The Gardener's Gripe Book

The Gardener's Gripe Book
by Abby Adams

256 pages
Workman Publishing, 1995
List price: $10.95



As satisfying as gardening is, there are those times when whining is appropriate. Perennials fail to return in the spring, we get too much or too little rain, the bugs get the better of our blooms. Abby Adams joins us in our misery, and therein lies the charm of The Gardener's Gripe Book. Misery loves company, you know, and she manages to not only find humor in it, she makes us feel like real gardeners in spite of our shortcomings.

Who can't relate to this?

"...the garden hose, unquestionably the most hateful device ever invented. Drag the heavy cumbersome thing all the way out to its fullest length (which is six feet short of where you need it), turn it on and nothing happens - there's a kink somewhere. Unkink it and it takes off, spritzing everything in sight, like a water-breathing dragon. Meanwhile its path through the garden is strewn with broken and uprooted plants, victims of its progress."

I could have written that.

Sometimes we don't want solutions to our problems, we simply want to wallow in them. There's therapeutic value in just being honest about our feelings. And while you might think this book is a downer with all this griping going on, you'll be pleasantly surprised to find that reading it is actually a feel-good experience.


Abby Adams is the author of An Uncommon Scold (1,000 quotes from women) and, with her husband, High Jinx and Transylvania Station. Born and raised in New York City, she has at various times lived in San Francisco, in London, in Woodstock, New York, and on Fire Island. She has always gardened.

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* The book reviewed in this post was purchased by the reviewer.