Jamaica Kincaid's first garden in Vermont was a square ploy in the middle of her front lawn. There, to the consternation of more experinces gardener friends, she planted all the flowers she liked best. in MY GARDEN BOOK, she gathers all she loves about gardening and examines it generously, passionately, and with sharp, idiosyncratic discrimination. The sources of her inspiration - seed catalogues, legendary gardeners such as Gertrude Jekyll and Graham Stuart Thomas, famous gardens like Monet's at Giverny and Vita Sackville West's at Sissinghurst - receive keen scrutiny. She also examnes the idea of the garden on Antigua, and considers the implications of the English formal garden in colonised countries; as well as visiting historic English gardens in England.
