Gardening season is in full swing and this charming book
will appeal both to gardeners and to historians.
Beginning in the 1790s with George and Martha Washington
and continuing through the 1990s and beyond, McDowell makes her historical
canvas come alive through the paintbrush of flowers, plants, trees and
shrubs. Her ability to make what might
have become a dull recitation of botanical facts fascinating lies not only in
masterful writing but in her deep understanding of the human and family lives
of the Presidents and how they influenced and developed the White House
grounds. Readers will also enjoy the
plentiful and well-chosen illustrations, which are a delight.
Perhaps the best lesson to be taken from this thoroughly
enjoyable book comes from the preface, in which McDowell writes: “…whether gardeners lean right or left, blue
or red, we are united by a love of green growing things and the land in which
they grow.”
Reviewed by Kate Tesdell
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