My Natural History: The Evolution of a Gardener.

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Gardening, Primeau says, is a journey, not a destination. Same as life. In this selective memoir she shares reminiscences about her involvements with gardening and the personal philosophy she drew from the experiences. “Growing things is a basic element of life,” she says, with gardening “a wise instructor in the art of living.”

The book sketches the author’s encounters with gardens from her childhood in Winnipeg through her moves to Paisley, Ontario; Montreal; and the Toronto area. She describes her various gardens, successes and failures, loves and dislikes. Along the way she plants a little history, a few comments on gardening trends and the sociology of gardening, such as “horticultural snobbery” and gardening as therapy. Woven into the mix is a mention of some of the author’s personal issues—agoraphobia, divorce, remarriage—and some environmental concerns, such as the use of invasive plants species and biodiversity as it applies to gardens.

She discusses vernacular gardens (“simple, local”) and the six stages of gardening, from being pleased with colourful annuals to a more sophisticated approach involving landscape planning and design.

Primeau’s hobby of gardening soon grew into a career. Much of the memoir is based on her nine years as editor of Canadian Gardening magazine and her years working on an HGTV garden show. She devotes a chapter to animals encountered in the garden (squirrels, raccoons, cats) and another to group tours she led to Italy to view classic Renaissance gardens.

The memoir moves at a comfortable, leisurely pace and is smoothly written. It rambles occasionally, but always the need to share the experience of another beautiful garden pulls the theme back into focus.