Planting an Inheritance: Life on a Pennsylvania Farm

by Edwin A. Peeples

Gardener's-eye account of 50 years on a Pennsylvania farm Vivid and complete description of the nurturing of a unique legacy Rare, original, full of sharp insight and hard-earned wisdom Lacking inherited wealth, Edwin and Mimi Peeples invested their energy in an abandoned farmhouse and its fields and woods to create a different kind of wealth: mature plantings of box and yew, magnificent specimen trees, unusual ornamentals. There were natural treasures on their grounds, too, so they husbanded the wildflowers and fragrant herbs, the native berries and volunteer fruits, the precious hardwood and aromatic trees. "The fortunate thing about a farm," Peeples writes, "is that whatever wild plant you have at all, you generally have by the acre." Now surrounded by subdivisions, the landscape is at risk, but Peeples will not sell out. What could any man buy worth more than a bequest of beauty?

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1994

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

We had the honor of staying at this Pennsylvania farm during our vacation this year. It is still owned by the Peeples family, and two of the sons have business ventures there. One is a masseuse, the other runs a VRBO, where we stayed. The book tells how the parents bought the farm, in 1946, and spent the next 50 years discovering the flora and fauna there. He is quite candid about both the successes and failures, bumps in the road and joys that they encountered. It really brought the place to life for me.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few good tpss but mostly rambling memories. Not a novel. Not a gardening book. Sort of a mish mash...the sort of book thatis more like a diary.