We love eloquent nursery catalogs that are fun to read. We prefer nurseries and specialty growers that contribute to preserving the rural landscape of New England. We have omitted any place where the plants are on drugs and you can smell chemical fertilizer from the driveway. The book is organized by state, and the plant sources are listed alphabetically. Each section has a map locating each nursery, along with essential facts such as address, phone number, and hours of business.
Some entries even list nearby attractions as well as places to eat.
I'm often asked to inscribe the book for someone else, and it reminds me that the art of writing and the art of gardening are both gifts to others. Years later, she enters the dining room, and nothing has changed. The trompe l'oeil walls are the same, and the large black piano is in the exact spot it had been years before. The house erased the barriers of time and returned D'Arnoux, who works for Architectural Digest, to her childhood and inspired this charming book. D'Arnoux and French photographer De Chabaneix treat the readers as if they were dropping by as family friends on an intimate armchair tour of houses in the United States, England, Scotland, Italy, and France dating from the 17th century through today.