Second Nature: A Gardener's Education

By Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan guides the reader through his own education as a gardener throughout the course of a year in his Housatonic Valley garden in Connecticut. Pollan tells some wonderful family stories, amusing anecdotes from his own garden, and offers the reader the opportunity to look at gardening in a new way. Pollan challenges the American viewpoint that nature and culture are inherently separate. He then attempts to show the reader something that most of us experienced gardeners already know deep down: that the garden is where people can participate in a direct and intimate relationship with nature. He also remarks that perhaps the garden can be the place where both culture and nature come together to benefit both.

Pollan’s way with words and his philosophy on gardening will entertain the novice, the experienced gardener, and everyone in between. This book will be discussed as part of the Scott Arboretum’s brand new “Nature’s Narratives” Book Discussion Group. Also check out the other must-reads as part of this new group!