The Thoughtful Gardener by Jinny Blom

The Thoughtful Gardener by Jinny Blom

This book came out in 2017, and the subtitle is An Intelligent Approach to Garden Design.

Jinny Blom, the horticultural enchantress, has woven a captivating tapestry in this book.

This isn't merely a book on garden design; it's a soulful journey through the verdant labyrinth of the human heart.

With a pen as sharp as a gardener's trowel, Jinny invites us into her world of lush landscapes and elegant simplicity. Her gardens aren't just spaces of beauty; they are reflections of the soul, each one a unique masterpiece tailored to its owner's individual desires and dreams.

Piet Oudolf has high praise for Jinny Blom. He writes,

The most romantic, creative person in garden design I know.

So that's high praise right there from one of our top modern garden designers.

Like Piet Oudolf, Jinny Blom is a force all her own. She's designed well over 200 gardens, and they represent a diverse range of garden styles - proving that Jinny Blom really is The Thoughtful Gardener.

From the grandest estate to the humblest cottage garden, Jinny's creations are imbued with a sense of timelessness and tranquility. She speaks of structure and harmony, of rooting and liberating, as if painting a portrait of the human spirit itself.

Now, one of Jinny's superpowers is to look at the current landscape, the setting, and the surrounding ecosystems and communities and then determine what vision best fits that landscape. Of course, she has to throw in client desires and other challenges that might come up in creating that garden.

Whether it's topography challenges or resource constraints, Jinny has indeed seen it all. Through her myriad experiences, she's devised six different steps to help you become a thoughtful gardener, too. The six sections in Jinny's book are understanding, structuring, harmonizing, rooting, and liberating.

Now, I think one of the things that Jinny does almost unconsciously at this stage in her career is that she really thinks through what she's trying to accomplish in any given landscape.

And I don't care what you're trying to accomplish; you will do a better job of reaching your anticipated goals if you take the time to do your homework and honestly think things through.

This is how Jinny herself describes her book.

She writes,

So this book is about how I've developed my way of working over the last twenty years in progression from apprentice to journeyman to
master craftsman. 

It takes a long time and I've learned at the elbow of countless masters, not in a schoolroom. 

I choose plants with compatibility in mind, appropriate materials arise from their locale, and I consider the people who will live in the garden, the wildlife, the weather. I'd like to share some of what I think about when designing, in the hope that it kindles the fires of excitement in others.

I've climbed a big mountain to get to this point and hope there's a view worth sharing.

But this is no dry academic treatise. Jinny's wit and charm shine through every page, making her book as delightful to read as it is informative. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or a budding enthusiast, you'll be captivated by her insights and inspired by her passion.

Jinny also has another superpower that I think really helps her with her garden design skills. That is, she can see gardens as they will look when they are mature, which is a particular skill for garden designers. It feels like she's always one step ahead, and I think that's because Jinny does a thorough job of researching and thinking about her garden designs - so that by the time you see the final product, it seems effortless. But I suppose that is Jinny's method behind the madness at the end of the day.

I remember the first time I interviewed the Renegade Gardener, and he said the same thing to me. He said he was a successful garden designer because he could imagine what a plant would look like at maturity or in any particular setting. And so he knew what to plant where - and how it would look when it was all grown up. And so his goal as a designer was not to make sure that the garden would look good immediately - although that was a temporary concern and a nice to have - he was more concerned with his ultimate goal, which was to be able to drive by these properties that he had designed, especially early in his career and see their mature beauty in the fullness of time. Jinny also has that ability.

Now Paula Deitz, Editor of The Hudson Review, wrote the forward to Jinny's book.

And here's what she wrote,

Rare is the garden book, like this one, that makes the reader feel personally included as a friend in a long conversation with the writer. 

Like Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, whom she lauds for his estate management in the 18th century, Blom is herself a cultural geographer who scopes out the historical features of paths, gates and antiquated farm buildings on a given property prior to drawing up a plan that proceeds almost instantaneously, a process fascinating to follow. Whether in town or country, with either single or multiple garden areas, Blom establishes architectural enclosures, like Cotswold drystone walls, prior to the overlay of her signature, beautifying horticulture, thus creating what she calls environments for intimate experiences'.

And that is the quintessential Jinny Blom landscape.

From the reviews of this book, the Amazon ratings, and the commentary by her peers, I can tell you that Jinny Blom definitely has a view worth sharing.

She's hit it out of the park—out of the garden—with this beautiful book, The Thoughtful Gardener.

You'll see images from so many of Jinny's gardens. You'll certainly see her thoughtfulness and creativity in action.

But most of all, you'll get to know Jinny.

She is funny and intelligent, and she thinks about plants, gardens, and landscapes on a level that very few garden designers do.

The Thoughtful Gardener is more than just a guide to garden design; it's a celebration of the natural world and our profound connection to it. It's a book that will leave you longing to get your hands dirty, create your own little piece of paradise, and find solace in nature's beauty.

This book is 256 pages of learning garden design with one of our modern masters, Jinny Blom.

You can get a copy of The Thoughtful Gardener by Jinny Blom and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $16.