Chicago Botanic Garden

Education — Lenhardt Library

Current Books & Book Reviews

PHOTO: bookcover

Katherine Whiteside.
The Way We Garden Now: 41 Pick-and-Choose Projects for Planting Your Paradise Large or Small.
New York: Clarkson Potter, 2006.
Decorated boards, 300 pp., ISBN 0–307–35135–1, $29.95.

The latest crop of gardening books displays a bright new method to encourage gardeners who may be overwhelmed by the prospect of venturing into unknown territory. This book provides a fresh, personal, and extraordinarily informative and lighthearted approach. The guiding principle is not perfection, but enjoyment in gardening! The author’s opening remark that “this is not your Mom’s garden” sets the tone.
There are timetables, design and planning sections, sections on hedges and bug-deterring aids (including tabasco sauce!). There is a wealth of practical gardening advice that comes from the author's personal experience, a list of what the author calls “waterwise plants” and even instructions on installing a deer-proof fence and attracting birds. The charming watercolor illustrations by Peter Gergely add to this attractive book, and the recipes for frizzled leeks and shallot “s'mores” are an added delight.

— Bluma Kaplan, volunteer, Chicago Botanic Garden.