Out in the Garden: Growing a Beautiful Life
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.76 (791 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0060188057 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 256 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-11-26 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Back in 1980, when Dean Riddle was a young horticulture student, he "thought annual flowers, not to mention birdbaths, were the heights of frivolity -- things to amuse and occupy little old ladies." Thinking himself a serious plants-man with "no interest whatsoever in design," he dreamed of collecting woodland wildflowers, rare trees, and flowering shrubs native to the Blue Ridge Mountains, where he was born and where he developed and nourished a deep love of plants and the natural world.A decade later, after living in various parts of the country and making gardens for other people, Dean Riddle settled in the Catskill Mountains. And he discovered that the good life "has far less to do with money than it does with style, awareness, and gratefulness."Riddle's thoughts on garde
He draws on his own practice to demonstrate all aspects of garden making, from initial design to choice of plants, deployment of water and fertilizer and the use of containers. Although he never came out to his parents, now deceased, Riddle is certain his mother understood and accepted his identity. For the last 10 years, he has been renting a simple bungalow with spectacular mountain views. B&w illus. Raised in South Carolina, Riddle studied horticulture in England before eventually settling in upstate New York. . From Publishers Weekly An accomplished horticulturist who has written prolifically for Elle D‚cor and gardening publications, the author communicates his passion for his profession in this appealing memoir. He also reflects on his life as a gay man and recalls the death of a frie
Elizabeth Cavanaugh said Never too late. The librarian at Skene Library in Fleishmanns, NY foisted this book upon me as I had missed Dean Riddle's personal appearance and reading. I politely took it home. I started to skim read and three hours later had finished the book and made a list of pages to return to for information. This book is a jewel of a read and a must for any Catskill gardener. I have had a "failed garden" for ten years in the Felishmanns area. I used to be a good gardener. Not in the Catskills! Mr Riddle provides a virtual how to manual for my next year's garden. But beyond the practical, it is a delightful, fast pa. Best Book to Read in the Garden with a Cup of Coffee Award Out of all the gardening books I've purchased for our public library in the last four years, I would recommend Dean Riddle's book first and foremost to our readers as a balm to the soul, an inspiration to gardeners everywhere, and a plain old good read. The focus of the book is informative yet personal: it is the story of one man's coming of age in the garden, his connection with the strange and often-ignored vibrancy of the horticultural world, and his joyous appreciation of people, plants, dirt, sticks, old glassware, fried eggs, and just about everything else.For four months a year I read. A Beautiful Life Indeed A Customer To say this is a gardening book is to approach it with a focus much too narrow. To say it is a gay memoir, or an AIDS loss memoir, is to have missed the passion and dedication of one incredible man in search of his own joy.I agree with Jean from Kentucky there is nothing I would enjoy more than a cup of coffee with Dean at daybreak, walking through his little green dewey acre, talking about the plants, the design, the view, the stories, the hopes, the fears and dreams that we sometimes hide and sometimes share.Also of note are the fantastic, Warhol-esque illustrations.In a world far too hect