Gardeners share a bond that goes beyond age and location, it is one of the continuation of hope from year to year that this year will be the best gardening season ever. Usually it doesn't work that way, but some years there a high points.

Set in Lancaster County, PA, An Amish Garden: A Year in the Life of an Amish Garden tells the story of several women gardeners as they live through one gardening year. The gardeners are all Amish which means those folks who love to read about the Plain life will be thrilled with the mention of church services, sewing new clothes and how general housework gets done in Mrs. Lapp's home - not to mention the photos of her little boys in their suspenders, bare feet and straw hats.

She is a mother to three boys and I am amazed that she gets as much done as she does. I've got two small children, larger than hers, and I get absolutely nothing done. Of course I work a full time job as well so my hours in the day at home are much fewer but still, I wish I knew her secret.

I found the continual search for improvement in both gardening and home food preservation a shared concern with Mrs. Lapp and that more than anything else kept me reading. She struggles too with finding good food to feed her family and how to get pickles on her shelf each year. I only got 3 jars of pickles this year but unlike Mrs. Lapp I don't have a friend to borrow some from. I'm the only one of my family and friends who still "puts up" each year.

Gardeners will find a few tips here. Cooks will find some recipes. But mostly it is as if you got together with Mrs. Lapp for a chat over coffee and a cookie every other Monday after the washing was done.

The book is absolutely beautiful from the font to the photos and the oversized format makes it seem like a true indulgence. The $24.95 price seems reasonable.

Will you learn anything about Lancaster County from this book? Not really. Anything about the Amish? Probably not. Anything about gardening? Nope, doubt it.

But was it worth reading? Definitely. I finished it in one sitting. Loved it. ( )