Ken Druse: The Passion for Gardening: Inspiration for a Lifetime

by Ken Druse and Adam Levine

Book Overview

Ken Druse's passion for gardening has always been the unmistakable force behind each of his books. Now, with The Passion for Gardening , Druse writes about this inspiration, the underlying spirit that is shared by all gardeners. This is not a simple how-to book, but a why-to. Why do we garden? And how are our lives immeasurably enriched by the process? As the world around us grows more chaotic each day, Druse, in rich and thoughtful prose, reminds us to slow down, put a trowel to the earth, and consider the wonders and healing powers of tending a garden. Gardening, he tell us, is an antidote for today's hectic pace. In The Passion for Gardening , Druse meditates on the issues close to heart of all gardeners: the notions of giving back and of conservation, of taking risks and the creative process of collaborating with nature and one's community. Along the way, he introduces us to a variety of extraordinary gardeners and their gardens, revealing how they have cultivated their natural spaces and, in turn, have themselves been transformed in the process. Druse visits ten remarkable gardens, including a Michigan landscaper's 60-acre natural habitat, a West Coast garden inspired by "the Japanese aesthetic," and Chanticleer, a delightful public estate on Philadelphia's Main Line that Druse dubs "a paradise in progress." Of particular note is a special section on Druse's own garden, including an unprecedented view of nature's contribution through the seasons that provides us with a deeper understanding of how gardens truly live. With more than 250 dazzling color photographs, as well as practical advice on replanting shrubs and trees, creating garden paths and sculptures, and controlling pests naturally, The Passion for Gardening is an inspirational and intimate look at gardening for a lifetime.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0517707888
• ISBN13: 9780517707883
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter Publishers
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 2.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.6" x 11.5"

Customer Reviews

Simply Beautiful

I enjoyed this book more than any "plant" book I have read in years. It is so well written and accompanied with beautiful pictures, I know that I will enjoy revisiting the book many times as I plan my new garden. No matter your garden style, there is something to be found within these pages that will inspire you.

Passionate gardeners

This book is about people who find gardening as essential as breathing. A passion, for sure, perhaps even fanatical. I know a lot of gardeners who fit into this category and I wouldn't hesitate to include myself as well. Druse's books are always a treat and this one is no exception. He writes about his own garden in New Jersey and how he has developed it since 1995 and his future plans for it. He also profiles ten other gardeners and the spectacular gardens that they have created. Most of these gardens are filled with native plants, trees and shrubs and tropical plants (you won't any flower gardens here). They are all beautiful and the photographs are spectacular, the book is truly a visual feast. He also includes sections with practical advice on transplanting, incorporating water into the garden and garden photography. Perfect for the winter gardener needing their creative juices fired back up before next spring.

The Passion For Gardening

Simply said, AWESOME!!! Ken's writing, his pictures, and his passion for telling the stories of the gardeners and their gardens is inspirational. If you have enjoyed his earlier work or are reading for the first time, you will not be disappointed.

As You Like It

Do you have a NEED to garden, an instinct that simply can't be denied? Do you gain a joy, a tranquility from gardening? And do you long to know of others who share this need and love? Finally, do you love Ken Druse's other wonderful, wildly beautiful books on same? "The Passion For Gardening" combines all in a typically (for Druse) gorgeous volume, plus it introduces others for whom gardening is not simply a matter of "plant material" being "installed" by some local garden center. You meet people for whom gardening, in all its aspects(from the Giverney-like selection and placement of the plants to the mundane and often satisfying acts of weeding and soil improvement) is almost a genetic imperative. You meet others for whom gardening is the thing that makes all right with the world. Even in the dead of Winter, this book is better than three therapy groups or five bottles of pills. It is one you will hold onto till the pages are tattered. It is what that urge to garden is all about.

Gardening for our Souls

Ken Druse is an amazingly gifted writer, photographer and gardener. I would not know what title to give him first. Passion is indeed a word that fits all these talents. In a world were all kinds of technical information is easy to be had, Ken Druse's book goes beyond the world of coffee tables and how to's. This book imbodies what is our gut instincts & passions, It is about responding to our intuition and letting loose with the child within. The photographs in Druse's books are lessons on their own. I am always tempted to create some new tapestry after looking at them. The photo esay at the end of the book that depicts his own garden through the seasons and the swirling motion of a rain induced flood are my favorite. It is usually from memory that we see our gardens in the clothes of a former season. These images are not only beautifully composed but are great lessons from a seasoned gardener.I read many a garden book, my sagging bookcases speak to that.Ken's are ones that I often and joyfully return to.