In this anthology of essays and poems, originally published in 1998, Jamaica Kincaid assembles over thirty writers to contribute pieces on the plants they love. Daniel Hinkley writes about hellebores, Hilton Als considers marigolds, Marina Warner remembers the Guinée rose, Henri Cole reflects on irises and peonies in his poem, and Michael Pox’s essay “My Grandmother and Her Peonies” hits on a repeated theme of how favorite plants are often intertwined with the memories of loved ones. The essays and poems and excerpts from gardeners included in this book are arranged to “give the illusion of a garden,” writes Kincaid in the introduction, “a garden of words and images made of words, and flowers turned into words.”
