I don't reread many books, so the fact that I am rereading both of these books says something about how good I think they are.
The first book is, On Gardening by Helen Dillion. To those of you who aren't familiar with her she is a well known garden authority and writer. Her garden in the Dublin suburb of Ranelegh is the most famous walled, and some think most beautiful, garden in Ireland. You can see a bit of it here: Dillon Garden. On a trip to Ireland I was lucky enough to be able to visit her garden which on certain days is open to the public.
This book is comprised of weekly articles she wrote for the Sunday Tribune. Written with wit and charm, full of useful tips and gardening philosophy it makes wonderful bedside reading. She has since written other books but this remains my favorite.
The other book is: The Greater Journey by David McCullough.
"From a dazzling beginning that captures the thrill of arriving in Paris in 1830 to the dawn of the 20th century the author chronicles the generations that came, saw and were captivated by Paris..." It is a compelling story of the French cultural contribution to America in among other things, medicine, art, and writing.
Fascinating, engaging, and well written it will entice any Francophile, armchair traveler, or those lucky enough to have visited, or plan to visit Paris.
"From a dazzling beginning that captures the thrill of arriving in Paris in 1830 to the dawn of the 20th century the author chronicles the generations that came, saw and were captivated by Paris..." It is a compelling story of the French cultural contribution to America in among other things, medicine, art, and writing.
Fascinating, engaging, and well written it will entice any Francophile, armchair traveler, or those lucky enough to have visited, or plan to visit Paris.
And this rose...
well it really doesn't have anything to do with books, it is just another one of the antique roses in my garden. I included it because it is so pretty!
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| Mrs John Laing. Hybrid Perpetual, 1887 |
Happy reading. Enjoy your day and don't forget to smell the roses.
Thank you for visiting
Beautiful roses! I am not much of a gardener but both books sound lovely. I have traveled both to Paris and to Ireland, but I love armchair travel too! Thanks for the recommendations!
ReplyDeleteYou know how much I love roses and this one is stunning. Thank you for recommending those books.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend.
Mary
lovely garden, but I really enjoy looking at yours more. It's just perfect.
ReplyDeleteI love garden books and discovered a few good ones when I was in England - and have since gifted them again and again. I will look for the one you suggest.
ReplyDeleteI love a well written book on gardens...would love to know more of your favourites. Going to see if I can find this one at the library.
ReplyDeleteI love a well written book on gardens...would love to know more of your favourites. Going to see if I can find this one at the library.
ReplyDelete...if not they have them at an extremely low cost used on Amazon. That's how I got my current copy.
DeleteHello Adrienne
ReplyDeleteWe visited Ireland last year in early June, but sadly it didn't coincide with Helen's open days for her garden.
I've read her books and her eye for artistic planting combinations is well known.
I also have a large collection of books on France as my daughter has lived there for 16 years and we travel there almost every year. I never tirer of reading books with a french theme.
Thank you for visiting and leaving your comment on my blog!
Shane
The book by Helen Dillon sounds interesting - even though gardening on the British Isles is something completely different than here in California. However, it's the inspiration that counts.
ReplyDeleteYou just know how to make your blog pictures and writings jump right off the page .
ReplyDeleteSo far I have not done anything to talk about in my apt. Getting off my behind. Been sitting here scrolling on your blog and making true comments to you.