When it comes to gardening, I tend to be more passive than active. The main reason for this — and perhaps also my biggest excuse — is that I don’t have time. Lots of people garden even with schedules much busier than mine, but there it is: I feel like I need more time at home to fully enjoy the benefits of gardening.
I’ve written other columns about gardening, and have pointed out the abundance of gardening-related titles available at the library. But I haven’t focused on what I will continue to call passive gardening; that is, enjoying the beauty of other people’s gardens. Living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, this is not hard to do. Drive around just about any neighborhood or town, and you’ll find flowers and plants galore. If getting out and about is hard for you to do, here’s a fun fact: the library has some lovely books about famous gardens and gardeners. If, like me, you want to garden but don’t have the time, reading these books is a wonderful way to keep that gardening spirit alive.
I hope that you will take delight in the gardening endeavors of others by checking out a book or two from the list below. I’ve always loved this quote by Japanese scholar Okakura Kakuzo: “A garden is a friend you can visit any time.” No matter where a garden is located — in your own backyard, in a public park, on display in a book — let it fill your soul with joy and peace.
- “Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life: The Plants and Places That Inspired the Iconic Poet” by Marta McDowell.
- “Island Gardens” by Jackie Bennett.
- “Lessons from the Great Gardeners: Forty Gardening Icons and What They Teach Us” by Matthew Biggs.
- “The Pottery Gardener: Flowers and Hens at the Emma Bridgewater Factory” by Arthur Parkinson.
- “The Secret Gardeners: Britain’s Creatives Reveal Their Private Sanctuaries” by Victoria Summerley.
- “Under Western Skies: Visionary Gardens from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast” by Jennifer Jewell.
- “Windcliff: A Story of People, Plants, and Gardens” by Daniel J. Hinkley
