Consider the Wildflowers

March was a slow reading month for me, so rather than do a (very late) monthly reading wrap-up, I thought instead I would share my favorite book that I read last month.

I read three books total in March: The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan, Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas, and Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life by Marta McDowell. Since the first two are continuations in two different series, I actually found that I most enjoyed reading Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life in the month of March. It was a change of pace for my reading life, and this change was welcomed whole-heartedly.

I haven’t read anything in the nonfiction genre since college. When I graduated, I was burnt out on nonfiction; I was so eager to dive back into reading whatever I wanted without having to worry about a reading schedule or a class assignment. Because of this, I did not pick up a nonfiction book for a few years. Until now!

For those who don’t know, I work for my family’s business. We own our own nursery where we sell a variety of plants and seasonal flowers. In addition to this, we also have a gift shop. I like to keep an assortment of gardening books available for purchase in this gift shop, so I ordered several at the end of February to prepare for the spring season. Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life was one of the books on that order, and I just knew I was going to have to borrow a copy to read for myself. I am so glad that I did!

At first, I was worried that this book would take a while for me to finish. I didn’t know how I would feel about nonfiction, but a book about Emily Dickinson and plants seemed right up my alley (poetry and flowers? The perfect combo!). I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I finished it a lot quicker than I had anticipated, simply because I didn’t want to put it down. It is a fairly short book, but I will say, it is definitely not for everyone. If you aren’t interested in gardening or poetry, you probably wouldn’t enjoy this one! Poetry and gardening are two of my favorite things, so I loved every bit of this book.

McDowell takes you on a journey through Emily Dickinson’s garden through every season–even specifying early spring flowers versus late spring flowers. As she takes you through these seasons, she shares about Emily’s life, her relationships, and her writing. I found that the Dickinson McDowell describes here is much different from the Dickinson I learned about in high school. While she was certainly a recluse later in life, in her younger years, she was quite sociable with her family and friends. She often wrote poems for her loved ones and would deliver them with a small flower bouquet from her garden. I found a kindred spirit in this Emily that McDowell has introduced to us, and I loved getting to learn so much along the way–not only about Emily and her life, but about flowers and seasonal gardens too.

If gardening is your thing, I highly highly recommend this one. And Marta McDowell’s writing is just stunning. From the first few pages, I was instantly drawn into the pages and transported to a beautiful garden in Amherst, Massachusetts at the Dickinson home. I will certainly be reading more of McDowell’s work in the future, and I am so glad I was able to dip my toes back into nonfiction.