Bloom and Blossom: The Reader's Guide to Gardening

Be the first to write a review

Overview

An invigorating gathering of fiction, poetry, and essays that reveals the powerful appeal of one of America's most enduring passions - gardening. Poet, scholar, and gardener Mary Swander juxtaposes excerpts from early American settlers with nineteenth century classics and the work of prominent twentieth century writers to offer new perspectives on the seductive pleasure of coaxing flowers, fruits, and vegetables from the earth. Scratch a gardener and underneath you're likely to find an individual whose love of ...
See more details below
This Hardcover is Not Available through BN.com
See All Options
Note: This is a bargain book and quantities are limited. Bargain books are new but may have slight markings from the publisher and/or stickers showing their discounted price. More about bargain books
Sending request ...

More About This Book

Overview

An invigorating gathering of fiction, poetry, and essays that reveals the powerful appeal of one of America's most enduring passions - gardening. Poet, scholar, and gardener Mary Swander juxtaposes excerpts from early American settlers with nineteenth century classics and the work of prominent twentieth century writers to offer new perspectives on the seductive pleasure of coaxing flowers, fruits, and vegetables from the earth. Scratch a gardener and underneath you're likely to find an individual whose love of plants was instilled at an early age, often by a beloved figure from childhood. Somehow the act of planting and harvesting connects us to the past and nourishes our sense of self, even as it gives us a better sense of our place in the natural world. How is this so? What can we learn from the past, from our Native American predecessors - and what new ideas can we bring to the future of working the land? What can we do to preserve the uncultivated wilderness? In a collection as fresh and vital as the subject it investigates, Bloom & Blossom delves into the emotional, social, and ecological implications of our passion for nurturing the fruits of the earth.
Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal
One of the things gardeners like best to do, when they can't actually go and dig in the dirt, is to read about how other gardeners feel about gardening. Gathered by a poet, scholar, and gardener, this collection of writings satisfies that urge with a medley of essays, poetry, and fiction largely by 20th-century writers but leavened with a few historical offerings. The four sections each have a theme: the connection between garden and family, seeds, the garden in the natural world, and the garden in history and society. The selections themselves range from Jane Smiley's tale of a family who have gone "back to the land," to a historical piece on Soviet scientists who starved in the siege of Stalingrad rather than eat the seeds they were trusted to guard, to Catherine Sneed on her work with prisoners and gardens. Readers won't learn any techniques in this volume but will find an affirmation of the emotional benefits of working the soil. For collections where gardening essays are popular.Molly Newling, Piscataway P.L., N.J.
Booknews
Contains a diverse collection of fiction, poetry, and essays treating the social, political, and practical aspects of gardening. Contributors range from Henry David Thoreau to Allen Lacy, Katha Pollitt, and Wendell Berry. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780737244304
  • Publication date: 3/28/1997
  • Edition number: 1
  • Pages: 320

Meet the Author

Mary Swander
Mary Swander
A Distinguished Professor of English at Iowa State University, Mary Swander has written several poems, essays, and books, none more profoundly stirring than her personal account of healing after a car accident, The Desert Pilgrim.

Good To Know

In our interview, Swander shared some fun facts with us:

"I live in an old one-room Amish schoolhouse."

"I have a dog who can answer the phone."

"I am a licensed massage therapist and a licensed hypnotherapist."

"I play the clawhammer banjo."

Read More Show Less
    1. Hometown:
      Ames, Iowa
    1. Date of Birth:
      November 5, 1950
    2. Place of Birth:
      Carroll, Iowa
    1. Education:
      B.A., Iowa State University, 1973; M.F.A., Iowa Writers' Workshop, 1976
    2. Website:
      http://www.maryswander.com

Table of Contents

Good Keepers: An Introduction
General Advice 5
Two Gardens 7
from In My Father's Garden 35
Tomato 40
Woman's Place 41
The Garden 54
Touch Me 56
What Goes Wrong 58
Seed Saving 61
Did I Say? 63
Cultivating Diversity 65
Succession 73
August 89
For the Sake of Seeds 106
Near the Center of the Earth 110
from My Vegetable Love: Journal of a Growing Season 128
from The Bean-Field 145
My Wilderness 150
Gardening at the Seam 157
Lapsed Meadow 170
Edible Flowers, a Weed to Eat, and Handsome Vegetables 172
An Insider's View of the Garden 181
Crops, Words, Movies 183
We Don't Garden Right 189
Learning to Work 199
Sweet Corn 203
To Grow 204
Invisible Erosion: The Rise and Fall of Native Farming 220
The Future: More Farmers, Not Fewer 243
Daisies 256
Cathrine Sneed Talks About Her Work with Prisoners and Gardens 257
The Pleasures of Eating 268
Copyright Acknowledgments 277
About the Editor 281
Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review
( 0 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
    If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
    Why is this product inappropriate?
    Comments (optional)