Marta McDowell

"To the gardener in winter one’s future is the spring. All the dark months may be filled by it. To live in brilliantly colored and eloquent catalogues is to dream dreams unlike all others that glorify our days; to pore over gardening books is to glow with joy, ambition and flaming desire for loveliness, color, fragrance and still, sweet delight."

A book worth checking out just based on the lovely botanical cover, Marta McDowell writes about Frances Hodgson Burnett's various gardens and how they influenced her stories, especially [b:The Secret Garden|2998|The Secret Garden|Frances Hodgson Burnett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327873635l/2998._SY75_.jpg|3186437]. This well-researched book is conversational in tone and there are multitudes of gorgeous photos. (Just to show the variety of subjects covered, I've included the Table of Contents below.) This also makes a great companion piece to The Secret Garden by Burnett but be aware there are spoilers in this nonfiction book. I'd recommend this to anyone who loves gardening and nature, even if you aren't a huge fan of Burnett's fictional story.

CONTENTS:
Preface
PART ONE: before THE SECRET GARDEN
CHAPTER ONE The Locked Door: England & America (1849–1897)
CHAPTER TWO Finding the Key: Maytham Hall, Kent (1898–1908)
Spring at Maytham, Summer at Maytham, Autumn at Maytham

PART TWO: inside THE SECRET GARDEN
CHAPTER THREE A Gardener’s Guide to The Secret Garden: Misselthwaite Manor, Yorkshire
Spring at Misselthwaite, Summer at Misselthwaite, Autumn at Misselthwaite

PART THREE: after THE SECRET GARDEN
CHAPTER FOUR Nest Building: Plandome Park, New York (1909–1920)
CHAPTER FIVE A New Bit of Earth: Clifton Heights, Bermuda (1912–1920)
CHAPTER SIX When the Sun Went Down: Clifton Heights & Plandome Park (1921–1924)

PART FOUR: outside THE SECRET GARDEN
CHAPTER SEVEN Further Garden Writings of Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Has the Last Laugh: “An American Author’s English Ha-ha” (1906)
Connecting with Nature: My Robin (1912)
Gardening for Everybody: In the Garden (1924)
CHAPTER EIGHT Frances’s Plants: An Annotated List
Afterword: Sowing Seeds by Keri Wilt
Sources and Citations, Acknowledgments, Photo and Illustration, Credits Index… (más)

For each geographic area Laura Ingalls Wilder lived, McDowell addresses topics having to do with nature (local flora and fauna, drought, etc.) She also talks about the progression of farming practices throughout the years. Some of the material is from the Little House series. Other material is from Pioneer Girl or McDowell's own research. A lot of photos are incorporated into the text, which makes a nice companion to the information presented. I'd recommend this to anyone who has read the entire Little House series, as it is more fact driven. It also makes a relaxing comfort read with the focus on nature, flowers and gardens.… (más)