Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1290491 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 334 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Gardening seems a solitary endeavor, perfect for those who like to be alone with nature without leaving their own yard. But this biography of renowned Southern gardening expert Lawrence tells of a time when getting your hands on an Algerian iris was not as easy as opening a nursery catalogue. Lawrence (1904—1985), author of A Southern Garden, Two Gardeners and numerous articles in House & Garden magazine and the Charlotte Observer, spent her life collecting different bulbs and clippings from the "friendly society" of gardeners across the country. Her love for gardens stretched beyond her own, and she often incorporated tips and accomplishments from the giant, informal association of green thumbs in her columns. According to Lawrence, "Gardening, reading about gardening, and writing about gardening are all one. No one can garden alone." Admired by writers such as Joseph Mitchell and Eudora Welty, Lawrence's writing was often about people and philosophy as well as planting. North Carolina writer Wilson's account is clear and unembellished, and her work provides a complete portrait of an independent, private and multifaceted woman. Photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
On the 100th anniversary of her birth, Lawrence's life is celebrated with joy, reverence, and clarity in this captivating biography of the quintessential horticulturist whose columns and books about her private Southern garden inspired gardeners throughout the country. Wilson, the editor of Two Gardeners: Katherine S. White and Elizabeth Lawrence, A Friendship in Letters (2002), vibrantly traces Lawrence's development from a shy, devoted daughter to a pioneering landscape architect and prolific garden writer, exploring in detail the paradoxes that were to define Lawrence's personal and professional lives. Raised in the genteel South, where devotion to family and community represented the highest ideals of young womanhood, Lawrence defied expectations by attending college in New York City. Although her exposure to urban sophistication profoundly affected her, it could not surpass the uncommon satisfaction she derived from working in her own backyard. Her writings about the practical and philosophical rewards of tending one's own garden won her legions of fans, from the notable to the ordinary. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"A touching, insightful, and always engaging account of the complicated life of a talented southern woman finding her way over the course of the twentieth century. Based on painstaking research and extensive interviews, Wilson places the professional life of Elizabeth Lawrence, the ultimate gardener's icon, within the larger context of Elizabeth Lawrence, the living, breathing, gracious-but-fallible, irritating-but-illuminating daughter, friend, and author we wish lived next door." -Michele Gillespie, Kahle Associate Professor of History, Wake Forest University "This is the biography of Elizabeth Lawrence that we have all been waiting for. Even though Lawrence's writings are legendary among southern gardeners, her personal life has always been somewhat elusive. Emily Herring Wilson deftly weaves together Lawrence's passions-her gardens, family circle, cherished friendships, and even her religious beliefs-in a compelling narrative." -Judith B. Tankard, Landscape Institute, Harvard University "Elizabeth Lawrence, who was my friend and mentor, would be delighted with Emily's Wilson's writing style and sensitive approach. Steeped as she is in the lore and history of the Southeast, Wilson is the perfect biographer for this southern lady." -Pamela Harper, author of Time-Tested Plants "The great merit in Emily Wilson's biography of Elizabeth Lawrence is the meticulous piecing together of the facts of Lawrence's life--the people who influenced and goaded her, her gardening correspondents, and her inquisitive and determined mind-all of which set the stage for the garden observations and writings that have become American classics." -Bobby J. Ward, author of The Plant Hunter's Garden: The Explorers and Their Discoveries "Elizabeth Lawrence's life, like her gardens and her writing, reflects the richness that comes from patient observation and acceptance of life's most evanescent changes. Emily Herring Wilson has captured Lawrence's 'gardener's spirit' with all its interior complexity, joy of discovery, and delight in sharing. Wilson is cautious not to trample or invade, but with candor and insight she uncovers the gardener's own bloom-time and poetic voice. This biography unlocks Lawrence's secret garden as only another gifted southern poet and writer could do." -Linda Lear, author of Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature

Customer Reviews

A gardening life
To many gardeners in the south, Elizabeth Lawrence was a source of inspriation as well as an icon. Her first book, "A Southern Garden," published in 1942, has achieved a classic status today and it is a book that readers return to again and again for the pleasure of reading as well as Lawrence's opinions on certain plants. Lawrence lived her entire life in North Carolina taking care of her mother, writing and creating her famous garden. Her first garden was the one her mother created in Raleigh, N.C. Later, mother and daughter moved to Charlotte, N.C. to be nearer to Lawrence's sister and it was here that Elizabeth created her most famous garden. In addition to "A Southern Garden," Lawrence published several more books during her lifetime - "The Little Bulbs" and "Gardens In Winter" as well as writing a weekly column for The Charoltte Observer. A manuscript that she was working on at the time of her death - "Gardening for Love," was published posthumously.

Lawrence was a keen observer of plants and kept meticulous records of bloom dates and her experiences growing them. Her interest was not confined to her own garden though - she corresponded with many gardeners throughout the United States (some well known, some not) and recorded their bloom dates to compare with her own.

A biography of Lawrence's life has been long overdue and author Herring has done a great job depicting the life of this extradordinary woman. Granted, Lawrence led a fairly staid life, but there are some surprises along the way (for example, she did receive a marriage proposal in her later years!). What the book notably achieves is exploring the special friendship that existed between Lawrence and her friends and letter correspondents (many of which - Caroline Dornan, William Lanier Hunt, Katherine White, etc. - are profiled in detail). The title itself refers to a quote from Lawrence which emphasizes that gardening is not a solitary endeavor.

Elizabeth the Great
I had never even heard of Elizabeth Lawrence before picking up this book nor do I remember ever reading any biographies of gardeners before. And yet Emily Herring Wilson's simple, deceptively placid writing style hooked me from page one. She promises, then she reveals, over and over again. Lawrence led a fairly sequestered life after going to Barnard in New York City, where--as Herring Wilson's research among the Ann Bridgers papers at Duke reveals--she fell in love (or something like it) with a man who shortly afterwards married another woman and then died within weeks of the marriage. When Peter died you can almost imagine Elizabeth Lawrence deciding that marriage isn't for her, and that flowers and gardens would henceforward be her entire solace.

That, and a loving family, and a wide circle of friends, which expanded as her writing about gardens brought her the kind of fame every writer wants most--the admiration of one's peers.

She met Eudora Welty and Katharine Angell White, though perhaps she was even more interested in people whom the world might think of as nonentities, but to Lawrence they were men and women after her own heart, people who understood plants. When A SOUTHERN GARDEN was published in 1941, such people sought her out and sent her clippings. When Lawrence said, "no one gardens alone," she was alluding to this kind of invisible web of support.

I will be interested in going to Charlotte and seeing the original gardens which (reports the author) they are going to try to restore in Elizabeth Lawrence's honor.

Until then, I will be happy re-reading this amazingly interesting and beautifully written biography.

A Biography Suited to the Subject
This biography of the great 20th century garden writer Elizabeth Lawrence is beautifully written. One wishes Elizabeth could read it herself. During the last years of her life, I was privileged to have a correspondence with Elizabeth Lawrence, although by that time her handwriting was very hard to read. I had written a piece on her for American Women Writers, and when I sent it to her she disagreed with the high praise I gave her and also criticized the example of her writing which I chose to showcase. Of course I told her humility is a virtue, but so is truth.

Emily Wilson has done a great service to the history of American garden writing with this book. Now, I would like to call for a similiar treatment of Helen Morgenthau Fox, another great lady of the garden.