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Garden Maker: Growing a Life of Beauty and Wonder with Flowers
Much more than a how-to flower gardening book (though you will learn how to), Garden Maker is for those who want to grow beautiful things that reflect the glory and majesty of the Creator and bring a little bit of heaven down to earth.
From the beginning God made a garden, so it’s no surprise if you feel closer to Him with your hands in the dirt and the sun on your back. There is something profoundly soul-satisfying about creating and cultivating beauty. If you long to experience more splendor in your life, you can grow some of your very own.
Join kindred spirit Christie Purifoy as she helps you unearth the simple delights of growing garden flowers, from preparing and planning to creating beautiful bouquets and other arrangements. Lavishly photographed and lovingly written, this all-seasons guide invites you to discover the innumerable joys and wonders to be found in the flower garden.
From the beginning God made a garden, so it’s no surprise if you feel closer to Him with your hands in the dirt and the sun on your back. There is something profoundly soul-satisfying about creating and cultivating beauty. If you long to experience more splendor in your life, you can grow some of your very own.
Join kindred spirit Christie Purifoy as she helps you unearth the simple delights of growing garden flowers, from preparing and planning to creating beautiful bouquets and other arrangements. Lavishly photographed and lovingly written, this all-seasons guide invites you to discover the innumerable joys and wonders to be found in the flower garden.
208 pages, Hardcover
Published January 25, 2022
32 people are currently reading
512 people want to read
About the author
Christie Purifoy
9 books269 followersMy name is Christie Purifoy. I am a writer and gardener who loves to grow flowers and community.
I am the author of two memoirs, Roots and Sky: A Journey Home in Four Seasons (Revell 2016) and Placemaker: Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty, and Peace (Zondervan 2019). Garden Maker: Growing A Life of Beauty and Wonder With Flowers releases in January 2022 from Harvest House Publishers.
A decade ago, I earned a PhD in English Literature from the University of Chicago, but eventually I traded the classroom for an old Pennsylvania farmhouse called Maplehurst. I still love to teach, but today I teach virtually and for small groups here at the Maplehurst Black Barn.
Each Wednesday, I join my long-time friend and fellow writer, Lisa-Jo Baker, for storytelling and conversation on a new episode of the Out of the Ordinary podcast. We believe that the very best stories grow out of the soil of ordinary life.
Lisa-Jo and I, along with a whole host of others, are turning social media’s usual ways upside down through quiet, weekly rhythms of listening, sharing, and celebrating in a virtual gathering place called the Black Barn Online. You are invited to join us in helping to build a place where art and faith cultivated in community can take root, flourish, and grow.
I am the author of two memoirs, Roots and Sky: A Journey Home in Four Seasons (Revell 2016) and Placemaker: Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty, and Peace (Zondervan 2019). Garden Maker: Growing A Life of Beauty and Wonder With Flowers releases in January 2022 from Harvest House Publishers.
A decade ago, I earned a PhD in English Literature from the University of Chicago, but eventually I traded the classroom for an old Pennsylvania farmhouse called Maplehurst. I still love to teach, but today I teach virtually and for small groups here at the Maplehurst Black Barn.
Each Wednesday, I join my long-time friend and fellow writer, Lisa-Jo Baker, for storytelling and conversation on a new episode of the Out of the Ordinary podcast. We believe that the very best stories grow out of the soil of ordinary life.
Lisa-Jo and I, along with a whole host of others, are turning social media’s usual ways upside down through quiet, weekly rhythms of listening, sharing, and celebrating in a virtual gathering place called the Black Barn Online. You are invited to join us in helping to build a place where art and faith cultivated in community can take root, flourish, and grow.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
February 16, 2023
This book hit me just right, with occasional happy tears and all. 🌷 I was just coming off several discouraging homemaking books, the kind that make you go “Is this all you’ve got and do I need to rethink my life?”, so I really appreciated Garden Maker. Hope is very important.
“But for those who read fairy tales or cry at arias, for those who suspect that heaven lies just behind the veil of this everyday world, well, to those I say: Come to the garden. …The thorns are knife-sharp, and the weeds are always waging their quiet wars. But here is the promise that has been made to each one of us: ‘Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.’ Every garden is singing a song for the One who made us, and we are invited to sing along.”
I appreciated her opening discussion how preparing the soil with compost and rot is death and resurrection and losing our life to find it. Also, she wove in a T.S. Eliot quote. It worked. I also appreciate her emphasis on gardening out of love.
There are lovely pictures and discussion of her own garden, and the kind of Christian meditation that actually bridges the gap between Bible study and garden writing.
I wanted to read this anyway, so I was very pleased when Purifoy put out a call for a book launch team and accepted me—and so I got to read it early! (Then I panicked because what if I didn’t like the book after all? But then I did.) My only complaint is that it’s January and she reminded me how much I love gardening, but spring is still long months away and so I went and bought grocery store flowers today out of desperation. I am absolutely planting another rose this spring. Garden Maker will be released on January 25.
“But for those who read fairy tales or cry at arias, for those who suspect that heaven lies just behind the veil of this everyday world, well, to those I say: Come to the garden. …The thorns are knife-sharp, and the weeds are always waging their quiet wars. But here is the promise that has been made to each one of us: ‘Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.’ Every garden is singing a song for the One who made us, and we are invited to sing along.”
I appreciated her opening discussion how preparing the soil with compost and rot is death and resurrection and losing our life to find it. Also, she wove in a T.S. Eliot quote. It worked. I also appreciate her emphasis on gardening out of love.
There are lovely pictures and discussion of her own garden, and the kind of Christian meditation that actually bridges the gap between Bible study and garden writing.
I wanted to read this anyway, so I was very pleased when Purifoy put out a call for a book launch team and accepted me—and so I got to read it early! (Then I panicked because what if I didn’t like the book after all? But then I did.) My only complaint is that it’s January and she reminded me how much I love gardening, but spring is still long months away and so I went and bought grocery store flowers today out of desperation. I am absolutely planting another rose this spring. Garden Maker will be released on January 25.
January 26, 2022
Christie Purifoy proves that she is just as fabulous behind a photo lens as she is with a pen! I was a bit skeptical when I heard her latest project included photos, mainly because I love her writing style so much that I feared it would be diminished by having to share the space with pictures. My worries were totally unfounded. The photographs taken by the author compliment the stories she shares about her evolution as a gardener.
What I loved most about this book is that it doesn’t expect you to already have gardening all figured out (or any knowledge at all). There are loads of meaningful essays, gorgeous photos and simple tips within the pages. Purifoy’s project scatters seeds of inspiration for seasoned and aspiring gardeners who want to cultivate beauty in the places they are planted.
What I loved most about this book is that it doesn’t expect you to already have gardening all figured out (or any knowledge at all). There are loads of meaningful essays, gorgeous photos and simple tips within the pages. Purifoy’s project scatters seeds of inspiration for seasoned and aspiring gardeners who want to cultivate beauty in the places they are planted.
January 25, 2022
In her book, Garden Maker, author Christie Purifoy not only inspires us to become gardeners, but she pens this beautiful poetic story of the healing of the garden and the connection to God and His creation. The breathtaking photographs in the book are from Christie’s garden seen through the lens of her camera. Garden Maker changed me. It brought back a memory from years past--my Mother rising early on the Sabbath before church and working her roses in the garden. I never asked her why. As a child I was taught Sunday was the day of rest. And my Mother was in what I viewed from a distance as work on the Sabbath. Through Christie’s story, I understand more deeply my Mother’s connection, her quiet time with God she needed—in creation, as well as the joys of the giving of her roses to others. We all need the comfort of gardens and after reading Garden Maker, I will never walk through my garden or see a flower in the same way again.
January 20, 2023
Beautiful, rich meditations on the spirituality of gardens and gardening. This is one of those books I know I will return to again and again. :)
“A garden submits to the limits and boundaries of a good creation, for neither human strength nor summer warmth is unending. Yet each can and will be renewed . . . . Gardens are never finished. All year long, they sing of God’s promises and plans for us. They sing of our hope and our future” (201).
“A garden submits to the limits and boundaries of a good creation, for neither human strength nor summer warmth is unending. Yet each can and will be renewed . . . . Gardens are never finished. All year long, they sing of God’s promises and plans for us. They sing of our hope and our future” (201).
October 20, 2022
This will inspire you to plant and grow flowers of your own. She made the process of having your own garden seem doable and beautiful in a personal and meaningful way.
November 9, 2024
I loved this book about the art of gardening, and I think this was the perfect time of year to read it. I learned some things about some plants, and I had to make a list of things I want to try growing. The author's meditations about life and the bits of history, legend, and philosophy turn the book into a work of art rather than a simple manual on how to grow plants. I felt that she was a kindred spirit with her thrifted vases and her loving zinnias in spite of what Anne with a e says about them. Until I came to the part where she throws out tulip bulbs. I've always considered that an egregious act. But then she explained that most tulips only bloom their best the first year. Now that I've learned that, I'm trying to be understanding. But I'm a little disappointed with tulips and worried that mine won't be as nice next year. The author's viewpoiny of weeding is that it gets us down to where we see things from a different point of view. The world shrinks and shrinks until it's larger than we ever knew it was.
February 16, 2025
a fun and hopeful antidote to the winter blues
September 21, 2024
poetry about growing flowers mixed with practical advice for every garden-maker
January 25, 2022
There is no better way to spend a snowy day than to dream about the possibility of flowers in the garden.
If you are longing to reconnect with nature,
Seeking healing after a two-year-long bout with drama,
Or
A lover of flowers who doubts their gardening genes—-
I have a treat for you.
This new book, Garden Maker, is a gift for the eyes and the soul. With gorgeous photographs of actual real flowers grown by @christiepurifoy herself, you will savor every last page.
This will be my first year back in the garden after a long hiatus and Garden Maker is just the resource I needed. It’s as beautiful as a coffee table book but you’ll want to read every last page.
Bonus that each flower is highlighted in its own short essay. You'll meet new flowers, discover how easy (or difficult) they are to grow, and be inspired to get to work in whatever soil is available.
If you are longing to reconnect with nature,
Seeking healing after a two-year-long bout with drama,
Or
A lover of flowers who doubts their gardening genes—-
I have a treat for you.
This new book, Garden Maker, is a gift for the eyes and the soul. With gorgeous photographs of actual real flowers grown by @christiepurifoy herself, you will savor every last page.
This will be my first year back in the garden after a long hiatus and Garden Maker is just the resource I needed. It’s as beautiful as a coffee table book but you’ll want to read every last page.
Bonus that each flower is highlighted in its own short essay. You'll meet new flowers, discover how easy (or difficult) they are to grow, and be inspired to get to work in whatever soil is available.
January 25, 2022
The author marries her lyrical pose with her love of flower gardening in Garden Maker and it's a beautiful sight to behold.
This book is an invitation for all to come and soak in God's beauty ⏤ aspiring gardeners, seasoned gardeners, those who simply enjoy the wonder of flowers, and also, those feeling a lack of connection and in need of a pause for the soul.
The images alone are stunning and the gardening advice is spot-on. I especially appreciate how she shares the names of her plants so there's no guessing when it comes time to order my own.
Garden Maker is a gift I'm giving to myself but I also plan to buy it as a gift for fellow flower lovers.
I received a copy of this book to review but I also purchased a copy because I absolutely love it.
This book is an invitation for all to come and soak in God's beauty ⏤ aspiring gardeners, seasoned gardeners, those who simply enjoy the wonder of flowers, and also, those feeling a lack of connection and in need of a pause for the soul.
The images alone are stunning and the gardening advice is spot-on. I especially appreciate how she shares the names of her plants so there's no guessing when it comes time to order my own.
Garden Maker is a gift I'm giving to myself but I also plan to buy it as a gift for fellow flower lovers.
I received a copy of this book to review but I also purchased a copy because I absolutely love it.
January 25, 2022
I finished reading this book, I wanted to go right back to page one and begin again! The beauty of her flower and garden photos are so luminous and artsy. This book is not only for gardeners and aspiring gardeners, but for those that want to connect with nature. Christie weaves her stories of triumphs and challenges in her garden along with the dreams of garden parties. The pictures of flowers that I am unfamiliar with had me racing to the plant nursery! I can't wait to plant all the seeds that this book inspired me to buy and use the techniques that Christie shows so clearly. Looking forward to those blooms for my own garden party this spring!
January 26, 2022
In the winter I get bit by the gardening bug. This lovely book is whetting my appetite for spring and beyond in my garden. Filled with gorgeous photos, it’s part gardening manual, part Christian living book. As a member of the launch team, I received a PDF and I’ve been wowed by the content. I cannot wait for my beautiful hardcover copy to arrive this week! You can get a sense of the book’s photographic style by visiting Christie Purifoy’s Instagram page. Also, check out the garden-themed interview I had with her a few years ago HERE.
I received a preview copy from the publisher.
I received a preview copy from the publisher.
March 16, 2024
This is a beautiful book and the photographs throughout are stunning! It is an inspiring little garden book for those interested in growing flowers. The book was easy to read and I'm definitely encouraged to plant tulips in the future, along with a few others that are not in my garden.
Tulips are pure color for our gardens. They give us our best chance to garden like painters, spreading drifts of a single color across the canvas of our borders and pots. My love for tulips today seems linked with my childhood love for brand-new Crayolas in a neat yellow box. I'm sure I spent almost as much time admiring the sharp new points and smooth, waxy colors of my crayons as I spent using them to draw-what else?-pictures of red tulips springing up from a line of green grass beneath a yellow smiley-face sun.
Tulips are pure color for our gardens. They give us our best chance to garden like painters, spreading drifts of a single color across the canvas of our borders and pots. My love for tulips today seems linked with my childhood love for brand-new Crayolas in a neat yellow box. I'm sure I spent almost as much time admiring the sharp new points and smooth, waxy colors of my crayons as I spent using them to draw-what else?-pictures of red tulips springing up from a line of green grass beneath a yellow smiley-face sun.
April 14, 2024
I did not know when I purchased this book from a local thrift store that it was written through a christian lense, but despite that usually being a turn off for me, I found this book to be quite lovely. It was not evangelical or preachy, nor was it pretentious. It was simply speckled in as a personal experience of the author.
The book was a very pleasant and cozy read. I really enjoyed Christie's style of writing, and I felt as though I was sitting in the garden with her. The photography was stunning. I found myself enchanted by both the imagery and the prose.
The book was a very pleasant and cozy read. I really enjoyed Christie's style of writing, and I felt as though I was sitting in the garden with her. The photography was stunning. I found myself enchanted by both the imagery and the prose.
January 25, 2022
“When we make a garden, we are also creating a story, and every garden story we write is rooted in the deep story of God’s creation—a story of birth, growth, maturity, death, and resurrection or return.” Faith informs the beauty Christie Purifoy captures in words and photographs, all of which she took herself. Because of Garden Maker, I am thinking about seeds, dreaming about where they will grow, sowing, and tending. And that’s just half of Purifoy’s gorgeous book. I, a not-so-green-thumb person, am inspired.
January 25, 2022
First I am a gardener of vegetables and raspberries, secondly I am a photographer. I related so personally to Christie's captures of her flowers, her delicate arrangements and her eye for lighting. Her stories about nurturing flowers piqued my interest in adding flowers to my passion of digging in the dirt. I seek and find God and His lesson for me amongst the bees, kale, peas, beats, hummingbirds...and soon thorns. I am a garden maker thanks to Christie's beautiful work.
January 25, 2022
Not one to wish winter away, but I will admit that today is bitterly cold here in Michigan. While I sit snuggled under blankets and heating pad, this book is the perfect companion to remind me of the beauty that is waiting to burst forth from our frozen earth. Christie’s photos are stunning and just like her other books, the writing is compelling. It’s page after page of her dear voice guiding the reader how to build a garden of one’s own.
January 25, 2022
Christie Purifoy has an amazing ability to write beautiful words and now she has added taking beautiful photos. She turned a difficult season into something gorgeous. Even if you are not into gardening this book will dazzle your senses and leave you dreaming of growing and opening you to the beauty around us.
January 25, 2022
The photographs are just the beginning of this beautiful book. Christie Purifoy is a gifted writer, her words encourage and educate. The pictures take her latest book to the next level. As I watch the grey skies of winter this book has made me even more excited for spring.
This book is for all level of gardeners and would make an excellent gift as well.
This book is for all level of gardeners and would make an excellent gift as well.
January 26, 2022
Truly a beautiful book in both word and image. The essays are inviting and relatable, for all lovers of flowers. Christie Purifoy took every beautiful photograph as well. I’ve been a fan of her work ever since Roots and Sky! I will be enjoying this book for a long time to come.
March 31, 2023
A pure joy to read - I love her conversational style in talking about her garden, tying in literature and Biblical references. Not a textbook about growing flowers, but it was filled with helpful notes and recommendations.
July 10, 2022
Beautiful photos and prose about a garden.
January 25, 2022
The pictures in this book make it worth every penny. They are gorgeous! Dig in and the writing is both informative and inspiring!
April 4, 2022
This book was delightful! Soul food and beautiful imagery mixed together to create a relaxing yet informative read.
January 17, 2025
I am loving Christie Purifoy’s work. This is a beautiful, short collection of essays and stunning photos of her garden.
November 5, 2023
"Gardens grow because death can be fruitful and resurrection is real."
I have never read a book that draws such a real and beautiful parallel between gardening and a resurrected life. It's part coffee table picture book, part gardening manual, part collection of lyrical essays, and part nurturing wisdom for your own life. I recommend reading it, and reading it slowly, to reap every bit of encouragement.
I have never read a book that draws such a real and beautiful parallel between gardening and a resurrected life. It's part coffee table picture book, part gardening manual, part collection of lyrical essays, and part nurturing wisdom for your own life. I recommend reading it, and reading it slowly, to reap every bit of encouragement.
March 5, 2023
This book was wonderfully captivating and inspiring. I loved the way the author had a way of weaving spiritual truths gracefully into her writing in ways that felt natural and beautiful. I also enjoyed the practical tips she shared on a variety of gardening topics. If I ever feel like I need or want to regain some motivation to garden, this will be a book to return to!
February 1, 2022
Christie Purifoy's latest work is like a magic trick - awe inspiring for all, no matter the age or expertise. Garden Maker: Growing a Life of Beauty and Wonder with Flowers, welcomes those who claim to be expert gardeners, aspiring gardeners or someone just needing the healing power of reconnecting with nature and Mother Earth into it's pages. Through meaningful essays, gorgeous photos, taken by the author herself, Christie's lyrical prose reminds readers we are all gardeners. Whether we are digging our hands into the dirt, artistic in nature or washing the dishes one more time, we are creating stories of beauty in the lives we live, stories deeply rooted in the story of God's creation. The beauty of the garden is "there is no end in a garden. Everything - even death - is a return to life."
This book will dazzle your senses, inspire you to cultivate beauty in as many places as possible all while changing the way you see flowers from now on.
This book will dazzle your senses, inspire you to cultivate beauty in as many places as possible all while changing the way you see flowers from now on.
February 16, 2022
Like Christie Purifoy's other books, Garden Maker is full of inspiring and beautiful words. They're poetic. And personal. (And if you have listened to her podcast called Out of the Ordinary--NOT related to gardening--you'll hear her voice as you read, too.)
This book is full of beauty and inspiration. I am not a gardener. But Christie has certainly inspired me to TRY growing something this year. I'm not yet sure what will grow, but this book provides solid direction, even for a newbie like me. I'm confident that the process will be worth it, even if I don't get abundant flowers.
Garden Maker is highly visual. Every page spread includes beautiful photography--Christie's own images. No stock photos! I also appreciate the sprinkling of faith Christie weaves into her stories of dirt, growing, and flowers.
I highly recommend Garden Maker
This book is full of beauty and inspiration. I am not a gardener. But Christie has certainly inspired me to TRY growing something this year. I'm not yet sure what will grow, but this book provides solid direction, even for a newbie like me. I'm confident that the process will be worth it, even if I don't get abundant flowers.
Garden Maker is highly visual. Every page spread includes beautiful photography--Christie's own images. No stock photos! I also appreciate the sprinkling of faith Christie weaves into her stories of dirt, growing, and flowers.
I highly recommend Garden Maker
January 19, 2023
I love, love, love this book! Oh, how I love this book! It's beauty is not limited to the gorgeous, inspiring photography, but flows over into the glorious prose describing the magnificent and minute creation of the great God of the universe and inspiring us to get involved in sharing his creativity and seeing his hand in it. The love of the author for her crafts of gardening, writing, and photography shine through on every page and it makes me wish I could garden, write, and photograph so winsomely. And I shall keep trying, for she doesn't intimidate; she invites along. She makes me want to think and absorb more as I garden, to note better the intricacies of each flower, to invite more and different plants into my little world, to spend time in the garden not only as a gardener, but as a wonderer. And on this gray winter's day, I needed the inspiration and got it.
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