What I loved:

- The author's weekly impulse-shopping for flowers without any sense of what would work in her garden (we might be twins)

- Her jumping-in-and-doing-it-before-researching-and-learning approach to gardening, resulting in lots of going back and fixing

- The passion for gardens that are a little wild, where the flowers don't stand rigidly in a row but ramble all around and invite the visitor to do the same

- Descriptions of the tourists, and being a local in everyone else's vacation

- Two cats!!!! (RIP to my own sweet Maya and Tigerlily)

- Finally, I loved the writing style, which is honest and natural but still thoughtful and polished

Quite simply I loved every bit of this book. Highly recommend!! ( )

There are not many authors out there about whom I can say I enjoy everything they write. Amy Stewart is one of them. She first came to my attention via Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities. It was pretty interesting; enough so that I bought Wicked Bugs which left me with a few mental images I'm never going to be able to un-see, but it was worth it. Then came The Drunken Botanist which I recommend to both gardeners and drinkers.

By this time I qualified as a fan, but when she came out with her first work of fiction: Girl Waits with Gun, I was hesitant. I like to box my authors in - fiction or non-fiction - and tend to assume (wrongly, I know) that I'll enjoy one or the other, but not both. But I loved Girl Waits with Gun and at this point, I figured she could write no wrong, so I searched out pretty much everything she wrote and ordered it.

From the Ground Up is one of her earlier works, (2001) and it's a pleasant little tome; a memoir of her first garden. New to gardening and with a small back yard of bare, packed, clay, she decides to jump in with both feet and build a garden. From the Ground Up is a chronicle of that first year.

This is truly a memoir for gardeners; nothing more or less. She isn't trying to entertain her reader, or search out a greater meaning, or instruct fellow garden newbies (although each chapter ends with a small 1-2 page section of suggestions pertaining to that chapter's subject). It's a pleasant read and the joy of it is in relating to her experiences with starting a garden from scratch; the impatience that bypasses rational thought and planning, and the angst over first experiences with garden pests. Later chapters turn a shade more philosophical, which is perfectly fitting as a garden winds down for the winter.

If you'd call yourself a gardener - let's say a laid back gardener (competitive gardeners would find this book tedious) - and you see this book, it's worth taking a look. Stewart is a wonderful writer and she captures that first year garden perfectly. ( )

Stewart, Amy
From the Ground Up: The Story of a First Garden

Nonfiction
When she finally gets the opportunity to indulge her gardening fantasies, Amy Stewart keeps a written record of her endeavors. Full of hard-won gardening tips and fun adventures such as keeping worms, by expressing her enthusiasm she makes gardening accessible to the timid and non-expert. The most fascinating aspect of this memoir is that through transforming her little plot of land into the garden of her dreams, she transforms herself.
Recommended May 2011

Amy Stewart tells about living in a small beachside town and growing her first garden, with all the discoveries that entails. Parts are about the weather, the neighbors, the summer influx of tourists. But mostly it's about the garden: how she learned to feed her soil, how she moved from just growing pretty flowers into vegetables, how she picked up ideas from touring estates with beautiful manicured gardens. I appreciate that gardeners seem unashamed of writing and telling the world about their mistakes, and really you can learn a lot from that. She discusses composting (both the traditional kind and also with worms), design, battles with bugs, the contoversy of cats in the garden. Growing tomatoes, oranges and basil. The thrills of saving your own seed, and collecting seed from others. Her disinterest in houseplants until she discovered orchids. The satisfaction of eating your homegrown produce, and finally the delightful problem of having surplus vegetables on your hands when the garden is finally in full swing. Delightful.

from the Dogear Diary ( )

this was a lovely book to boost a gardener's spirit. it would be a nice gift for anyone who's starting a garden or moving into a new house, because each chapter has handy and practical tips. ( )