A Book for Gardeners

by Ron Dieter, Sunnyfield Greenhouse & Gardens

November 28, 1999

Although the weather is more like that of Halloween than early December, it’s time to get into the holiday spirit and start spending some money. Shopping for gifts for family and friends will occupy much of our time the next couple of weeks.

My daughter-in-law, Joyce, is a great gift-giver. The presents she selects are usually a little out-of-the-ordinary, and invariably just-what-was-always-wanted. She told me over Thanksgiving dinner that shopping is easy and quick. What’s time consuming is deciding what item will be the perfect gift.

Selecting a gift for a golfer, for example, would be especially difficult for me because I don’t play golf. I don’t understand why people play golf. Some tell me it’s for the exercise. So what’s with the carts? I’ve always thought they could get the game over with in less time if they put all eighteen holes on the same green, but I digress. To choose a good golfer gift, I’d have to do some research by asking other golfers, talking with the golfer’s spouse, or relying on the advice of the golf store’s sales clerk.

Shopping for the gardener in your life can be traumatic too, if you’re no green thumber yourself. The next couple weeks, I’ll try to help you select a gift or two for gardeners in your life.

My friend Jimmy Williams is a garden writer, accomplished gardener, and a respected landscape designer in Henry County, Tennessee. Jimmy has an extensive garden library and reads constantly, so when he speaks highly of a book, I take notice. In a conversation this past summer, he mentioned a book which he said would be useful to nearly every gardener, beginner or advanced. Later I ran across a copy while visiting a botanical garden in Michigan and bought it. This upset my wife because she planned to give me a copy for my birthday later.

The book is Principles of Gardening by Hugh Johnson, a recognized horticultural expert and writer with a long list of credentials. He knows what he’s talking about and he’s fun to read.

Johnson understands that to be a good gardener, you need a basic knowledge of climate and the elements, soils, and plant growth. But rather than a boring textbook lecture explaining weather and agronomy, Johnson’s wonderful literary style makes this fundamental information a pleasure to review. His first section neatly ties together knowledge I had learned years ago and applies it in a practical way to the art of gardening.

In the chapters following the basics, Johnson goes on to explain where garden plants come from- that is, how a plant is "judged worthy of a gardener’s time", and how to use them effectively in the landscape. Then he discusses what makes a "garden style" and "how to use a discriminating eye to make and maintain a satisfying garden."

The best part of the book for me is the last chapter, Roots In History. It is a beautiful lesson on how the modern ideas of gardening have developed over the centuries. I was fascinated to read how many of the gardening techniques and styles we use today have been influenced by gardeners thousands of years ago in ancient cultures. What today we call the formal style, with its rigid straight-edged lines, can be traced back to the Egyptians while the informal style owes much to the ancient gardeners of China. Johnson follows the influences of these ancient cultures through the centuries as they form the foundations of garden style in Italy, France, England, and America today.

This is a book nearly every gardener would enjoy reading and it’s a safe bet your gardener doesn’t have it. Bookstores probably won’t have it in stock so if you plan on giving this book as a gift, you need to get it ordered soon. It’s worth the effort.