A Life in the Garden

5.0/5.0 ⭐

"A Life in the Garden" is a beautiful and informative book that seamlessly blends memoir, history, and practical gardening advice. Barbara Damrosch's personal anecdotes and humor make the reading experience enjoyable as she explores the joy, empowerment, and partnership with nature inherent in growing food for oneself and family.

The book covers various topics from planning and gardening to picking and using produce, all while being realistic about time and budget constraints. It also offers valuable insights into sharing and what to grow, with engaging segments on initiatives like the Edible Schoolyard and Farm Lunch. The photos, illustrations, and typeface add to the overall charm of the book, making it a delightful read for gardeners and enthusiasts alike.

Thank you to Timber Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

I really loved reading through A Life in the Garden. This was one of the most practical and useful gardening books I’ve come across as someone attempting to make the transition from garden-dreamer to actual gardener. Can’t wait to recommend this to all our Florida gardeners this Fall!

A Life in the Garden by Barbara Damrosch offers an engaging, informative, and entertaining way to learn about gardening. She talks about her experience not just in the garden but also in life, which provides the reader one of the most satisfying ways to learn about gardening.

I also found that the amount of relevant information she added was great for any beginner or intermediate gardener. As gardening season is picking up this spring, I found myself scrolling through the book for tips and tricks about planting shrubs and vegetables I haven't tried in the past. For example, did you know that blueberries thrive in acidic soil? The book even gave information on how to turn a neutral ph soil to a more acidic soil. I look forward to keeping this book close in my journey as a homegrown gardener.

I loved A Lift in the Garden so much. It made me feel warm inside while I spent cover to cover learning the deeper understandings of growing. As a, somewhat newer gardener, it's always fascinating learning about topics such as the geometry behind a garden, how to properly feed the soil and the overall fundamentals of growing a kitchen garden in America.

My tomatoes and salad greens will hopefully turn out beautifully this spring season! I will owe it all to Barbara.

This isn't just a gardening book. It's a 382 page manifesto on recapturing one of the best parts of the agrarian past---community food production---without giving up any features of modern life. After several chapters that make the case for personal and neighborhood vegetable/flower gardens, the author moves to in-depth treatments of soils, how to get the most from even a tiny space (for example, "...a whiskey barrel with a single paste tomato plant encircled by oregano and basil"), garden planning, useful tools, and scheduling plantings throughout the year. In addition there are chapters on sharing with friends, extending the growing season with protected areas, dealing with both pest and beneficial organisms, and overwintering gathered food. The final section, nearly half the book, talks about what to grow. In short, comprehensive!

If I may add a couple more references to this (which I've used and go back to regularly), check out the Old Farmer's Almanac garden planner (https://gardenplanner.almanac.com/ - $35 a year or just use the 7 day free trial) and Truelove Seeds (https://trueloveseeds.com/ - they grow and sell heirloom seeds from around the world).

Highly recommended.

This was an amazing book from an experienced gardener who has been gardening for about 50 years. She knows her stuff and did a wonderful job of sharing her experience in this book.

She covers everything you need to get your garden going. There are sections on what to grow, how to grow it, and when to grow it

You also get tips on preparing the soil, acquiring tools, planning location and shape, etc.

Beautiful garden images are interspersed amongst the text to provide visual engagement and support for instructions.

I enjoyed this book very much. We can all take something away from it and improve our gardens and food production.

I recommend this to anyone interested in vegetable gardening.

Thanks to Net Galley and Timber Press for an opportunity to read this amazing book.

A good go-to book for all things gardening. Seasonal planting, varying size (container, yard), history of gardening in the U.S., and tools needed. This is a great starter for those wanting to eat "farm-to-table," get your hands dirty, and know where your food comes from while saving some money!

A Life in the Garden - Tales and Tips for Growing Food in Every Season
by Barbara Damrosch

A fascinating introduction for the new gardener that is personable and immersive, covering every base, even down to pot size. It's more than just information, it's very human, witty, as if a close relative was teaching you how to start your garden

Absolutely recommended

Thank you to Netgalley, Tiimber Press and the author Barbara Damrosch for this ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

One of the best gardening books I’ve found!

I’m a lifelong gardener. I started out helping my parents and grandparents in their gardens. When I moved out for college, I grew what I could on my windowsills and tiny balconies. Now I’m fortunate to have plenty of space to grow anything I want. love gardening, talking about gardening, and reading about gardening. This book is a beautiful conversation between an experienced and passionate gardener with her readers- from very beginners to the more experienced like me. It’s one of the best gardening books I’ve ever read!

Here are a few things that stood out to me:
- Personal reflections on the importance of growing our own food
- Beautiful, inspiring, and relevant photos throughout
- Further reading recommendations in most sections for where she learned information or to gain a more in depth understanding
- Useful tips from building soil and managing pests in holistic ways to growing and using specific plant families (tomatoes, greens, peas and beans, root vegetables, squash and cucumbers, fruits, herbs, and more!).

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in gardening!

Thank you to Timber Press and NetGalley for the advance read ebook copy. I look forward to adding the hard copy to my shelves when it’s released!

A Life in the Garden is an absolute joy to read! Barbara Damrosch has always been a favorite author of mine and it was such a delight to see her back in print again. This books filled with personal stories of a life well lived and practical advice for gardeners of all levels. The writing is engaging and the photos will leave you wanting to visit the pages again and again.

Great reference book for the new gardener. Although I have been gardening for years, I found many useful ideas and tidbits that will help me make my own garden better anytime of year. Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A brilliant read from a woman who has been gardening for fifty years. So many wonderful tips a complete guide to having a flourishing bounty.Beautiful photographs.I I will be going through this book again& again.#netgalley #timberbooks

Book Review: A Life in the Garden by Barbara Damrosch

Rating: 5 Stars

As someone who loves to garden, I always find myself on the lookout for books that not only provide practical advice but also inspire a deeper connection with nature. Barbara Damrosch’s A Life in the Garden: Tales and Tips for Growing Food in Every Season hits the mark beautifully. This book is like a warm hug from an old friend who just happens to be a gardening expert!

In A Life in the Garden, Damrosch shares her rich experiences and insights gathered over years of cultivating her own garden. She balances personal anecdotes with practical gardening tips, making it easy to follow along no matter your skill level. With a delightful mix of humor and humility, she invites us into her world, emphasizing the joy and empowerment that comes from working with nature rather than against it.

This book was PACKED with gardening information! I was genuinely impressed by how practical and comprehensive it is. Damrosch covers everything you need to get your garden thriving—from what to grow and how to grow it, to when to plant each crop. There are invaluable sections on soil preparation, tool selection, and even how to plan the layout of your garden. It felt like having a seasoned gardening mentor right there beside me!

What truly enhances the reading experience are the stunning garden images sprinkled throughout. They not only provide visual engagement but also serve as a fantastic reference for the instructions given. I found myself flipping back and forth between the images and the text, soaking in all the wisdom she had to offer.

Overall, A Life in the Garden is an absolute delight. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting out, there’s something here for everyone. This book has certainly motivated me to roll up my sleeves, dig into the earth, and improve my garden and food production. If you’re looking for a gardening book that combines practical tips with heartfelt storytelling, look no further—Barbara Damrosch has crafted a gem!

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

This will be a great book for garden dreamers who want to finally become real gardeners.  It's calm and inspirational, with a strong "<i>you can do it!</i>" motif.

I'm a big fan of Damrosch, I own her two previous books ([book:The Garden Primer|1074160] and [book:Theme Gardens|2066218]), so as soon as Timber announced a new book coming, I leaped for it!  She is very strongly in favor of small home gardens, and organic practices.

The photos are lush and gorgeous.  The somewhat dull cover photo does not give you any idea of what will come within!

I expected this to be a garden memoir, literally about her life in the garden.  And maybe that was her original intent, there is some of that, but a lot of this book is another garden primer. Perhaps Damrosch just cannot resist instructing beginners!  This is chock full of great information for new gardeners, Damrosch feels strongly that gardening is and should be for everyone, and it requires no special know-how or tools (other than a few basics, of course).  This book covers a lot of the same ground that she covers in detail in her earlier garden classic, aptly titled <i>The Garden Primer</i> (and my personal introduction to garden planning), so I'd consider this a chatty companion piece to her more detailed bible.

The first half (the first four parts) cover some of Damrosch's family background and childhood, a brief history of kitchen gardens in the US, a brief overview of soil amendments, the basic tools you'd need to get started with a garden, why organic is best, garden tasks and harvests in spring, summer, fall, and winter, and "sharing" the garden with: friends, critters, and weeds.

The second half of the book (which is actually Part Five), broken into chapters covering various garden produce, is a bit more of a memoir.  Damrosch talks about her experience with this type of plant, her preferred varieties, and any tips or tricks she has learned over the years to grow, harvest, and store.  The chapters in this section are:
Tomatoes
Salad Greens
Hearty Greens
Peas and Beans
Earth Vegetables (ie root vegetables)
The Onion Tribe
Cukes, Zukes, and Beyond
Other Favorites (which includes corn, asparagus, celery, eggplant, cauliflower, fennel, artichokes, & peppers)
Garden Fruits (strawberries, raspberries, grapes, blueberries, melon, apples, & citrus - this is where you see the bench in the cover photo)
Herbs

It is a pleasant and entertaining read.  Damrosch is very funny, and the book is peppered with comments such as (and I'm hoping it's okay to quote just a few words from the ARC):<blockquote><i>Round up any stray tools and put them away in their properly designated, agreed-upon, permanent spots where they can always be found when needed.  Good luck with that.</i></blockquote>
and
<blockquote><i>[this bird-scaring device] shoots a strong jet of water at anything that comes near - hopefully not you.</i></blockquote>
so you just KNOW she's btdt and speaks from experience LOL. 

I took my time reading this, just a few pages now and then as I sipped my coffee or relaxed before bed.  The entire book has a pleasant, chatty neighbor feel to it.  I wish Damrosch WERE  my neighbor, I would love spending time with her.

TW: she does refer to some snakes as "poisonous" - I know that's some people's pet peeve, so brace yourselves, whomever you are - hopefully that will be corrected before final release.

Thank you to NetGalley and Timber Press for an early review copy of this book as an e-pdf.

In this book, a renowned gardening expert shares a lifetime of wisdom and practical advice on growing food—offering engaging insights for gardeners, cooks, and small-scale farmers alike. With a personal and humorous touch, she emphasizes the joy, empowerment, and connection to nature found in gardening.

This book is part philosophy, part gardening advice. If you love nature, this is an enjoyable read.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

One of the most useful, informative, and interesting book I read about gardening. It's down to earth (no pun intended) and well written
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine