Wendy Johnson has been gardening, meditating, teaching, and writing for more than 30 years at the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center in northern California.  Much of what she’s learned about both Zen Buddhism and the art and practice of gardening is presented in an easy to read and enjoyable form in this book.  The accompanying pen and ink illustrations by Davis Te Selle enhance the experience.

I read this book off and on over a period of years.  It’s not unusual for me to read a book on gardening in bursts, but it is unusual for months or even years to intervene between sittings.  I think it took me so long to read it because there’s no obvious order or sequence to the chapters, e.g. seasons, vegetables vs flowers etc.  The book is more like an ongoing conversation with a friend, picked up after an absence and continued as if there had been no interruption.

This is not a ‘how to’ book for either meditating or gardening. Yes, there are helpful observations and suggestions in both domains, but the book is as primarily a history of a place and of the people who have occupied it over time.

There are many  books written by mindfulness and Zen masters and probably even more written by gardeners, but the overlap is minimal.  If you enjoy either activity, try this book and see how it fits.