Reviews for Culture and Horticulture A Philosophy of Gardening

The average rating for Culture and Horticulture A Philosophy of Gardening based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-11-18 00:00:00 Southworth Swede I put this one aside, since I own it...and the library books needed to be returned. I really liked the beginning of this - it was a very readable anthropology of gardening. Enjoyable historical perspective and consistently makes holistic connections. As I picked it up and began reading again, it go a little weird. Astrology of the evolution of plants? astral garden rotation? I guess I'm just not out there enough for the full monte here. The last chapter came back to the anthropological theme...with an anti-industrialization twist, not surprisingly. "The small garden, if handle right, can satisfy nutritional needs, save on food bills, provide for essential contact with nature and serve aesthetic purposes." I'd have to agree. And the biodynamic concepts of layering plants and using companion organisms to let nature take care of itself also makes sense, although it might not be a perfectly tidy garden.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-12-11 00:00:00 Linda Williams I enjoyed Wolf Storl's insights and practical tips too. I read this book while I was travelling on land from Scotland to Iran. I kept looking out the window of our train, over weeks of travelling, observing miles and miles and miles of agricultural land, cultivated by heavy machinery, with hardly any farmers in sight. I kept thinking about the big gap between the deep philosophical observation of Mr. Storl and the reality of our present day agriculture. How could the huge chasm between the Philosophy of Gardening of Mr. Storl and our agri-business of the present day, devouring lands and livelihoods be reconciled? Otherwise, I found this book helpful, even though the philosophy of the biodynamic preparations remained a mystery. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on compost making.