A Year in Our Gardens

“This exchange of letters between [the authors] is the story of their passionate dedication to gardening and to life. . . . The description of . . . unfamiliar plants presents intriguing possibilities for the gardener. Because of the wealth of plants listed in the index, the book can serve as a supplementary reference.” — Fine Gardening

“Much of the charm and appeal of this exchange lies in how these differences of circumstance shape their respective point of view, and more so in the warm affection and respect each holds for the other.” — Magnolia Summer

“An engaging addition to the horticultural canon. . . . Both Goodwin and Lacy are exceptionally perceptive writers. Their exchange is marked by an admirably restrained dignity that is not without sometimes whimsical observations. . . . These correspondents have produced a graceful, literate book with their graceful literate letters sent up and down the East Coast. . . . A splendid book.” — Durham Herald-Sun

“[These] letters are genuine. . . . I longed to jump into the conversation: Nancy, what’s the recipe for your deer spray? Allen, how do I subscribe to your newsletter?. . . . An excellent gift book. . . . It’s entertainingly distracting, and can be read in bits and pieces or in one go and Martha Blake-Adams’s charming line drawings of scenes from both authors' gardens are additional delights.” — American Gardener

“Everything about the physical book [is] stirring: its elegant shape, the frothy purple light in the dust jacket photograph, enthusiastic endorsements on the back panel. . . . Above all, it was the authors of this collection of letters . . . who drew me headlong into some very pleasurable reading. . . . There is no limit to what thoughtful writers find revealed in minute events in even the smallest of places.” — Brooklyn Botanic Garden

“A delightful little book. . . . So real are the voices as the two friends discuss their gardens — and life and living — that you'll struggle mightily to keep from joining in and talking about your garden and life, too.” — Our State

“Readers seldom have a chance to peer as intimately into gardeners' intentions as we do in A Year In Our Gardens. . . . This book is one of the riches in an unusually rich season for literary gardening.” — New York Times Book Review

“Letter writing, because of the time required and the mental self-editing that time affords, is a different form of communication. Slow, yes. Superior, I'm convinced, especially after finishing A Year in Our Gardens: Letters by Nancy Goodwin & Allen Lacy.” — Raleigh News & Observer

“Gardeners are often more keenly aware of the natural world than most other folk. . . . Goodwin and Lacy have this gift of observation, and their insights into the world around them make for fascinating reading as they explore subjects as diverse as mulch and Mozart. While they relate the changes in their garden, they also reveal the changes in their lives, sharing their innermost feelings and experiences, as one does only with a very close friend.” — Booklist

“You visit a magnificent garden, and you say 'Oh, how splendid!' Or you read a garden article, and you say 'How perceptive. How finely crafted.' But unless you have made a magnificent garden or written about one perfectly (or done both) you'll be clueless about the effort and thought that lie behind what you so much admire. Here’s your chance to know, for Nancy Goodwin has made a garden that has achieved the attention of the world, and Allen Lacy has written more thoughtfully about gardens than almost anyone living. Their quotidian epistolary chatter has been recorded in this volume of letters, which is vivid not only with garden experience, but with all the strands of life that inevitably feed into both making gardens and writing about them. Their conversations are full of revelation. Buy this book.” — Joe Eck, coauthor of Living Seasonally: The Kitchen Garden and the Table at North Hill