Emily Dickinson's Gardens: A Celebration of a Poet and a Gardener

Explore an abundance of flowers and poems from the beloved "Belle of Amherst"

Welcome to Emily Dickinson's gardening year. Following the seasons around the calendar–from the first buds of spring to winter's last days–this unique volume invites you to accompany the poet on her solitary wildflower excursions through the fields of old Amherst; spend quiet moments leafing through the pages of her leather-bound herbarium, filled with pressed flowers of every sort; and, best of all, take a stroll along the flagstone paths of her exquisite Victorian gardens.

Though Emily Dickinson filled her famous poems with flowers, we rarely think of her as the consummate gardener she so passionately was–sending homegrown bouquets to friends, studying botany at Amherst Academy, tending her own glassed conservatory off her father's study. Now, in this beautifully illustrated book, author and gardening expert Marta McDowell explores in depth Emily Dickinson's devotion to all things flowering–bringing you for the first time into the poet's garden sanctuary.

Filled with enlivening quotations from personal letters and poems, each chapter traces a different season in the gardens, conservatories, and Amherst environs where the poet tended, collected, and drew inspiration from flowers. In addition to learning about the poet's life and her relationship to the gardens, you will enjoy the lovely photographic illustrations of gardens created in the tradition of Emily Dickinson's taste and time. With examples of many different gardening types and styles, as well as of plantings at different times of the year, Emily Dickinson's Gardens will enrich and refresh your gardening cravings all year long.

Evoking the abundant scents and colors of honeysuckle, rambling rose, and all the other blossoming favorites of America's most unforgettable poet, this charming volume is a knowledgeable guide to the little piece of Eden that was Emily Dickinson's gardens.

"Here is a brighter garden . . . "

You are invited to enter this place of solace, where bees lazily buzz among the blossoms, where stray cats doze in the summer shade, and where Emily Dickinson drew much of her inspiration, filling her famous poems with the flowers she so adored. In Emily Dickinson's Gardens, author Marta McDowell guides poetry and gardening lovers alike through an in-depth exploration of the words and flowers of America's most beloved poet.

Inside this beautifully illustrated volume you will discover:

Memorable and rarely anthologized excerpts from Emily Dickinson's poetry and letters, featuring garden scenes and favorite flowers
Historical details about the poet's life, emphasizing her horticultural interests and the many ways in which she found inspiration in nature
Advice on how to create an Emily Dickinson garden of your own, including plans, design ideas, plant sources, and growing tips

Open the pages of this book and step into another world, where lily-of-the-valley carpets the floor and honeysuckle sweetens the air, where roses clamber over garden arbors and vibrant hedges of peonies proclaim their bold display. This is the "brighter garden" that Emily Dickinson created and nurtured at her home in Amherst, and it's all here for you to enjoy and re-create in your own backyard.