Armchair Gardening - by Thomas Hubbard McHatton (Paperback)

About the Book

Published in 1947, Armchair Gardening is a meditation on the sensual and spiritual aspects of gardening. McHatton believes gardening is an art and carefully carefully dissects the delicate components of a garden, explaining how one can pinpoint the intricate and harmonious tastes, sounds, and odors flowing freely among the plants.

Book Synopsis

Published in 1947, Armchair Gardening is a meditation on the sensual and spiritual aspects of gardening. Thomas Hubbard McHatton believes gardening is an art--a method of expression analogous to sculpture or dance. He carefully dissects the delicate components of a garden, explaining how one can pinpoint the intricate and harmonious tastes, sounds, and odors flowing freely among the plants. McHatton includes a chronicle of America's interest in gardening, starting with its genesis, expanding to explain its role in universal gardening, and concluding with a written pilgrimage through some of America's most famous gardens.

Review Quotes

"What a relief it is to fi nd a book written in a philosophical vein and emphasizing the psychology of gardening, with stress laid on how to appreciate a garden through the utilization of all the senses, rather than the more prosaic business of how to grow plants. . . . With amazing clarity and in non-technical terms, he shows what part sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste each plays in the appreciation of a garden."--"Quarterly Review of Biology"

About the Author

Thomas Hubbard McHatton (1883-1956) served as head of the Department of Horticulture and director of the Garden School at the University of Georgia for more than forty years. He was elected president of the American Society of Horticultural Science in 1930. McHatton was instrumental in the formation of the Garden Club of Georgia, of which his wife was past president.