The Invisible Garden

by Dorothy Sucher

A longtime city dweller and expert storyteller takes a fresh look at gardening in Vermont, tapping the connection between the mysteries of the earth and those of the human spirit. "Delightful...There is an irresistible charm about her forthright revelations of eager expectations, disappointments and frustrations and occasional triumphs, known to gardeners ever since Adam first tilled the ground east of Eden."-Lee Pennock Huntington, Vermont Sunday Magazine "Few commune so keenly with their landscape as Sucher, whose sense of place is bona fide and imaginative."-Kirkus Reviews "Sucher is a consummate storyteller whose lively essays burst with love of the land and delighted wonder at the resilient bonds between plants and folks, making this a most inviting collection."-Publishers Weekly With vividness and humor, Dorothy Sucher explores both her corner of Vermont and the many aspects of gardening-the satisfaction of shaping a landscape, the spirit of generosity in a land-based community, and the individuality expressed in a neighbor's flowerbeds. Like Under the Tuscan Sun and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, The Invisible Garden is a narrative celebrating the sublimity of nature and the soul's inner reach.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Memoir, Nature

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Born Dorothy Glassman in Brooklyn on May 18, 1933, she was the only child of Henry and Shirley Hankin Glassman. Her father was an accountant; her mother was a medical secretary. She graduated magna cum laude from Brooklyn College in 1954 with a degree in English and, in 1975, received a master’s degree in mental health from Johns Hopkins.

Ms. Sucher, who was a largely volunteer reporter, columnist and associate editor of The News Review from 1959 to 1970, worked at the newspaper again from 1993 to 2004, including two years as editor in chief. In the interim she had been in private practice as a psychotherapist, started writing books and was a leader of the women’s movement in Maryland. In 1978, she became a coordinator in the state for the National Organization for Women.

She wrote three books: two mysteries, “Dead Men Don’t Give Seminars” (1988) and “Dead Men Don’t Marry” (1989), and a collection of essays, “The Invisible Garden” (1999).

Reviews

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful collection of different stories about beginning a garden or a life as a gardener. Her projects were inspired and thoughtful, and as she duly noted, completely temporary. I appreciated her chapter about her struggle and her relationship with her daughter, one of them somehow always getting it wrong and never being able to get over that divide.

She points out some very clear things. For instance, how when other people see the garden you are working on it is beautifully and wonderful, but every time you look at the garden you are working on it becomes a reminder of your own failures within the garden--of all things that you didn't do.

I was very excited as she is talking about gardening specifically in Vermont, and how my gardening is in Vermont, to write to her about how much I appreciated her book. I did not read the book soon enough, but maybe if I send out a mental letter of thanks for her book she will get it anyway. Some things do live on past the time that we tend to them.

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

2020 bk 389. This makes two in a row of enjoyable books about the building of a garden (and by extension a sense of place and home). Set in rural Vermont, Dorothy Sucher and her husband found a house in Vermont which became their summer home. Gardening in Vermont is not easy with a very short growing season, but it is possible. The woodcut illustrations are charming and serve to reflect the calm and patience needed for gardening.
2022 bk 185. I'm weeding my garden of books, just as Dorothy Sucher weeded her Vermont garden. Some books require a short trowel and go immediately in the 'sell' bags. Others require a hoe and more effort - i.e. I have to read them again as I've forgotten why I kept them. So I read this small volume again and realized I have to keep it - if not for the stories that touch my heart, for the language she uses and the care she took in selecting the words to be used. This book deserves more than five stars.

[Jsarno49 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again I have read a memoir by a woman who falls in love with VT and moves here, at least for the summers. Dorothy Sucher tells the story of buying an old farmhouse because it has a stream on the property. While she was very much of an urbanite, she loved her land, respected and learned valuable lessons from her neighbors, and became an avid gardener who associated her gardens with her beloved relatives. This is a beautifully written book full of wisdom for all gardeners. "Gardens are living things, as unique as children and issuing from their own kind of labor. Once we have brought them forth, deep and intimate bonds develop between the maker and the garden." Sucher's gardens are imperfect, unlike the gardens illustrated in gardening books, yet inspirational for all of us.

[Theodora Goss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a lovely book. I don't know why it's not better known or more read. The author writes about her garden in Vermont, connecting the garden to her own life. I love the specificity of the descriptions, the poetry of the natural world she describes, and her insight into life and the world. I would recommend it to anyone who loves books about gardens how they intersect with our lives. Like a garden, this book has its own quiet magic.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

You don't have to be a gardener to appreciate and enjoy this book of essays about the author's Vermont retreat. It's about the people associated in her mind with the various and quirky elements of her garden. Pick up this book for a relaxing, often humorous, and enjoyable read. You might feel inspired to create or improve your garden, but you might just as easily feel it's okay to just admire what others have done.

[Lepetitchat · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars.

I don't know why it took me so long to complete this book- about a year from first to last page. Every time I picked it up to read, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Living and gardening in the New England forest...that's a dream! It's so beautifully written. This author has such a way with words-- very lovely.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned that there will always be dreams of more gardens but not all dreams are meant to become reality.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book about the lessons a garden can teach us, and the almost mystical connections between a gardener and their garden.

[Eugene Danza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. Despite me having little in common with the author, I really resonated with a lot of her emotional journey. Every character is compelling. No matter who you are you will benefit from reading this book. There is also some gardening terms that I’d didn’t understand (you don’t need to in order to enjoy it) but googling the flower names really brought life to the imagery. I could see someone more knowledgeable really liking those parts.

The copy I got was pre owned and the person had written on the inner cover that this book was keeping them company while they recovery from a hip and knee injury!! Yikes!! This will occupy a special spot on my shelf :)

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book about gardening - loved her descriptions of the Vermont scenery and the local customs and her neighbors. At the end of the book, she writes about her daughter Nora who seems lost and one can feel the parental anxiety in her writings about Nora and the tree Fred - if only she could keep Fred alive, then she can keep Nora alive but Dorothy was predeceased by two of her four children so sadly Nora did not prevail.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could I have read anything more perfect as I wait for another snow to melt in early April? Her writing style captivated me. I am so motivated to get out there and garden I could scream. This was one of those "hug it to my chest" after I was finished books. Words cannot express how much I enjoyed this book.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great wintery day read. Got me plotting and desiring. Loved the chronological developing telling of how her happenstance Vermont garden came to be and the inclusion of neighbors who helped get it there. (I’ll be ordering some Adele Dawson books!) I’d love to tour it. There were plenty of personal asides, for those not totally garden gonzo.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book of garden essays a number of years ago. I had purchased it as a gift for my Mom. I saw it at her house and wanted to revisit it. A nice contemplative read about her summer home garden in Vermont, but not surprising, about so much more of life.

[Lauren Csaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Not sure why this book isn’t more well-known! Charming essays/stories of gardening in Vermont written by a flatlander summer person—someone I can identify with! (Read on the beach deck at Beaver Island)

[Cheri Klinker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A soft soothing read about a city dweller developing her relaxing house in VT over several years and how each item or flowers she incorporated as time when on. Not an exciting book but a nice interesting read.

[Kate Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful!

[William Sowka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wealthy, privileged city dweller hires hands to create her dream house and gardens in Vermont. She did learn, in the end, that not all things can be bought. Three stars for the lesson learned.

[Tara CL · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one will definitely be one I read many times more throughout life!

[Lanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a perfectly fine winter read, very hygge. But I do wish there was more about actual gardening.

[Kathryn Dysart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet.

[Dianne Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a good concept, that of the " Invisible Garden"- meaning that there is much under the surface of a garden, the stories of the people and memories that touch one along the way being linked to the various plants and hardscapes. It is like that within the home as well.
It was quite a fast and engaging read.
I will say I did feel uncomfortable with her family relationships, she felt awfully demeaning. I wish she had restrained from that because it gave me a bad taste and it became hard to not dislike her.
It did seem she had a good supply of cash and hired her gardens and even had a gardener, her role being rather a planner and observer. However, to be fair, it was her observations that made the book a fine read.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not done yet. I put it down about a third of the way through--just got sooooo boring!
I wasn't interested in reading about any more flowers, etc. But I picked it up again, and it's
interesting now as she's traveling, and there's actually some action. I hope the rest of the book
stays this way. It did not. Finished it, but can't even remember it now.

[Margaret]

I liked this book - even though I don't live in Vermont or do any garden projects on such a grand scale, I felt like I could really relate to this woman. She had a very down-to-earth writing style, easy-going yet thoughtful, meditative and reflective. I found the book inspiring, now if the weather would just cooperate so I can get my garden going again!

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fantastic. It is about the gardens surrounding the Vermont house that Phil and Amy own. It was exceptionally fun because they are at the house this weekend. To read how everything was set up and imagine them there, made for very close feelings.

[Katie O’Reilly]

I tried, I really TRIED to finish this affectionate tribute to gardening in Vermont. No hard feelings, book, but your simple homespun insights failed to fascinate. Gardenias have got to be more interesting than this.

[Peg · Rating 3 out of 5]

One woman's journey from soil to soul. She a psychiatrist, husband a physicist, moved to Vermont. Key elements were: other gardeners; a pond; a storm; and a field of wild flowers. Other oops include the mysteries Dead Men Don't Give Seminars, and Dead Men Don't Marry.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, this is a beautiful book. If you are looking to escape reality, you will want to read this one. It takes place in Vermont.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful gem about gardens and their "people."

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

reminds me of why gardening is so important.
Takes place in Vermont. According to the author, "one woman's journey from soil to soul". I agree!

[Alanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a good book - especially if you want to build your own pond