Uprooted A gardener reflects on beginning again

A long-established garden designer, Dickey is also a stunning gardener and author in her own right. Her well-documented 34 years spent creating and growing at the upstate New York garden Duck Hill brought joy not only to herself and beloved husband Bosco but also to many others who found similar delight and edification through her writings of her trials and tribulations working in garden spaces. With Bosco turning 80 and Dickey not far behind in age, the couple realized that Duck Hill was simply too large and too ambitious a property to continue on with, and were advised to downsize both financially and agriculturally. They moved from New York to New England--to an old meeting house in Connecticut (eventually dubbed Church House), where they began again. Part memoir, part garden design, part future plans for a life continuing on in a new home, this is more than a book on planting or revamping a garden. VERDICT Even nonhorticultural patrons will find this a gently enthralling read, and will finish with a renewed sense of wonder at the natural world and gratitude to Dickey for having written about it once more.--Susan E. Brazer, Salisbury Univ. Lib., MA