The American Gardner

Library or Purchase: Library

Takeaway: A reminder that land development debates in North America are nothing new. “America has soil and climate far surpassing those of England; and yet she is surprizingly deficient in variety as well as quality of garden products.” Aka, we do more with less and let me tell you in 20 extra words a sentence how much better we are.

Read again: No, this book does make a great addition to an overall series or class syllabus. Good for context but not a standalone read.

The Penguin Random House describes The American Gardner: "as the first classic work of American gardening literature. In it, William Cobbett, Victorian England’s greatest and most gifted journalist, draws upon his experiences during a two-year exile on a Long Island, New York, farm to lay out the rudiments of gardening for American farmers and, ultimately, to tailor principles developed in wet, drippy, weed-prone British gardens to their fine, sun-drenched counterparts in America. Full of practical knowledge memorably imparted with Cobbett’s gift for the indelible phrase, The American Gardener offers advice still useful today on all aspects of gardening, with special attention to those plants successful in the New World, including the artichoke (“indeed, a thistle upon a gigantic scale”) and the increasingly ubiquitous potato. Rediscovered 180 years after its composition, The American Gardener is evidence of a great mind and pen at work in the earliest days of American gardens."

I’ve included the book below from Google Books. Project Gutenberg or the Internet Archive are also great venues for finding books this old.