Monday, March 13, 2023

Book Bits, Chapter 1

Most of the garden book reading I've done the last few years involves books sent by publishers for review, or titles chosen by a small book group I belong to. The book group was a fun way to connect with friends, and book reviews are a great way to read newly released books and add to your library, without having to spend much money—both however can end up feeling a little like a duty. 

In January I realized I'd completed the last book review I owed anyone and thus I was free to read whatever I wanted. I could read and not think about writing up a review or talking about the book, oh the freedom! Well, then as I read I thought about how I wanted to share a quote or two, or that more people should know about the book, etc, etc—you know where this is going right? I decided to start a series of posts called "Book Bits" and this is chapter one. These posts will cover multiple books and include just a few impressions I had of each one. It will be fun! Here we go... first up, Chasing Eden (Timber Press, 2020).

This book is a glimpse into a type of gardening I will never know, summed up by this quote... "When you switch your thinking to considering your pool as a garden feature rather than as a leisure destination, all kinds of wonderful things can happen."
Most of us will never experience gardening at the scale of Hortulus Farm, the wealth involved, although I must say the zipties were a surprise! "Bamboo is our material of choice for the construction of auxiliary tuteurs and teepees, easily fabricated with a handsaw and a packet of zipties."...

I thoroughly enjoyed getting lost in this book and the idea of gardening on an estate.

—   —   —

This book had been on my Amazon wish list for years, almost 10 if we're getting specific, I finally received it as a Christmas gift this year. It was written in 2007 by Ursula Buchan with photographs taken by Valerie Finnis from the mid-1950s on (Valerie passed away in October of 2006). I cannot begin to convey how charming the photos in this book are—a glimpse at another age for sure—and they are the reason to open the book's pages. For example here is Cecily 'Parsley' Mure watering her alpine trough in an elegant silk dress...

You definitely get the feeling some folks dressed to have their photo taken (I'm looking at you Parsley!) However others appear to be doing actual garden labor in clothing we would consider our fancy attire. There are also many interesting things to read in between the photos. 

For example: "From 1955, with her first expensive camera, plant photography became a major interest and Valerie's talents were soon recognized: Dr Warburg, one of the authors of the standard work, Flora of the British Isles, commissioned photographs for an article he was writing on crocuses. By this time her father was ill, and she was making frequent journeys to Reigate to visit him. She needed extra money, so sent two rolls of film to the greeting card company, Gordon Fraser; they were all accepted. The music company E.M,I. bought 12 transparencies for record sleeves, and J. Walter Thompson used her pictures of vegetables in advertisements for fertilizer. She was launched as a photographer, even though, as she said, 'I never took more than one exposure because it was too expensive'. One exposure! Can you imagine? Digital photography has ruined us for that sort of thinking and skill.

This photo, of Lady Birley may be the best known from the book.

—   —   —

The third and final book I will mention in this post is South African Erythrinas, by Esmé Franklin Hennessy—published in 1972 by The Natal Branch of the Wildlife Protection and Conservation Society of South Africa. 

This book is a work of art. I wish I could remember exactly where I picked it up, I know it was somewhere in Southern California, I can tell you paid just $6 for it used, of course. 

Esmé Franklin Hennessy not only illustrated the entire book, but she also wrote the plant descriptions and much more. I get the sense she is force to be reckoned with, from the front inside cover: "Eseme Frances Franklin was born on the 30th of August, 1933, at Umzinto, Natal. She was educated at the Umzinto Government School, Durban Girls' College, and Natal University, Pietermaritzburg. Her family have been in Natal since 1850 and were among the original British Settlers of the Colony of Natal. 
Esme Hennessy draws flowers because she enjoys drawing them. She believes that to conserve effectively one must educate not legislate. Few businessmen are interested in conserving until they have made their money and their consciences then begin to bother them.  She also feels that far too many botanists and zoologists live in their ivory towers, all too often making disparaging remarks about other people's ignorance without doing anything to dispel that ignorance. Many professionals are guilty of frightening a lot of people who could help conservation, by dressing up plain facts in a mass of technical terminology.
It is through her love of painting and plants, and her desire to have literature available for interested laymen, that Esme Hennessy wrote and illustrated this book on Erythrinas."

All righty then, Esmé tells it like she feels it! This plant, Erythrina crista-galli, is the only plant in this species I've grown. But if I remember right I'd seen several beautiful erythrina on that trip, which is part of why I bought this beautiful book.

I'll leave you with this page where Esmé writes about Abrus precatorius seeds and their use by Bantu women to make "lucky" bracelets and necklaces: "Abrus precatorius seeds are dangerous, as they contain toxins which are fatal to man if the seeds are chewed and swallowed. Of course any seed the approximate size of a "lucky bean" can cause trouble in the hands of children who have a marked proclivity for pushing such objects into ears and nostrils."

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29 comments:

  1. Book bits: a fun idea for posts, Loree.
    I'm very fond of botanical drawings, there is something nostalgic about them, and I appreciate the skill and patience that goes into creating them.
    A full grown Erythrina in bloom is a sight to behold!
    Chavli

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    1. I remember thinking maybe I would use the erythrina book for framed artwork, but that would require cutting it up and I am far too in love with it to do such a thing now.

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  2. That's a diverse and charming mix of "book bits." I completely understand your feelings about the artificial structure created by many/most book clubs. The good part is that it pushes readers to pick up some things they might otherwise ignore but it can be frustrating to feel forced to expend time reading something that doesn't grab you. I've long thought that the best book club might be one where everyone reads what they like and explains what and why they found it intriguing - as you've just done ;)

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    1. Oh now you're on to something! I love that idea!

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    2. That is a fantastic idea for a book club!

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    3. That is a fantastic idea for a book club!

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  3. I liked reading about Esme. As an ‘uneducated’, ‘learn as I go gardener’ I appreciate “her desire to have literature available for interested laymen”. So approachable and generous with her knowledge. Just like you.

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  4. What a cool mix of books! I've read the first (yeah, I can't imagine what it's like to garden like that either), but the other two are new to me. Just imagine how many wonderful (older) books there are out there, just waiting to be discovered by you and your hubby!

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  5. Last Tuesday was "Plant Power Day" and I took it as an opportunity to blog about "weird" plants. The post was inspired by the paintings of Chris Thorogood in the book "Weird Plants". (Like you, I have a number of plant-related books...)
    https://m2labs.wordpress.com/2023/03/07/its-weird-plant-power-day/

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    1. Hmmm, I used to have that book, I wonder where it went. Off to read your post...

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  6. This is a great idea. I used to do a lot of long book reviews on the blog as they were something I did for years in my newspaper career. But lately it just seemed like too much. I am definitely going to follow your lead. I love the Valerie Finnis book. Did a blog post years ago about the reason I have so many garden hats is that I saw all those women in the Finnis book and thought that was how gardeners dressed. I was just starting to garden and didn't know any real gardeners. Bought the Eden book and was disappointed. Just too over the top and then to realize at the end that it was up for sale. Aargh.

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    1. I can't wait to see what you've been reading!

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  7. A neighbor down the street dresses up to go outside and do her gardening. My mother would put on a dress, hat and gloves to go grocery shopping when I was a kid. I'm much, much more casual.

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    1. Imagine your mother's shock at seeing people grocery shopping in their pj bottoms these days!

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  8. I like these Book Bits. I sometimes don't appreciate the long, detailed reviews of a book. Too much of a good thing I guess.
    I laughed at the 'silk dress' comment. I have come to the point that I will garden in anything. A neighbor asked me why I was dressed up to garden. I told her that I paid good money for my clothes and just because they go out of style I still like to wear them so... into the garden on me they go.
    Also some encouragement came from Katherine White. I read her book, Onward and Upward in the Garden, several years ago and she would often come home from work and garden in her good work clothes. Of course she had her laundry done. One has to garden when the mood strikes no matter what you are wearing.

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    1. This is very true (garden when the mood strikes no matter what you are wearing), although I discovered early on that our clay soil stains and nothing will get that stain out. I try to not garden in clothes that I don't want ruined. That said I had a stack of old sweaters to donate and then realized I could certainly wear them in the garden, rather than give them away.

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  9. Book Bits! I look forward to being enabled to acquire more. I will be looking for 'Garden People' for sure ! I visited Hortulus Farm before the DC Fling, and it was clear at that point that there was some modest maintenance issues , but it was still a beautiful -and huge - garden. One wonders what will happen to it when it changes hands.

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    1. No doubt there is still money out there to keep a big plot like that intact. Interesting to consider other possible uses.

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  10. Ooh I like the direction Book Bits will take. I have a huge library of gardening books and like to source out older as well as new releases. I had the privilege to hear Rennie Reynolds speak at the NWFG show in 2019 on the release of Chasing Eden. Sadly Jack Staub had passed away suddenly just prior to the show but Rennie still pressed on despite his obvious grief. Look forward to more titles.

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    1. Hindsight is everything, I wish I could have attended that talk.

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  11. So that's who Valerie Finnis was--she who had a rather scary Artemisia named for her.

    I often garden (unintentionally--but when plants call, we answer) in pajamas and bathrobe, but nothing with Lady Birley's style!

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    1. You say scary... as in "rambunctious?" I've had trouble just getting it to live in my garden.

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  12. Jeanne DeBenedetti KeyesMarch 15, 2023

    Interesting books! Too bad "Chasing Eden" is not more relatable to the small, home gardener. That book on Erthrynias! Seems like it might be a dry book, but I like how Ms. Hennessey imparts information and background on the plants she draws and writes about. So engaging. This part of the quote "Few businessmen are interested in conserving until they have made their money and their consciences then begin to bother them. She also feels that far too many botanists and zoologists live in their ivory towers, all too often making disparaging remarks about other people's ignorance without doing anything to dispel that ignorance. Many professionals are guilty of frightening a lot of people who could help conservation, by dressing up plain facts in a mass of technical terminology." is so very true today!

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    1. Ms. Hennessey is far too sassy for the erthrynia book to be dry.

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  13. This really hit home. "...far too many botanists and zoologists live in their ivory towers, all too often making disparaging remarks about other people's ignorance without doing anything to dispel that ignorance. Many professionals are guilty of frightening a lot of people who could help conservation, by dressing up plain facts in a mass of technical terminology."

    As a scientist, I will share that I do occasionally get frustrated by other people's ignorance, but it usually stems from the sheer volume of people repeating the same misinformation or asking the same question over and over without bothering to do a minimum amount of basic investigation on their own (such as actually reading the article that they are commenting on). It is also frustrating when I take the time to write a nontechnical response and the person dismisses it because they don't like the answer and would prefer to trust the opinion of someone else with significantly less expertise who gave them the false information they wanted to hear. It starts giving me the impression that many people don't actually want to learn and that they are really just asking for self-validation.

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    1. You're on to something there, people wanting their opinions validated no matter how crazy they are, as well as the part about folks not reading the article they're commenting on. It is truly a said state of affairs.

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    2. Luckily, there are a lot of good "eggs" out there that want to learn, including myself. I think that is one of the things I would like to culture in this world - an appreciation for the natural world and for science. I love when a blog post makes me think about my own biases/opinions and why I hold them.

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