A Garden Miscellany by Suzanne Staubach

A Garden Miscellany by Suzanne Staubach

The subtitle to this book is An Illustrated Guide to the Elements of the Garden.

Imagine a sweet garden dictionary with the most adorable cover and beautiful illustrations, and then throw in excellent garden history and botanical tidbits along with clear and straightforward definitions - and you have garden historian Suzanne Staubach’s delightful book, A Garden Miscellany.

From a design standpoint, this book was a standout for me in 2019. Julia Yellow did a marvelous job with the whimsical and striking illustrations.

Suzanne introduces her book this way:

“If Gardens were musical compositions, this book would be a look at the notes.

Gardens have many notes and many parts. Paths, borders, beds, containers, pergolas, plants.

Not all gardens include the same elements, but they do include some combination.”

In Suzanne’s Garden Miscellany - an alphabetical collection of garden elements - A is for Allée: Derived from the French verb meaning "to go". Allée refers to a straight walkway or avenue, a promenade, usually lined with trees, occasionally with shrubs. Leveraging her garden history chops, Suzanne sprinkles in fun facts like this one for Allée:

“the 17th-century diarist, author, and gardener John Evelyn, wrote that

‘alleys must not be interrupted and that their length alone affords a most gracious and pleasant perspective, while they serve to decline and concur at a point - especially if planted with tall trees... Nothing can be more beautiful and agreeable.’”

In writing this delightful dictionary, Suzanne reflected,

“As I wrote, I wanted to add everything to my garden.
Oh, for a pond!
Or a shepherd's Hut!
For a week, I thought nothing would do but a pavilion.
Gardening is dreaming.”

Suzanne’s book is one I find myself revisiting. It is a beautiful resource that should be on your garden gift list—to give or receive.

You can get a used copy of A Garden Miscellany by Suzanne Staubach and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $5.