By Karen England, for Let's Talk Plants! October 2023.
Please join the SD Hort Book Club and read some great horticulturally imbued books along with us. Some titles are old, some new, some historical, some biographical, some fictional, some educational and all enjoyable.
To join the SDHBC, just send an email to Karen at info@sdhort.org with "Book Club" in the subject line to receive the Zoom link to the meetings.
The next book being read and discussed is Agave Spirits by Gary Paul Nabhan & David Suro Piñera, and the next SD Hort Book Club meeting is on October 2, 2023, on Zoom at 4:30p for happy half hour social time and 5p for discussion.
Looking ahead:
October 2 – Agave Spirits by Gary Paul Nabhan & David Suro Pinera
November 6 – The Oak Papers by James Canton
December 4 – The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly
Book Review: Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen.
The following review was posted on Goodreads by Erin in December 2006, and represents similar thoughts about the book from SDHBC readers.
"What I learned from this book is ... if an apple tree throws its apples at you, for goodness sake, pay attention already!
This book is lovely, magical, enchanting. I sat down to read just one chapter, basically to decide whether it was worth holding onto even though it was already overdue. At 2:30 a.m. I finished the whole darn thing. Couldn't stop myself. I floated in a state of suspended reality, where time had no meaning.
The basic idea of the book: two sisters experienced their childhoods very differently. Now, as adults, they must come to terms with choices, past and present, and with the unique abilities each woman inherited. In Bascom, North Carolina, townsfolk know Claire's garden grows produce with mystical properties, like the honeysuckle wine she makes that lets you see in the dark. Sydney has a gift for revealing a person's inner self through a haircut. Bay always knows where things belong. And whatever Evanelle gives you, no matter how strange, you'll be certain to need before too long."
SD HORT BOOK CLUB'S Previously Read List:
January 2021 - The Language of Flowers by V. Diffenbaugh 👍
February 2021 - The Food Explorer by D. Stone 👍👍
March 2021 - Green Mansions by W. H. Hudson👍
April 2021 - A Memory of Violets by H. Gaynor 👍
May 2021 - Founding Gardeners by A. Wulf 👍👍
June 2021 - Elizabeth and Her German Garden by E. von Arnim 👍
July 2021 - In Praise of Tomatoes by S. Shepherd 👍👍
August 2021 - Undaunted Courage by S. Ambrose 👍👍
September 2021 - Around the World in 80 Plants/Trees both by J. Drori 👍👍
October 2021 - American Eden by V. Johnson 👍
November/December 2021 – Finding The Mother Tree by S. Simard 👍👍
January 2022 – Braiding Sweetgrass by R. Kimmerer 👍👍
February/March 2022 - The Seed Keeper by D. Wilson 👍
April 2022 - In Search f Lost Roses by T. Christopher 👍👍
May 2022 - Turn Here Sweet Corn by A. Diffley 👍👍
June/July 2022 - The Arbornaut by M. Lowman 👍👍
August 2022 – Orwell’s Roses by R. Solnit 👍
September 2022 - The Nature f Oaks by D. Tallamy 👍👍
October 2022 - Vanilla: Travels in Search of the Ice Cream Orchid by T. Ecott. 👍
November 2022 - The Complete Writings f Kate Sessions in California Garden – New Edition - San Diego Floral Association. U👍👍
December 2022 - The Multifarious Mr. Banks: From Botany Bay to Kew, The Natural Historian Who Shaped the World by T. Musgrave 👍
January 2023 – the Botanist’s Daughter by K. Nunn. 👍.5
February 2023 – Eating to Extinction by D. Saladino. 👍👍
March 2023 - The Natures of John and William Bartram by T. Slaughter. U👎
June 2023 - The Plant Hunter by C. Quave. U👍👍
July 2023 - The Overstory by R. Powers. 👍.3125...
August 2023 - Tulipomania by M. Dash. 👍.21428...
September 2023 - Garden Spells by S. Addison Allen 👍
Our Ratings System Explained -
👍👍 Two thumbs up = excellent
👍 One thumb up = good
✔️ No thumbs up or down = okay
👎 One thumb down = bad
👎👎 Two thumbs down = awful
U The letter U = unanimous vote
Karen England, the SD Hort Book Club Head Muckety-muck, agrees with writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges who famously said,
"I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library."
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