There was a time (and maybe not even so long ago) when I might have said something like, 'who would have thought a book on gardening could be such a page turner', but I have been reading some really good nature/gardening books in the last year or so, so I'm not in the least surprised that Andrea Wulf's Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature and the Shaping of the American Nation is so interesting. I'm a happy convert (and was just yesterday thinking that I need to pick up another book by Roger Deakin to read) to this sort of book. Even better as this combines nature, gardening and history.
After hearing the author speak I had a feeling the book would be good, and I am most certainly finding this to be the case each time I dip into it. Stefanie and I decided to read the book in tandem. She wrote about it last week, so I thought I would chime in and add to her enthusiasm. Wulf paints such a vivid portrait of the four 'founding gardeners'--George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Madison (I have yet to get to Madison and his garden in my reading) that she really brings the men and their times alive. As silly as this sounds reading about them makes me sort of tingly. As much as I might criticize the state of contemporary politics, I think there is truly much to admire about our Founding Fathers and the work they did to create our government.
But it's not really the political that Wulf writes about, peripherally of course since it is the early 1780s and America was in its infancy (Washington had yet to take Office), rather it's about the private. Washington, Jefferson, and Adams were all earnest gardeners and they considered themselves farmers first and politicians second. Even while readying for battle, Washington was writing home to Mount Vernon about planting. After the Revolution ended and Jefferson and Adams were ministers to France and England, Jefferson was planning his own garden at Monticello who along with Adams spent time touring the most famous English gardens. For Washington his gardens were truly revolutionary as he designed them using only native species. He changed their orientation from east to west--looking inwards to the vastness of America rather than across the pond, which was a departure from traditional Colonial gardens.
I'm barely a third of the way in (lots of dog-earing and pencil marking going on in my copy) and I have pages of notes that I would love to share. There is so much to take in, I am reading fairly slowly, and I tend to lose time when I open the book and start reading. Some of the most fascinating passages are those that describe the men themselves, one of which I thought would be fun to share since it is so personal. I hate to admit that what I knew about the men (their personal lives anyway) might not fill a page torn from a notebook, but I plan on following this book up with others about the period and the 'players' (wives includes--especially the wives), as now I want to learn more. What I like most about Wulf's book is the sense of intimacy she creates when talking about these larger-than-life personas.
This is a bit longish, but I think you might get a kick out of it if you have an image already in mind of Jefferson and Adams.
"As Adams and Jefferson walked together through the gardens, they made an odd pair. Where Jefferson was tall and thin, almost gangly, Adams was shorter and rounder--reputedly they had once been compared to a candlestick and a cannonball. At six feet two and a half inches, Jefferson towered about seven inches over the stout Adams, who had put on so much weight that his wide pitied the poor horse that had to carry him. Jefferson's powdered hair and elegant Parisian clothes gave him the air of a polished diplomat. He accentuated his sophistication with striped silk waistcoats, starched ruffles and cravats. During their garden tour he even went to the hairdresser. Adams preferred a plainer style. At heart he was a farmer, and unlike the other ambassadors at the courts in Versailles and St. James's, who were swaddled in ribbons, wrapped in lace and decorated with expensive jewels, Adams wore sturdy broadcloth. He proudly carried the aura of simple republican life and said that he had no drop of blood in his veins 'but what is American'."
I had to chuckled over Abigail's comment. For follow up reading (the proverbial one path leads to another, or one book leads to another in this case) I already have Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow (it won the Pulitzer) and Revolutionary Summer:The Birth of American Independence by Joseph J. Ellis. If the Chernow wasn't so massive I would be tempted to dig into it right away. As always reading suggestions (biographies especially) are most welcome. There are so many books out there, and I am sure each has its own spin, I don't mind a little guidance in choosing books that are interesting, accurate and well written. For now, though, I am happy to be in the garden with Washington, Jefferson, Adams and Madison!