I will add to this list over time. Send in your nominations! Thanks to Amy Stewart and Garden Rant for jump-starting this discussion. I’m going to add nonfiction and songs to the list. Garden songs? Sure, why not?
ANGELA’S RATINGS
***** Loved it so much that it passes the desert island test.
**** Really liked it. Would have been perfect, if only…
*** It was pretty good, but maybe that was the wine talking.
** Well, that pretty much sucked.
* Complete vomit.
FICTION
In the Garden Trilogy – COMPLETE – Blue Dahlia / Black Rose / Red Lily
by Nora Roberts ****
The Stone Diaries
Rose’s Garden by Carrie Brown
The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys
Quite a Year For Plums, by Bailey White
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
The Submerged Cathedral by Charlotte Wood
NONFICTION (ESSAYS)
From the Ground Up:… by Amy Stewart *****
Henry Mitchell’s books
Cultivating Delight by Diane Ackerman
Gardening in Eden by Arthur T. Vanderbilt
Slug Tossing by Meg DesCamp
Growing Seasons by Annie Spiegelman
Paths of Desire by Dominique Browning
The $64 Tomato by William Alexander
Gardening from the Heart:… by Carol Olwell ****
MOVIES
Saving Grace *****
Greenfingers ***
Enchanted April
The Secret Garden (1993 movie adaptation)
Calendar Girls **
Ladies in Lavender ***
The Real Dirt on Farmer John
Minority Report****
Harry Potter****
Little Shop of Horrors
Grown-Ups (Mike Leigh, 2004)
Harrison’s Flowers
TELEVISION
Rosemary and Thyme (PBS)
Good Neighbors (BBC)
SONGS
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Lynn Anderson
Octopus’s Garden by the Beatles
The Secret Garden by Barry White ****
Secret Garden by Bruce Springsteen ***
In the Garden of Eden by Iron Butterfly
Atomic Garden by Bad Religion
A Wednesday in Your Garden by The Guess Who
You Don’t Bring Me Flowers by Neil Diamond
House of Flowers by House of Flowers
Ok. Now I must get back to reading! “Slug Tossing” is just too inviting a title.And anything by Bailey White is a must. Also anything by Barbara Kingsolver.I remembered Lady Chatterly’s Lover as being the gardener but he was the Gamekeeper…and honestly, I don’t remember any of the story other than it was quite shocking to a 15 year old! ;>)
I’m here via Stu’s blog Gardening tips and ideas. He’s in Western Australia, I live on the east coast of Australia, we met through blogging. But I’m here now to add my two cents to your best gardening-related lists. I can recommend Australian author Charlotte Wood’s “The submerged cathedral” where a garden plays a central role in the story line. Great read!
Thanks, Val. I added it to the list.
Hey, Weeder,
Are all of Barbara Kingsolver’s books loosely gardening-related, or just some of them. If so, which ones? Thanks. As you can tell, I haven’t read any Kingsolver books. 😉
You must read Hot House Flower and the 9 Plants of Desire by Margot Berwin (fiction). It’s a fast-paced, mystical read that will thrill anyone with real love for plants. Yvonne, Raleigh NC, Zone 7b