Planting Science

Living in an urban area with virtually no useable green-space to speak of, I'm always looking for ways to incorporate Nature's bounty in my life, whether as a medicinal aid or in the kitchen. So, I was delighted when fortune smiled down and Goodreads selected me as a Firstread winner for a copy of The Sweetness Of A Simple Life: Tips For Healthier, Happier And Kinder Living Gleaned From The Science And Wisdom Of Nature by Dianna Beresford-Kroeger.

Coming from a family whose livelihood was sustained through heavy industry and auto manufacturing, there was little time to teach us kids how to cultivate anything from nature. My paternal grandfather had a small patch of garden for he and my gran, and one summer my parents did attempt to grow some food for the winter. We were blessed with an over-abundance of string beans and a handful of tomatoes but the rest just didn't materialise. When my grandfather died some thirty years ago, there was no one left to teach us how to grow our own food.

Beresford-Kroeger doesn't teach anyone how to grow a garden. What she does is explain the importance of reaching out to Nature for the things we need and she backs it up with science. She offers information about how some plants can help prevent or combat the ailments brought on by industrial and urban pollutants. There are tips and advice on the types of plants that improve our state of mind just by their scent, or that give one's pets an opportunity to play and relax. These tips do; however, make one believe that anyone can develop a green-thumb.

The best thing about this diminutive book is that it's written in easy to understand language. There are no pie-charts or graphs, no unpronounceable words, no awkwardly formulated theories and conclusions. None of the chapters, with the exception of perhaps one, exceeds five pages, and the explanations include everyday uses. While not all of the suggestions are possible for everyone, the author clearly points out the few things that can be achieved on an apartment balcony or a window sill, and also recommends tree and plant combinations for larger green-spaces (though this is only realised as one progresses through the book).

I truly think that this very easy to read book should be in all homes, even if for no other reason than to be able to understand how many chemicals with fewer benefits we have that replace the things that Nature offers to us if we bother to work for it. I do offer one small caveat - Beresford-Kroeger is not afraid of tossing in some bits of sarcasm about our consumption and dependence of unnecessarily manufactured goods.

I give this book 4.5 root cellars out of 5.