While I can barely keep a houseplant alive, outdoor gardening has become something of a fascination for me in recent years. The idea that so many plants lay dormant beneath the soil for long winter months, and know just when to poke their small green heads up into the air to start their annual growth, is ever-fascinating to me as I explore my own version of wintering. Watching daffodil bulbs start to peek up this spring, I'm reminded again of Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass (Milkweed, $20), an incredible work that combines storytelling, plant science and Indigenous wisdom to reveal the lessons that nature can teach us as humans.

Kimmerer talks throughout Braiding Sweetgrass about reciprocity: "As we heal the earth, the earth heals us," she writes, urging readers to center the land first and let what they're noticing guide what may follow. That same notion proves central to The Well-Gardened Mind (Scribner, $18), in which psychiatrist and avid gardener Sue Stuart-Smith explores the myriad ways gardening can bring peace and well-being to our daily lives. Stuart-Smith draws on both her own experiences and family history in the garden as well as extensive research on the connection between humans and the natural world. The Well-Gardened Mind will prove self-affirming for those already drawn to their gardens and inspiring for those seeking new ways to find calm in a chaotic world.

On the more tactical side of this human-garden connection, Rick Darke and Doug Tallamy talk all things garden design in The Living Landscape (Timber Press, $44.95), with an emphasis on planting native species and biodiversity--without sacrificing function or beauty in the process. I'll be holding these books' lessons on reciprocity in mind as I venture out to greet the new blooms in my own garden this year, and for years to come

I started reading this book and initially liked it but after a while I lost interest in it and could not stay invested in the actual story. I liked the blub and the overview of what it was about, but sadly is just was not for me. I really wanted to like it because of the title and perhaps it just was not time for me to read this book yet.

This is a good book, though it keeps harping and going back to the same point over and over again: gardens, greenery, working in nature has a positive effect for mental well-being, it brings peace of mind and the cycles of growth and decline make you hopeful and calm. After the first chapter, I felt the book kept repeating the same thing again and again.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

Stuart-Smith convincingly argues that gardening is a soothing respite, while simultaneously being honest about the many minor frustrations and challenges that come with growing plants. She understands and articulates the ups and downs of growing something from a seed, and how rewarding it can be when you succeed. Gardening isn’t good for mental health because it’s easy. It’s a means of redirecting your thoughts and energy. I will happily recommend this book to both novice and experienced gardeners.

I am a huge advocate of nature and an ardent believer in its restorative powers emotionally and physically. That said, I found this book really dry and hard to get into. It felt like a dissertation, like something I had to read for college credit. There are intriguing anecdotes but it's not a book that I would consider a pleasure read.

I read a digital ARC of this book for review.

I really enjoyed alot of the content in this book! As someone who spends time outdoors, I found this book to be endearing and valuable. It gave me memories of pleasant times at the farm watching nature.

What I liked:
The mindfulness practice this book teaches
It brings joy
It takes a closer look at the way we live and explains with psychology and science
The writing style

Some parts of the book lost me, but I was still able to understand and relate to several parts of this book.

This was an intriguing book on how gardening can connect to overall well-being. As someone with an apartment window garden, it was insightful for me on ways to make my gardening more purposeful.

I thought this book was intriguing and the Author made some interesting points but, overall I found it to be a challenging read. I was not expecting an indepth analysis of the beauty of nature, detailed and dissected to the point, where the 'beauty' is lost in the microscopic descriptions. Some details are best left unexplained and viewed as a 'whole' rather than obliterated into detailed minutiae.
Also the descriptions of "restorative effect on the nervouse system" and "in addition to M. vaccae are likely to be other strains of bacteria commonly found in the soil that will enhance mental health." I thought I was reading a textbook. And, "War and Gardening" No thank you. Just "No."

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Digital Sales for the opportunity to review this interesting book.

jb
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