Books: The Essential Earthman (and others) by Henry Mitchell

Henry Mitchell was, among other things, the garden columnist for the Washington Post for many years. He is also, in my view, the best garden writer. Period. In writing, in knowledge, in entertainment value, in philosophy, and in attitude, he wins.

Henry Mitchell's books, I believe largely drawn from his columns, will teach you a great deal about gardening. Not in an indexed, carefully categorized, classroom sort of way - they are, instead, a very knowledgeable and also very entertaining gardener giving you his views on something that interests him.

But they're mainly about entertainment and the sheer joy of absorbing the thoughts of someone passionately garden-obsessed. They're not reference books, they're reading books

The full list of Henry Mitchell's garden books consists of The Essential Earthman, One Man's Garden, and On Gardening. It's certainly worth reading all three, and I believe that all are still in print.

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