Description:
This anthology edited by novelist Jamaica Kincaid is a fascinatingly quirky compilation of writings about plants by the people who love them. Some are exceedingly practical--Ken Druse's essay "Desire Under the Jacks" gives you all the information you need to grow Arisaema triphyllum from seed--while others are more lyrical, such as Colette's writings on lilies and hellebores, and the poetry scattered among the essays. Like a magazine, there are pages you may skip over because you find the subject or style doesn't appeal to you, only to find yourself riveted by the next piece of writing, which awakens in you a lust to own a plant, the existence of which you were unaware of a few minutes earlier. The very best writing opens your eyes to something new: an experience, an object, a place, or in this instance, a plant. Every type of gardener, novice, expert, or dreamer will find such writings within these pages. With its compact format, this is a book that can be slipped into the pocket and dipped into in those moments that become available between life's many activities, or put next to a guest bed for the enjoyment of visitors. The idiosyncratic typeface may not appeal at first, but you will get used to it. --Stephanie Donaldson
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