Emily Dickinson's Gardening Life

This is a beautiful book, much more extensive and informative than I expected. You get a feel for Emily's whole life, her family and the era in which she lived. It is so much more than just a year in the garden. The book is brought alive by the wonderful photographs, artwork and illustrations. The garden descriptions enhance it all too, you can almost smell and feel the beauty of the place. The way the author has selected and interwoven Emily's poems and writing into the book make it such an excellent piece of work, you can definitely feel the authors passion for the subject. This is a wonderful book brought alive by a garden, with soul, passion and emotion.

An absolutely lovely book a book that introduces us to Emily Dickinsons garden her home so beautifully written illustrated with poems photographs. gardening advice.I.I plan on giving this treasure of a book as a gift to friends who also love Emily and will enjoy discovering her love for gardening.# netgalley #timberpress

This gorgeous book is a literary and gardening delight! It uniquely reflects Dickinson’s life through her love of gardening, with lush photos and illustrations, excerpts from her poetry and letters, even ideas for growing a poet’s garden, along with a list of the plants Dickinson actually used in hers. 5/5

Pub Date 01 Oct 2019.
 
Thanks to the author, Timber Press and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#EmilyDickinsonsGardeningLife #NetGalley

I have to say that reading this book inspired me to get a book of her poems to read. This book has delightful illustrations. Also, the book has great value just in the historical information it gives about Emily. Many of her poems were linked to flowers and to nature. One of the most fun parts of the book was the chapter about planting a poet’s garden. I would love to do that!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a beautiful book full of information about Emily's life through her garden. The pictures are gorgeous and I love how Emily's poems are weaved in throughout the book. Such a delight to read. Thank you to Netgalley and Timber Press for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you love anything Emily Dickinson, then this book will further your love not only for her poetry, but also her life’s connection to her plants. This book was much more than I anticipated. It was divided into parts: Dickinson’s life as a gardener throughout the seasons and a visitor’s guide to the Museum and the Dickinson landscape. Each part was well written and extremely detailed. It was accompanied by many illustrations and photos which captured the beauty of Dickinson’s love of plants.
The author took us back in time as she described Dickinson’s life in Amherst, with family and friends, and her absolute love of botany as evident in her poetry. It was fascinating to learn about Dickinson’s herbarium hobby and how it was in a sense scientific art. After reading this book, I have an even greater appreciation for Emily Dickinson as a person, a writer, and now as a gardener.
Highly recommended!

An ARC was given for an honest review.

I love Emily Dickinson's poetry and this book added a new level of insight into her life. It was a fascinating read.

This book is absolutely beautiful! Such a unique perspective on a poet who already has so much information printed about her that you may think there is nothing new to learn about her life, but you'd be wrong. If you love Emily Dickinson & gardening, this would be the perfect book for you. The illustrations were absolutely lovely and there were many details about Dickinson's life that I had never heard before. There are also some great photos and of course, poems. This book inspired me to want to both garden & read more of Emily Dickinson's work. Such an interesting lady! I also appreciated the addition of inspiration for growing your own "poet's garden", which includes a list of the plants Emily used in hers.

Well-researched and enlightening, this book opens a new angle on understanding and appreciating Emily Dickinson. In textbooks, Dickinson is portrayed as having agoraphobia. This book reveals broader truth and even connects the poet to the transcendental love of nature. I recommend to fans and teachers of Dickinson.

This is a beautiful book, a delight for poetry lovers and gardeners alike. The illustrations are lovely. The research is vast and well presented. Most striking is how well the author’s language matches Dickenson’s, picturesque, lyrical and concise. I will definitely add the hard copy to my collection when it’s released.

Thanks to the author, Timber Press and NetGalley for the review copy.

I'm always looking for background stories on my favorite authors and this one sounded very interesting. I love gardening and flowers so thought I'd see how my tastes compared to Emily Dickinson's. The book is very entertaining with lovely gardening sets. This is one book you'll return to many times.

I really hate it when the publisher decides to only make the galley available as a digital download.

As a fan of her poetry, I was intrigued to read about a different side of Emily Dickinson. This book does that well. I enjoyed reading about her letters and her poems dealing with different flowers, and I also liked hearing more about her family. Images are wonderful here, and I also liked how the book is set up with the different seasons as showing progression. An enjoyable book for fans of her poetry and also for fans of horticulture. Highly recommend this book.

I will say that I am not a huge poetry fan, but I am a gardener who loves a good story. Marta McDowell's book, Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life, roped me in as a fan for life, so I was excited to receive an advanced reader copy of this book about Emily Dickinson.

Her research is thorough and she intertwines the author's life, writings, and gardens beautifully. As the book is dividend among the seasons, I would prefer to read it in multiple sittings, perhaps with rain and a cup of tea, or on the patio with a lemonade. The plant index at the end is very useful in bringing some of Ms Dickinson's garden sensibilities to one's own garden.

I was unfamiliar with the concept of a "herbarium" before reading this book. It is a user-created book in which one presses plants and gives information about the plant. Quite often, Ms Dickinson would share pressed plants and a poem with friends and relatives. Sometimes I think of all we miss by corresponding only virtually.

Devotees of both Emily Dickinson and gardens will swoon over this wonderful read.

Thanks to Timber Press and NetGalley for the eARC in return for an unbiased review.

#EmilyDickinsonsGardeningLife #NetGalley

I love Emily Dickinson and I love gardening this means this book was a sort of Heaven send.
I loved the mix of poetry, text, gardening advice and the lovely pictures.
It must be great in hard cover format and a perfect present.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I didn't know what to expect going in to this book. I'm familiar with Emily Dickinson's work, but not much about her biography (except for a vague idea of her being an unappreciated recluse). This book totally exceeded my expectations.

McDowell not only delves into Emily Dickinson's garden, but how her interactions with plants and her study of botany, a "woman's subject," heavily influenced her writing. Organized by season, each section takes us through the kinds of plants and flowers Dickinson and her family grew in Massachusetts, accompanied by historical information, stories from her life, excerpts from letters, botanical illustrations, and poems inspired by the plants discussed. I particularly loved seeing photos from Dickinson's herbarium, a collection of over 400 plant specimens, dried and pressed into a book. A later section is entitled "Planting a Poet's Garden" and lists hundreds of plants that Dickinson knew and grew--and cites poems, herbarium pages, and letters where they're mentioned! So, this book is not only a well-researched biography of Emily Dickinson and her family, but also a catalogue of how botany and literature intersect. It's fascinating, beautifully-arranged, and incredibly informative.

Three books in one! This fascinating account of the life of Emily Dickinson portrays her life long obsession with her gardening and all that she could grow in it. This is accompanied with some of her beautiful garden-inspired poetry and a list of all the plants and flowers cultivated by the Dickinsons. Following the introduction the book is divided into two sections: The Turning of the Year, taking you through the garden in each season starting with Spring, and A Poet's Gardens giving advice on how to create your own. I loved this book and reading it made me want to visit this wonderful place. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher, Timber Press for an ARC.

Beautiful collection of photos, writing, gardening tips, and history. A very interesting collection for Emily Dickinson and gardening fans, meandering through the seasons of the garden with her writings.

I love history and stories of the lives of those who lived long ago. I enjoy Emily’s poetry and now to have so much of her life in one book is a joy. Maybe it is time I have my own “poetry garden”.
Thanks netgalley and the publisher for the advanced read. Loved it. I think I need my own copy for my library

What a beautiful book - perfect for anyone with an interest in botany, poetry and Emily Dickinson (in general). Emily’s love of herbariums and plants always fascinated me - and align with her fascination with the sublime and the beauty of nature. Dividing the chapters into seasons was a touch of genius. I did my undergraduate dissertation about Emily and her relationship with nature and how this was represented by her life choices. If only this book was around when I was writing it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Timber Press for the opportunity to review this book. I’ve pre-ordered the physical copy for my own collection!

Gardening and poetry--who could ask for anything more? The visuals in this book help to truly put an image to some of Emily's more intriguing figures of speech. It also gives a glimpse into what life was like in 19th-century New England. The author has clearly done her homework.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the digital ARC!

This book is an absolute delight. I received it as an e-book from NetGalley (many thanks) but it’s really one to own and treasure as an actual book, one to refer to again and again. I don’t read a lot of Emily Dickinson, although I do enjoy her work, nor am I a gardener, although I enjoy looking at flowers and plants as much as anyone, but this book is something special and I defy anyone not to take pleasure from it. Acclaimed primarily as a great poet, Emily Dickinson was also a keen gardener, loved plants and was knowledgeable about them. In this wonderfully illustrated book, the author takes us through a complete year in Dickinson’s garden, with excerpts from her poems and letters. If you’re a lover of her poems, then you need this book. And if you’re a lover of gardens and gardening then you need this book. And if you’re a lover of both – well, it’s simply essential reading.

This is a really lovely book! Anyone who is interested in Emily Dickinson, gardening, or New England/Massachusetts history will enjoy it. Combining photos and details about the plants in Emily Dickinson's garden and her care for them, snippets of her poetry, and a look into life at that time, it is beautifully illustrated and designed and gives a great deal of information. I have a great love of Emily, her poetry, and Western Massachusetts, and this is a perfect book to complement these interests.

Thank you to Timber Press and NetGalley for the temporary advance review copy!

An absolutely gorgeous book, filled with historic illustrations of the flowers Emily and her family grew, selections from her dried flower collection, and both historic and modern photography of Amherst and the Dickinson estate. The book is sectioned off into "seasons," a very creative way of organizing the narrative of Emily's life to go along with the seasons her gardens went through. The author peppers the text with Dickinson's poetry and selections from letters that discuss her love for nature and gardening. McDowell's writing itself is poetic and picturesque, providing lots of facts about Dickinson and 19th-century gardening without becoming dry or didactic.

A wide picture is painted here to give the reader a clear portrayal of Emily Dickinson's life, her family, her town, and her friends. Like the flowers and grounds lovingly tended by the poet, McDowell tenderly shows the poet and gardener's interactions with her siblings, family, and friends. Through pictures, letters, and pressed flowers, we see the deep botanic interest Dickinson had - she passes the season through observation, relishing the beauty of the fruits of her work and the land. A charming book for anyone who is newly or already familiar with the poetess and is curious to shed light on what inspired her.

Confession: I have been a huge Emily Dickinson fan forever. In high school, I dressed up like her on her December 10th birthday. Before I met a former boss, I learned she was an Emily Dickinson fan too, and low key stalked her until she hired me (We’re still friends; I wasn’t that creepy). And I planned to name a daughter Emily before the name became popular.

Sooo...I had to read this newly re-released book about Emily Dickinson’s gardening life. I knew I would be hypercritical, but! There was nothing to criticize. It is so beautiful. The poems, the photographs, the archival images, the prose. Oh, and the descriptions of the plants she grew, many of them old friends to me. Not that I could grow them. I live in Georgia, not Massachusetts, and lack a green thumb. It’s amazing to me that her gardens could be so closely reconceived after so many years.

The author chose not to correct spelling or perceived grammar, publishing the poems as they were written, showing that even when random capitalization, dashes, and spelling are seemingly preserved, a lot of changes have been made. I loved this book, and am planning my own poet’s garden. #netgalley #emilydickinsonsgardeninglife #emilydickinson

What an absolutely lovely book! Here, we're offered a detailed look into a big part of Emily Dickinson's life- her gardens. We go through a typical year in the life of the gardens, season by season, with photos of the Homestead and surrounding areas both now and then, details about the lives of Emily, her family, and her friends, beautiful botanical illustrations, excerpts of personal letters, glimpses inside Emily's herbarium, and of course, Emily's poetry, with each poem highlighting the text perfectly. There is an extensive list of Emily's plants listed in the back, to give a better idea of how large her collection was. This is a book to pore over for hours, to savor! Perfect, of course, for fans of Emily Dickinson, but also for those interested in gardening history or the lives of American poets.

#EmilyDickinsonsGardeningLife #NetGalley

I love Dickinson's poetry and have always been curious about the recluse's life. McDowell offers us unique insight into the poet's garden and how it served as an inspiration.

Emily Dickinson's Gardening Life by Marta McDowell is a beautiful book. The pictures are lovely. I loved learning more about Emily Dickinson and enjoyed reading her poetry mixed into this delightful book.

Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life is a literary and gardening delight. A must read for fans of Dickinson’s writing.

I just love this book. The book beautifully presents Emily Dickinson's love of gardening and the influence it had on her poetry. It is very well written and researched. The text is accompanied with wonderful illustrations. It will make a wonderful gift. Enjoy