A green thumb is not the only tool one needs to garden well--at
least that's what the makers of gardening catalogs and the
designers of the dizzying aisle displays in lawn- and-garden stores
would have us believe. Need to plant a bulb, aerate some soil, or
keep out a hungry critter? Well, there's a specific tool for almost
everything. But this isn't just a product of today's consumer era,
since the very earliest gardens, people have been developing tools
to make planting and harvesting more efficient and to make flora
more beautiful and trees more fruitful. In "A History of the Garden
in Fifty Tools," Bill Laws offers entertaining and colorful
anecdotes of implements that have shaped our gardening experience
since the beginning.
As Laws reveals, gardening tools have coevolved with human
society, and the story of these fifty individual tools presents an
innovative history of humans and the garden over time. Laws takes
us back to the Neolithic age, when the microlith, the first
"all-in-one" tool was invented. Consisting of a small sharp stone
blade that was set into a handle made of wood, bone, or antler, it
was a small spade that could be used to dig, clip, and cut plant
material. We find out that wheelbarrows originated in China in the
second century BC, and their basic form has not changed much since.
He also describes how early images of a pruning knife appear in
Roman art, in the form of a scythe that could cut through herbs,
vegetables, fruits, and nuts and was believed to be able to tell
the gardener when and what to harvest.
Organized into five thematic chapters relating to different types
of gardens: the flower garden, the kitchen garden, the orchard, the
lawn, and ornamental gardens, the book includes a mix of
horticulture and history, in addition to stories featuring
well-known characters--we learn about Henry David Thoreau's
favorite hoe, for example. "A History of the Garden in Fifty Tools
"will be a beautiful gift for any home gardener and a reassuring
reminder that gardeners have always struggled with the same
quandaries.
General
Imprint: |
University of Chicago Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
February 2014 |
First published: |
February 2014 |
Authors: |
Bill Laws
|
Dimensions: |
235 x 176 x 22mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover - Sewn / Paper over boards
|
Pages: |
224 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-226-13976-0 |
Categories: |
Books >
Health, Home & Family >
Gardening >
General
Books >
Gardening >
General
|
LSN: |
0-226-13976-X |
Barcode: |
9780226139760 |
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