A Year at North Hill: Four Seasons in a Vermont Garden

by Joe Eck, Wayne Winterrowd

Acclaimed landscape designers Joe Eck and Wayne Winterrowd offer a profusely illustrated month-by-month chronicle of their magnificent southern Vermont garden.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1995

Reviews

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently I've been dipping into, and reviewing, some of my favourite (out of several hundred) gardening books. It had been years since I last read A Year at North Hill. Joe Eck & Wayne Winterrowd's gardening experience in southern Vermont is very different to anything an Australian gardener will encounter. Here, many gardeners struggle to get their plants through summer, although we're becoming more aware of choosing plants that will cope with the broad range of climatic conditions found here.

JE & WW's attitude is 'climate be damned, if it's too cold for the plant, we'll grow it indoors'. I live in an area that's regarded as cold by other Australians but the only things I bring indoors for winter are 3 brugmansias & Salvia chiapensis. Even in June, before the first bulbs flower, there are Camellia sasanquas in bloom. Admittedly, if I lived through 4 months of brutally cold weather, the garden frequently deep in snow, I would make more of an effort. The work these guys put into their winter garden (& their 5 acre garden in general) is mind-boggling. Their passion for plants & fascination with the rare & obscure is inspiring.

JE & WW'S background as linguists shows in their mastery of the English language & the pleasure they take in words & phrasing. Their vast knowledge & experience are imparted in a non-patronising manner & they share the trials as well as the joys of gardening & life.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book in 1995, kept it in sight on an end-table shelf, picked it up periodically to browse through a chapter or admire the gorgeous photography, and finally read it through over the past month. One is welcomed into the authors' lives and their love affair with their corner of heaven on earth. I'm ready for a pilgrimage to North Hill and want to read their other works, but at a quicker pace!

[Dioscita · Rating 2 out of 5]

These guys are my polar opposites in character and demeanor (who talks like that?!), but they sure know plants and, from the photos, can grow just about anything. This is NOT a book for hopeful or amateur gardeners, but could be a good read for pretentious ones...

[Cora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not ever going to be the kind of gardener that these guys are, but it sure was nice to get a little inspiration out of this in the deepest coldest days of winter in Vermont...