy.A lovely A lovely gentle sense of humour runs through it.The authors command of language and her imaginative writimg is impressive. Of course Im not surprised really,having read, several years ago, her hauntingly beautiful poem "These needles through our own lives, too, have moved." Its a book for all seasions, entertaining,humorous, informative. I have always loved gardening, especially the cultivation of roses, but if I had never gardened before I feel that I would be absolutely compelled to "have a go" after reading this lovely book. All the chapters are entertaining but I especially liked the wonderfully descriptive and inspiring prose of "Sacred Gardens are Everywhere". In "Eating, Sleeping and Living in the Garden" we get wistful, nostalgic recollections plus some mouth watering recipes. However I think Ill skip the "Iced Tea" recipe. I tried it once in Concord, New Hampshire many years ago and found that it was not for me! In "Strawberries at Dawn" we get wonderful imagery - "Ones mind is fertile with dreams whose meanings flower best in a hushed world." However I think my favourite is "Its all Rented". Of course I may be biased - its about Galway! But no, really I just love the mischievous humour. In short the book is full of wit and humour and a joy to read. I would also like to commend "Sierra Club Books" for a beautifully produced product. Sean Stafford, Galway, Ireland.
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Summary: Grow your plants; grow your soul
Review: I'm free, free, at last! Emancipated from a gardener's work ethic--weeding, deadheading, fertilizing etc. Joyce McGreevy goes literally to the heart of gardening and nourishes the soul with her grace and wit and exquisite writing. McGreevy's descriptions of her mother's gardens as a place for relating to people, for celebrating the spirit of the day or season, help the gardener to not only grow the roses, but wake up and smell them and share all that with others. Just BE in the garden. Of course, there won't be a garden without some routine work, but this inspirational little book shows us how to use our gardens or other people's gardens to renew our connection to the earth, to all creation, and to heal from modern day busy sickness. I hope to hear more from this talented writer.
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Summary: Grow your plants; grow your soul
Review: I'm free, free, at last! Emancipated from a gardener's work ethic--weeding, deadheading, fertilizing etc. Joyce McGreevy goes literally to the heart of gardening and nourishes the soul with her grace and wit and exquisite writing. McGreevy's descriptions of her mother's gardens as a place for relating to people, for celebrating the spirit of the day or season, help the gardener to not only grow the roses, but wake up and smell them and share all that with others. Just BE in the garden. Of course, there won't be a garden without some routine work, but this inspirational little book shows us how to use our gardens or other people's gardens to renew our connection to the earth, to all creation, and to heal from modern day busy sickness. I hope to hear more from this talented writer.
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Summary: Zen Gardening....
Review: My mother said you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but in this case you can. The assortment of beautiful hybrid sunflowers on the jacket of "Gardening by Heart" speaks volumes. The jacket says the book is a cornucopia of practical garden tips, and I would agree. This is a rich assortment of nuggets of truth, anecdotes of wisdom, and images of joy. Author McGreevy is a transplant from Ireland who lives and works in sunny Monterrey California. Her insights into the heart of gardening reflect the reasons for living. Picture a young girl, naked sitting on a fence in winter singing to the snowflakes. Or a woman up at dawn sampling strawberries at 5:00 a.m. Later in the day the author will fret about schedules and such, but in the quiet morning air all's right with the world. Ms. McGreevy has suggestions for making the world a little bit better place for yourself: savor the descriptive passages in books; learn the names of five native wild flowers; write your observations of the seasons on the kitchen calendar; come to your senses. How long has it been since you stopped to smell the roses? The most striking passage for me was Ms McGreevy's thoughts on perfectus negativis. This occurs when you cannot see the beauty in your own garden. Others pick out and admire something, but all you can see is the bare patch or the weed at twenty paces. Ms. McGreevy says you should see the bare patch as the bit of unworked canvas in your painting, and instead of noticing the clover in the petunias, notice the petunias. I have a beautiful garden. Folks admire it everyday. Sunday, the police came to our house in response to a call my husband made about a radio stolen Saturday night from his car. The policeman wrote up the details, then he stopped in the middle of my front yard which is 100% garden and said "You've got a beautiful garden." For once, heeding Ms. McGreevy, I said Thank you. The book is a thin volume, 188 pages, with type on only about half the page. When I first opened the box from Amazon I thought, "I've been had" but decided to actually read the book and discovered you can say a lot in a small space if you are as accomplished a writer as Ms. McGreevy.
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Summary: Review of "Gardening by Heart"
Review: Perfect reading at bedtime or early morning with a cup of your favorite hot beverage. Actually, it's perfect reading anytime--thought-provoking, warm, and funny. My partner and I both enjoyed it immensely, but the biggest impact it made was on my mother. I sent her a copy for Mother's Day and she read a little bit every day during her radiation treatments for breast cancer. She loved it so much she bought copies for the waiting room--she said it had the power to inspire in the face of physical suffering. A great gift for yourself, a loved one, or--as my mother did--for strangers in need of a boost. Enjoy!
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Summary: A Sense of Joy
Review: Rare and few are the books which offer inspiration, motivation, humor and insight page upon page. Joyce McGreevy's Gardening by Heart is a treasure of a book; if all you have time for in one reading is a paragraph or a line, you still come away with a refreshed perspective on how to make your office, home, or garden, a more enriching place. And for many of us, before rushing off to work or to all the demands of the day, that may be all we have time for. Even if you are one of those lucky creatures who HAS time to read the book straight through, you will want to savor each chapter, sipping it slowly like a fine cup of tea. McGreevy's writing style is simultaneously colloquial and compressed, allowing the reader to luxuriate in a language where so much is contained in very few words. Like a timeless poem, Gardening by Heart is a book you will want to return to again and again. Since reading this book I've turned my office into a place where people like to visit between their conferences and phone calls, the myriad of obligations awaiting them on their computers. Never having gardened in my life, I've found that the six plants which now occupy my area have utterly changed the atmosphere surrounding my desk. Co-workers can't help from noticing the growth and blossoms of the plants, and the compliments I receive for creating a nice place to be are endless. The fact is, I don't even have an office. My desk is in plain view of the staircase and hallway. Now it's beginning to resemble an upscale, landscaped lobby - the only thing missing is the Greek water fountain! Be aware, however, that McGreevy is no Martha Stewart. On the tail of each sincere suggestion for improving the details of our lives are anecdotes that will bring tears of laughter to your eyes! She never takes herself so seriously that her Irish wit is lost in the message. Read the book and listen as her voice floats over you like a hummingbird amidst the flowers - always a delightful surprise, no matter how many times you've seen a hummingbird before. A sense of joy in the little things we can each do to enhance our own reality is the wonderful gift I've received from this book. And I say, "thank you."
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Summary: The wisdom of the garden
Review: The pace of modern life being what it is, time for leisure is all too often forgotten, or worse yet, scheduled. Even the things that should be done for pleasure end up being chores. It takes a book like "Gardening By Heart: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Garden" to remind us that it's okay to operate at the earth's pace, not the relentless cyber-speed treadmill that so many of us are on. Author Joyce McGreevy has written an interesting hybrid. It's not really a gardening book per se (although there are some lovely tips inside). At times, it's a memoir, as she relates stories about family and friends, and recalls the loss of her mother to cancer. Mostly, it's a reminder that the green, growing things of the world are balm to souls, that we literally need to stop and smell the roses in order to remain human. McGreevy's creed of getting back to the garden is strengthened through a variety of creative suggestions that will help even the most city-bound folks find a patch of earth to cultivate. Even if it's just a pot of daffodils sitting on a sunny windowsill, McGreevy said, it's worth having. She also shares her own many-spendored memories of creating gardens, both in the United States and abroad. Her tales stress the importance of stewardship of the earth, as opposed to ownership. McGreevy leaves no leaf unturned, even expounding on the loveliness of the lowly potato and the role of "weeds" in our yards. With good humor and humanity, she explores the ways in which gardens enrich our lives. She also urges readers to make their children part of the gardening experience, letting them get their hands into the soil and planting something for themselves. This is not only pleasurable, but also a valuable lesson for young ones in how to bring forth new life and nurture it. McGreevy instructs without preachiness, and illuminates without verbosity. Hers is one literary garden worth visiting.
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