A Garden of One's Own

Book excerpt: Gardening enthusiasts and those who love to read about gardening will be delighted by this new collection of Elizabeth Lawrence's work. A gifted landscape architect and writer, Lawrence (1904-85) chronicled her experiences with plants in a voice treasured for its distinctive blend of horticultural expertise and stylistic elegance. Through her six books, all still in print, Lawrence continues to inspire an ever-widening circle of dedicated readers everywhere. Between 1932 and 1978, Lawrence wrote more than fifty articles for gardening magazines, newsletters, and plant society bulletins. These writings--uncovered in a seven-year search and collected here for the first time--offer further testament to her talent for conveying practical details in an engaging, literate manner. Treating such subjects as trees and shrubs, bulbs, perennials, native plants, even fellow gardeners, this collection will be welcomed by the novice and knowledgeable gardener alike. Elizabeth Lawrence, a graduate of Barnard College, was the first woman to receive a degree in landscape architecture from the North Carolina State College School of Design. Her writings were informed and inspired by her own legendary gardens in Raleigh and Charlotte.