The author shares many of her experiences as a writer, as a woman and especially as a gardener in New England in a village named Sharon. Many tidbits of history are shared: some personal, some regarding her house and a great many about flowers, shrubs and trees. At times it was a bit like reading someone's diary or journal, overall an interesting reading experience. ( )

Four Tenths of an Acre: Reflections on a Gardening Life

"The ritual of gardening gives a rhythm, even rapture, to everyday life that is apart from the routines of writing and the flows of relationships.
Tending my garden became the same as taking care of myself."
(Laurie Lisle)

It was a delight to walk life's path with Laurie.
I appreciated the gardening histories and the step by step transformations both of her personal life and the essence of her garden.

Her chronicle often made me pause and consider my own life, my own garden.
I smile at the intertwining of life and gardening.
Taking that bare plot of ground, honestly assessing plus and minus and moving ahead to create something uniquely your own.
When there is clash in your color palette or "too much" of this or that, you gently redistribute and redesign.
A pioneer can be as welcome as an old fashioned favorite.
And the gardening saga goes on and on.

Thank you Laurie, I had fun reading this.
I identified many times with your joys
and trials.

This was a goodreads giveaway. ( )

Four Tenths of an Acre: Reflections on a Gardening Life, by Laurie Lisle, is a memoir that recounts the author's 20 years of gardening in a small New England village. After a divorce, Lisle purchases a country house and moves from Manhattan to make a new life. Through the years at her new house, she builds a garden, has two significant relationships and eventually marries a painter who does not - at first - understand the deep need she has to garden.

Throughout the book, Lisle explores creativity - especially her own creativity as a writer and gardener. She finds that, for her, the internal life of her writer's mind needs to be balanced by putting together a garden that reflects who she is and where she has come from. Each chapter deals with a different aspect of gardening and how it relates to writing. Additionally, Lisle also interweaves ideas from history, literature and the visual arts to explore how creativity lives and breathes in her garden.

I found this to be a good book by a woman who is not afraid to explore her fears and flaws. However, I did find myself questioning some of her choices and wanting to call her up to give her advice. When she writes about all the different plants that didn't do well in her garden, I wanted to give her new plant lists so that she could have some success. And when she described the outright animosity that her two significant others had toward gardening, I wanted to tell her that if these men didn't like the fact that she had something that didn't include them, that perhaps she should find someone else.

Overall, though, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in gardening and the life of the creative mind. ( )