The Literary Garden: Bringing Fiction's Best Gardens to Life

by Duncan Brine, Various

A celebration of the sublime pleasures of gardening and reading is illustrated through a collection of excerpts from treasured novels and beautifully rendered line drawings depicting the imaginary gardens they describe, featuring the work of F. Scott Fitzgerald, D.H. Lawrence, Louisa May Alcott, and other literary greats.

Genres: Gardening, Reference

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2001

About the author

Duncan Brine is a Princeton-educated landscape designer. Raised in a family of writers and readers, Brine worked in theatre and film before founding his design firm, Horticultural Design, in 1984. Specializing in residential gardens, his work has taken him from rooftop gardens in Manhattan to rural properties throughout the East Coast.

Reviews

[Joanna]

It's a grand idea, to flesh out the gardens of literature and create them in our own yards. This book presents excerpts from 39 well known works and then provides us with several projects inspired by each passage. I read it more for the sumptuous descriptions than for the projects, but enjoyed every bit of it. A very successful gift from my sister!

[Debbie]

A beautiful compilation of fiction excerpts from great authors, pencil etchings of nature, gardens and herb beds, and fine recipes for things like pumpkin pillows, quince marmalade, and corn relish. This book would make a lovely gift to someone who appreciates literature and lady lunches.

[Diane Jensen]

This is a fantastic book about great classic books and about the garden plants in them. Some recipes, some garden layouts, exerpts from these books, and folklore about fruits, veggies and flowers. An inspiring book all around and one you'll pick up every spring.

[Judi]

I enjoyed this read though many of the plants are not reliably hardy for this area and he does not include any zone information for Canada. The section concerning cats in the garden could not be more wrong! Otherwise a very nice and inspiring book.