Onward and Upward in the Garden

by Katharine S. White, E.B. White (Introduction)

In 1925, Harold Ross hired Katharine Sergeant Angell as a manuscript reader for The New Yorker. Within months she became the magazine’s first fiction editor, discovering and championing the work of Vladimir Nabokov, John Updike, James Thurber, Marianne Moore, and her husband-to-be, E. B. White, among others. After years of cultivating fiction, she set her sights on a new genre: garden writing. On March 1, 1958, The New Yorker ran a column entitled “Onward and Upward in the Garden,” a critical review of garden catalogs, in which White extolled the writings of “seedmen and nurserymen,” those unsung authors who produced her “favorite reading matter.” Thirteen more columns followed, exploring the history and literature of gardens, flower arranging, herbalists, and developments in gardening. Two years after her death in 1977, E. B. White collected and published the series, with a fond introduction. The result is this sharp-eyed appreciation of the green world of growing things, of the aesthetic pleasures of gardens and garden writing, and of the dreams that gardens inspire.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Essays, Nature, Memoir, American, Plants

392 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Katharine White worked at the New Yorker for more than 35 years. She began as a reader of manuscripts and ended her career there as a valued editor. She never became as well known as her husband, E.B. White, but her influence on the magazine was enormous. To many of her authors (among whom were John Updike, Jean Stafford, Nadine Gordimer, S.N. Behrman) she was a mother figure and a treasured friend.

Reviews

[Diane Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

She was not the essay writer that her husband, E.B. White was, but her love of gardening and all things plants and flowers shines through in this book. A perfect book for bedtime reading if you love gardening.

[Lobstergirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Be warned, most of this volume is about....seed catalogs. White reviews them as if they were books. Even for someone interested in seeds, botany, and yes, seed catalogs, like me, it's a bit much. She's also writing in the 50s and 60s, so a lot of the cultivars she's talking about have probably gone the way of the dodo.

I can't say the personality that came through the writing was all that attractive. Her writing style is what I consider fussy - "I shall" for "I will," and unnecessarily archaic - there is no reason, in 1966, to call them "motorcars."

Nor did I cotton to her disdain for certain very large or showy flowers. One year she grew dahlias the size of dinner plates, which was "embarrassing...the only word for them was vulgar." She and E.B. decided never to grow rhododendrons or azaleas, "thinking them too elegant for a Maine coast farm." Ookay. Clearly this tendency was inherited from her father, who detested the American Beauty rose because he found them "a bit 'gross'" (too large and strongly colored).

She seemed to admire, or at least find "resourceful," the gardener of an English insane asylum who, in the age when horses pulled grass mowers, "harnessed seven madmen to his machine." Oh, hahahaha! HILARIOUS. And undeniably resourceful.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a gardener myself, in addition to being an avid fan of The New Yorker, this collection of articles (first published in The New Yorker in the late 1950's) is a dream come true. Katharine White, the wife of EB White and a famed editor in her own right, was a reader and collector of gardening catalogs which she poured over from her house in Maine during the snowy wintery housebound months in frozen Brookline. From these cataogs she made her seed and plant lists for the Spring and dreamed of garden glory. These article are her "reviews" of the gardening catalogs of the day, plus her thoughts and opionions on other gardening related topics . White was an editor by trade and instinct and she approached the catalogs she reviewed with the same direction and verve, commenting on type face, syntax, editorial liberties as well as color selections the hybridizers made! It is a highly entertaining book-so much so it inspired me to go onto Ebay and begin collecting the catalogs she mentions to see for myself whether I agreed or not ! (In most cases I do). The book is a fun and interesting ride for any gardener . I gave copies as Christmas gifts one year to every gardener on my list ! If you are like me you will find yourself rereading this book year after year as you to sit and look out of the window at the snow falling dreaming of your own garden glory...just like Katherine so many winters ago.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not really a longer review, but more thoughts:
Something as simple and ephemeral as a seed catalog is something that shouldn't be this fascinating, but the essays the Katharine S. White build around them, the world of her garden and her advice, make them that way. Even though the objects are transient, the role they play in gardening and White's own experiences aren't and that's what makes the collection of essays sparkle.

~~~~~~~~~
Longer review when I'm done with travel, but I absolutely love the articles despite the dry sounding description of the book as articles about plant seed catalogs. Or maybe even because of it, the small pieces describing gardens and ephemera just pulled me in.

[Jenn Estepp · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who can't garden at all, I sure do like to read books about it. And, I guess, about seed catalogs published in the mid-twentieth century by revered New Yorker editors and lovingly assembled by her husband (who happens to be the author of one of the most adored children's books of all times) after her death.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really delightful!

[Bjipson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished re-reading this book; what a delight! White is clear, careful, well educated, and she writes in an informal voice that makes me wish I could have had a real life conversation with her -- maybe as we walked around her garden in Maine. The chapters of this book are taken from reviews she wrote for the New Yorker magazine over several years, and she reviews garden books as well as catalogs from plant suppliers such as White Flower Farm and Wayside Gardens, along with many companies (2022) now out of business. I loved her comments on the drawings and photographs, the text, and even the typeface and paper of many of the catalogs and books, as well as her personal opinions about certain plants, gardening styles, flower arrangements...
Now I have to see about hunting down some of her favorite books to see if I agree with her about them.
For a gardener who is also a reader, this book is a treat, to say the least!

[Marguerite Hargreaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never met an opinionated gardener I like more than the late Katharine S. White. The essays in this book shaped me somewhat, to the extent that they helped me accept my own gardening prejudices and limitations. More than anything, though, they helped me to dream, to visualize perfection in my own little piece of sod. I've come close to that mark a couple of times, but not on the shady lot we now call home. This is a book for winter months, the times you'd like nothing better than to sink your hands into some good earth and make things grow. The only thing better than reading about it is doing it. But, if you're going to read about it, read White.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I skimmed this quickly, enjoying it as I did, despite being only a vicarious gardener.

The Introduction by her widower, E. B. White, added a lot to my reading experience.

These essays evoke a time and a way of living now gone. They also transported me, a lifelong Californian, to a Maine farm.

I found certain essays of particular interest, including those which touched on fragrances of flowers, dwarf fruit trees, and the work ethic (in and out of the garden).

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful, though we disagree about petunias.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a compilation of New Yorker articles from the 50's and 60's on gardening. I loved the introduction by Katharine White's husband, E.B. White. Many of the articles are reviews of seed and flower catalogues, others are reviews of gardening books. Interspersed among the reviews are snippets about her own garden in Maine. I enjoyed her opinions and especially liked the fact that she buffs her gourds while watching the World Series! About the 1880 forest resources Census she says "(How pleasant to have lived in a day when a count of trees was more important to the national economy than a count of motorcars or television sets!"). Her take on abbreviating the words chrysanthemum and gladiolus is funny: "I cannot be glad about glads".

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in fits and starts. I bought it, actually, thinking it was a book of correspondence between Katherine White and a gardener friend. It turned out to be a collection of columns she wrote for the New Yorker that presented reviews of gardening catalogues and gardening books. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy most of these—she was a charming writer and very forceful in her gardening beliefs—but I can only read a chapter at a time of garden catalogue reviews before getting a bit sleepy. However, her recommendations these 50 years on, is inspiring me for 2026 garden dreaming and perhaps some actual implementation. We shall see.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summer Bingo-Free Space
I love reading seed catalogues and old gardening books, so Onward and Upward in the Garden was a real treat for me! I look forward to re-reading these essays during the dark, cold days of winter.

[Greg Hamm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was gifted this book and an accompanying New Yorker essay “if not now,later” by Yiyun Li from my daughter. The profound writing of Li was an excellent lead in to Mrs White’s book. You may find the book vaguely dated and she definitely states her horticultural opinions but still an excellent read for a winter day. Only those who have spent a little time with their hands in the soil may appreciate the broader perspective of the garden.

[Sherri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will admit this book is not for everyone and if you are not passionate about flowers and flower gardening or reading about a woman living in the 50's then just skip this book.

I found it to be a treasure! I did take my time reading it, I think this is the longest I have ever taken to finish a book! I chose to pick it up at different times of different seasons when my interest was inspired. This is not a book to be read at one time. Katharine had spunk and she drew me in right off the bat and when I thought I just might give up on a certain topic I was finding dull she would write something that would make me chuckle. I just fell in love with her. I looked up some of the seed companies she reviewed and found them to still be doing business and I actually bought some bulbs from one of them. They are growing in my garden as I write this review! I was drawn to this book because I was born in 1959 and was curious to see the writing style of that time and hoped to get a glimpse into what my Mother's life might have been like. I have copied 2 other reviewer's opinions because they described Katharine and her book better than I could. If you choose to give it a try, I hope you fall in love with her too!


Apr 11, 2009 Marguerite rated it 4 stars
I've never met an opinionated gardener I like more than the late Katharine S. White. The essays in this book shaped me somewhat, to the extent that they helped me accept my own gardening prejudices and limitations. More than anything, though, they helped me to dream, to visualize perfection in my own little piece of sod. I've come close to that mark a couple of times, but not on the shady lot we now call home. This is a book for winter months, the times you'd like nothing better than to sink your hands into some good earth and make things grow. The only thing better than reading about it is doing it. But, if you're going to read about it, read White

Char rated it 4 stars June 13, 2007 Katharine's wit is very English, genteel, 50's and I found myself laughing aloud at least once per chapter. This is a book to savor over time. Read a few pages or a chapter when you need a respite, put it down, then come back to enjoy again

[Diane Webber-thrush · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightful. I read it more as a memoir of an obsession than anything else. Love her line about "I read in dream" about how she reads gardening and seed catalogs. Three stars because it won't be everyone's cup of tea. But it's a gentle tonic that I really enjoyed. My first book from the NY Review of Books Club -- perfect timing with spring.

[Caitelen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an unexpected collection! I confess I only had patience to skim this one, but found her tone and perspective on gardening and flower species and catalogues fascinating. She struck me as a highly intelligent woman who took very seriously her hobby of gardening, and invested heart, soul, and intellect into her reviews.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book on my late mother's bookshelf and picked it out as I couldn't stand what I'd brought with me on this trip (a very long if worthy biography of Joseph Stalin). I'd take gardening over politics any day. I'm so glad I read this - brilliant clear prose, amusing when it suits but never self-consciously so, interesting choice of detail and anecdote, great passion for the subject. It's a compilation of pieces she wrote for her former employer, The New Yorker, when she retired from her job there as one of the key editors and a leading mentor of young writers. Her first such piece, written in 1958, was a simple review of nursery and seed catalogues. Nobody had thought to evaluate this particular genre, but White knew from personal experience that while some were entertaining and informative, others were produced with poor graphics, font, or content. Then as now. 'Onward and Upward' she went for another 13 such pieces, broadening her range to include books on garden design, history, flower arranging, wildflowers, etc... I didn't realise until reading at the end the short introduction (by husband EB White, of Charlotte's Web fame) that she wrote most of these in poor health. This just adds an extra poignancy to what is already a wonderful book. I whooped with joy at several sections (something the Stalin book would struggle to achieve). Favourite line: 'Zen and all zat'.

[Julie]

I love the idea of this book so much. The author was the fiction editor at The New Yorker from 1925-1960 and on top of having an amazing and impressive career, she was a gardener who was married to the writer EB White. These essays were published in the magazine and after her death EB compiled them into a book. He wrote a lovely introduction that gave a vivid portrait of Katharine and set the stage for the collection.

When I grabbed this from the library, I thought it would be a lovely way to end the day, reading essays about gardening. Sadly, once I started reading, I realized it was a bit too much about gardening and gardening catalogs. I like gardens but am not a gardener. It's not a hobby of mine that I know a lot about. If gardening is your "thing" then I highly recommend this book. You can get out of it what I could not.

On the plus side, it was very helpful for making me sleepy! I would read a few dull pages and fall asleep quickly. I did try. I flipped ahead and tried a few other essays. Sadly, I found them just as dull and somnolent inducing as the first essay.

[Chass Coon · Rating 2 out of 5]

While Onward and Upward in the Garden started as charming and informative, after the first couple of entries, I should have given up because I really didn't enjoy it. White was often opinionated to the point of distraction. And a majority of the information was more than my novice gardening mind cared to handle. This collection of her essays from The New Yorker was never meant to be published as a book. Her husband (the famous E.B. White) published the collection as a whole following her death. While I understand the purpose of doing so, I think her essays were better off left alone. One at a time spanning more than a decade, I probably would have enjoyed reading what she had to say. All at once, it was too much.

Despite my negative review, if you are a die hard gardener and/or would love to read historical perspectives on gardening (her essays spanned the 1950s and 1960s), then this one may be for you.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

To the pantheon of great explorers - Marco Polo, Columbus, Lewis and Clark - let's add Katherine White. No, she didn't find a continent or the source of the Nile, but she did discover an entirely new literary genre: the garden catalog. Who among us hasn't pored happily over the Burpee seed catalog, or the White Flower Farms bulletin? They brighten those long winter days just as much as any mystery or novel, inviting the reader to dream of riches to come. White discusses everything from the unfortunate fashion for hybridizing ruffles into flowers that don't need them to her choice for our national flower, goldenrod (better than what is really is, the rose). She deplores the plastic pot and wonders how Ikebana has mutated in the United States. For the gardener - or the armchair gardener - this is a total treat of a book.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was weirdly fascinated by this book. A collection of essays written over the span of Katharine S. White's career at the New Yorker, reviewing and musing on annual seed catalogues, the people who create them, and gardening in general. Made interesting by her pointed and particular opinions -- old fashioned, stubborn, sassy. Combination of time capsule and timeless, some parts were still relevant and others were pretty skimmable.

The part that made the biggest impression on me, though, was EB White's introduction -- a loving, moving tribute to his late wife. Put all her writing in perspective and made me want to read all his books. You can read his introduction here: https://www.amazon.com/Onward-Upward-...

[The Contented · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will spring bring my hydrangea back to life?

No idea - but this was one of the most delightful NYRB titles I have read, one that I expect I will dip back into again and again.

In today’s hectic world, with markets crashing like they did with the onset of the Covid crisis, this book was a pleasure to read with its calm literature survey of all things garden - from seed catalogues, to books about flower arranging.

I loved it. What a treat.

Three, not five stars, because it’s an easy to put down, easy to pick up book.

Not a must read. Just a lovely diversion that has the mental health- enhancing properties of calm gardening.

Definitely a book to keep, to savour, to read slowly.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and beautifully written essays with a central theme of seed catalogs. It made me nostalgic for my childhood when I found seed catalogs were the most interesting “magazine” delivered to our farm. With that said, I would not necessarily recommend this book to just anyone.

There were plenty of great quotes throughout:
“Though activities of the local garden club are generally benign and beneficial, the scene changes a bit when you get to the state level...”

[Manda · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 * rounded up. I'm not a gardener, but I still could appreciate the author's pleasing style and obvious love for her subject. If a non-gardener like me can enjoy the book, I'm sure someone who knows about such things would enjoy it even more. The introduction, written by Katharine's husband EB White, is excellent.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been dipping in and out of this for a few months, and she’s so charming and her enthusiasm for seed catalogs and all things garden is infectious, especially in the early essays. I didn’t finish it all because the later essays give less about her day to day and i don’t feel the need to read reviews of gardening books from the 1960s, but the early essays are fab.

[Alejandro Arakelian]

Quit on it midway through, never really penetrated for me.

Everybody wants to retvrn to 1960s lit crit about gardening catalogues until it’s time to actually read the 1960s lit crit about gardening catalogues. I pray one day to be mentally peaceful enough to be able to enjoy White’s lovely prose.

[Lanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this one! Written by the wife of EB White, it was a fascinating look at the gardening catalogs, books, and fads of the late 50's to early 70s. I was highly amused with her description of the snooty garden club flower shows and delighted to find mention of Woodstock, CT!

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first have is reviews of seed catalogs, which was not super interesting, but I really enjoyed her voice throughout, and I did like the second half which is is more reviews of books, and talking about Maine.

[K. P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading these gardening columns very much, the author was the wife of E.B. White. We have gotten far from nature, this book can be an aid to restoring our contemplation of seasons and the lilies of the field.