Description:
Don't turn to former-minister-turned-garden-enthusiast Terry Hershey for instructions on how to prune, weed, or fertilize; turn to him for guidance on how to open your heart to the rhythms of the garden. Likewise, look here not for listings of plants or tools, but for advice on how to slow down enough to appreciate the space between your door and the garden gate. "My garden placed me squarely in the world of sun and moon, wind and rain, soil and water, insects and animals, summer and winter," writes Hershey, who goes on to tell the story of how cultivating a garden changed him from a hard-charging, success-driven minister to a guy who spends sunny mornings wrestling with his dog and child on the dew-laden grass. After becoming "unraveled by an iris" he sighted while rafting down the Colorado River, Hershey became enthralled by the wonder and the madness of creating a garden. Hershey feels that gardeners have a chance to go through life fully awake, if they'll just slow down long enough to savor their gardens. "Gardening can be strong medicine," he writes, "an elixir that nurtures and shapes the soul." Unfortunately, even while living on a rural island in Puget Sound, Washington, Hershey sees that gardening, just like so much else in life, has become a competitive activity, an excuse for haste, worry, and overwork. In an attempt to counteract the rush toward accomplishment, Hershey celebrates not just the joy of discovering plants and digging in the dirt but also the profundity of resting on a bench beneath a honeysuckle vine. He remains deeply committed to just sitting in the garden, and in this wise and heartfelt book, he invites all of us to join him. --Valerie Easton
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