Cultivating Delight by Diane Ackerman

Cultivating Delight by Diane Ackerman

This book came out in 2002, and the subtitle is A Natural History of My Garden.

This book was the sequel to Diane's bestseller, A Natural History of the Senses.

In this book, Diane celebrates the sensory pleasures of her garden through the seasons, following the example of Tovah Martin's The Garden in Every Sense and Season.

Diane is a poet, essayist, and naturalist, writing in lyrical and sensuous prose.

Here's how Diane starts her section on spring:

“One day, when the last snows have melted, the air tastes tinny and sweet for the first time in many months.

That's settled tincture of new buds, sap, and loam;

I've learned to recognize as the first whiff of springtime.

Suddenly a brown shape moves in the woods, then blasts into sight as it clears the fence at the bottom of the yard.

A beautiful doe, with russet flanks and nimble legs, she looks straight at me as I watch from the living room window, then she drops her gaze."

The Boston Globe praised this book, saying,

"Ackerman has done it again... one of the most buoyant and enjoyable garden reads... uplifting and intelligent."

The New York Times review said:

“Understated elegance, lush language, historical and scientific nuggets, artful digressions, and apt quotations, Ackerman's book reminds us that we, too, can make our paradise here and that tranquility can be achieved by contemplating the petals of a rose.”

You can get a used copy of Cultivating Delight by Diane Ackerman and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $2.