Inner Gardening: A Seasonal Path to Inner Peace

This book strikes me (maybe that description is too harsh for such a book) as an informative, healing, and spiritually-thoughtful book. I felt like I was being wrapped in a glowy, enveloping, surrogate home every time I picked it up, which is more often now since I seek more comfort these days in our insecure world. The writer chronicles each month of the year in terms of gardening, so that you are doing something garden-related, even in the Winter months, when most of us are just pipe-dreaming of the first sprout of the year. There are so many ideas and so many questions the writer poses to you, many involving your inner self, that it will take some time to process it all. Luckily, you can work on these questions monthly, and pick and choose whichever month of the year you want to pore over (I couldn't resist). There are also sonnets and other literary entries by various writers, which will surely make you ponder or simply smile. This book made me take notice of all the life around me, down to the grass growing outside, and to live more in the season and the moment. You may be inspired or spurred to take action once reading this delightful book, and don't be fooled by its docile, calming nature. Great change can spring forth from such quiet contemplation. I have begun to live this truth. Maybe it will help you live a more healthy, vivacious and thoughtful life, or maybe it will just bring you home. Either way, it will certainly help you create change within yourself and your life. I think in just the small excerpts I would read at times, I would gleen some replenishing freedom for my oft-parched soul, and it is sometimes just what I needed. I hope you, too, find some freedom in just such a book. Ultimately, this is a useful book that was written to guide you through your spiritual growth AND your gardening (it doesn't get much better than that) in a way that a gardener can understand and relate to, to the molten, stormy core. I must say that there are many things in this book which I did not mention, as I am sure you will find them yourself, with your own unique perspective. I thought I found this book; but truly, this book found ME.

INNER GARDENING is a remarkable book in a number of ways. First of all, Diane Dreher's work addresses the whole reader in a way other books cannot because of their self-imposed limitations of scope. INNER GARDENING is a book full of interesting useful information on cultivating one's land. So, it is good for the VICTORY GARDEN crowd. It is also an insightful original piece of scholarship concerned with themes of nature in Western and Eastern cultures. So, it is right up the alley of someone who reads Rebecca Bushnell. Most important to me, the book communicates meaning through its own organizational structure. The collection begins and ends in the springtime. I was pleasantly surprised at how clearly Dreher writes on the topics of origins and fruitions. I cannot recommend this book strongly enough.

"Inner Gardening" is like a beautiful patch work quilt. Dr. Dreher weaves together her considerable learning about gardening, Eastern philosophy, Renaissance history and literature into an inspirational book that you will consult over and over again. Each chapter corresponds to a month of the year with detailed instructions on specific gardening tasks. The author then reflects on the inner meaning of these tasks and how the disciplined performance of them contributes to a richer life. I highly recommend it to you.

I'm new to gardening and I found this book interesting. There are many different reasons why I'm interested in gardening. I like the plants but more importantly I wanted to garden myself. I wanted to grow something inside. The author bridges these two types of gardening nicely. She infuses the chapters with a variety of different angles on gardening. In some sections she brings in the botanical view. There's also the historical folklore perspective. She encourages risk and self-exploration by communicating some of the her own experiences in Aikido as well as her thoughts when she's gardening. Then there's, for lack of a better term, the self-workbook questions. For example pg 98 - "Something is always growing in our gardens, whether we cultivate it or not." Similar to The Artists Way, the author asks the reader to explore their life. I don't think the psychological and spiritual benefits of gardening would be so valued in our culture if the activity weren't time tested. At the same time, readers need coaching to uncover or find their ways. The author guides the reader by asking them to reflect on their lives. These questions encouraged me to start gardening and exploring within my own life as well. I encourage others to pick up this book and begin growing new ideas within the soil of their own minds. I would recommend the book to many because it's multidimensional and it challenges me to grow.