Fun feature: Dave's Garden Book Review

By Melody Rose (melody)
August 13, 2011

Gardeners love books, as the number of titles devoted to the subject attest. We hope this spotlight on some of our members' favorites is a nice change of pace for your Saturday morning.

Rose Nichols

The Garden Girl

By: Mary R. Dunn

This is the story of Rose Standish Nichols. (1872-1960) She broke new ground in the field of landscape architecture, becoming one of the first the first landscape designers in the United States and no doubt, the first woman. She published three books and wrote many magazine articles about gardens and gardening.

In a time when women were expected to stay home and raise families, Rose was a pioneer. She studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Bussey Institute, Harvard and Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Rose was a peace activist and a champion for women's rights and believed, that world peace was possible by sharing gardens and gardening.

This delightful little book with the lovely watercolor images is written in a way that would appeal to early readers. The challenges in Rose's life were difficult, but she managed to be successful, even though it was hard. She's a figure that most children would never study in school, but for any child who loves gardening, it would make a lovely little gift.

Readers follow Rose as she grows up in affluent Boston and the watercolor illustrations show how she planted flower gardens at an early age to blend in a pleasing way. She would be happy to know that her life continues to inspire generations of ‘garden girls' around the globe.

Her Beacon Hill home is now a museum with programs as diverse as etiquette lessons for children, to a holiday open house in December. Visitors receive an accurate glimpse into life in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries on Beacon Hill in Boston. Rose Standish Nichols was an extraordinary woman and her belief that understanding and peace could be realized through gardens around the world, is something that we, as gardeners all understand.

Find this title and others in our Garden Bookworm.

About Melody Rose   I come from a long line of Kentuckians who love the Good Earth. I love to learn about every living thing, and love to share what I've learned. Photography is one of my passions, and all of the images in my articles are my own, except where credited.

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Subject Topic Starter Replies Views Last Post Interesting person/book Horseshoe 2 16 Aug 15, 2011 11:27 AM

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