The Potting-Shed Papers: On Gardens, Gardeners, and Garden History
Devotees ofHorticulturemagazine will recognize many of Elliott's essays from his column, "The Transplanted Gardener," an often-irreverent look at the idiosyncratic differences between gardening in his adopted Britain versus his native America. The uninitiated will delight in Elliott's take on the fine, and not so fine, art of gardening, no matter where it occurs. From the Andean rainforest, home to the erstwhile Fever Bark Tree, to Boskoop, Holland, home of prodigious plant-producing nurseries, Elliott is both travel guide and garden guru, while piquant profiles of such legendary horticulturists as Roy Lancaster earn him the title of "botanical biographer." Although his pursuit of decidedly offbeat gardening stories is his stock-in-trade, nowhere is his talent more impressive than in the collection's introductory section, "Personal Considerations," in which Elliott regales with his own impressions of everything from British lawn-mowing habits to plant taxonomy. A witty raconteur, learned plantsman, and stylish essayist, Elliott's unbridled curiosity about all things horticultural takes the reader on an intriguing journey down often unexpected yet always entertaining garden paths.Carol HaggasCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved