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The Passionate Gardener: Adventures of an Ardent Green Thumb
In this rollicking read, Des Kennedy demonstrates his unerring skill with a satirical pitchfork. The 13 short pieces here roam widely and wildly, examining, among other things, common idiosyncrasies and the collective chaos of garden clubs. The book hilariously ponders the host of psychopathologies that afflict “plants people,” from weather phobias and general anxiety disorders to obsessive-compulsive behavior such as the chronic moving of plants. Whether discussing dysfunctional garden sprayers or malodorous urine collection schemes, Kennedy finds both the magic and the madness in one of life's most popular passions.
200 pages, Paperback
First published September 12, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 9, 2019
Des, you made me LOL again. I think even non-gardeners would find this amusing. My favourite chapters are "Passionate Plantings" with so many clever puns and "The Seven Deadly Sins" where he identifies not only the gardener's sins but also her virtues. 1. Pride-Humility, 2. Envy-Love, 3. Anger-Kindness, 4. Avarice-Generosity, 5. Sloth-Zeal, 6. Gluttony-Temperance, 7. Lust-Chastity.
February 10, 2022
The first several chapters are fabulous, hilarious. The energy is a little too frenetic for me in the last half of the book, but the gardening jokes are grand.
May 20, 2009
Hilarious - if you are a gardener. I've learned that even a gardener in Vancouver lives the same life as me - a gardener in Ontario. His description of Garden Club meetings had me laughing until I had tears in my eyes. I could swear he had been to our local club!
February 10, 2010
Not quite as consistently funny as his "Crazy About Gardening" but still made me laugh out loud with his descriptions of garden shows and sprayer struggles.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews