An Island Garden

by Celia Thaxter, Childe Hassam (Illustrator), Tasha Tudor (Introduction)

In her introduction to this new edition, the gardener, writer, illustrator, and craftsperson Tasha Tudor explores the space Celia Thaxter made for herself on one of the Isles of Shoals and the place her gentle, commonsense journal has held in the hearts of gardeners and artists for over a hundred years.
A popular poet in her day, Thaxter is best remembered for AN ISLAND GARDEN, originally published by Houghton Mifflin in 1894. The book chronicles a year in the life of Thaxter’s garden on the island her father had purchased in 1848 and renamed Appledore Island. The hotel he built there was among New England’s first offshore summer resorts and attracted writers, musicians, and artists, including the American Impressionist Childe Hassam, whose beautiful paintings of Thaxter’s house and garden are reproduced in this book. Considered one of the most delightful examples of horticultural writing, AN ISLAND GARDEN has served as an inspiration for essayists and gardeners alike since its first publication.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Memoir, Art, Nature, Classics, Biography

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1894

About the author

Celia Laighton Thaxter was an American writer of poetry and stories. Thaxter grew up in the Isles of Shoals, first on White Island, where her father, Thomas Laighton, was a lighthouse keeper, and then on Smuttynose and Appledore Islands.

Her poems first appeared in The Atlantic Monthly and she became one of America's favorite authors in the late 19th century. Among her best-known poems are The Burgomaster Gull, Landlocked, Milking, The Great White Owl, The Kingfisher, and especially The Sandpiper.

Reviews

[Gemma entre lecturas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dicen mis hijos que cuando una lectura me atrapa, gesticulo y suspiro, o resoplo, según la trama, aquí me aislé, porque siempre mantengo un hilo con el mundo real por si mis hijos me llaman, pero me aislé de tal forma que hasta que mi hija no me tocó el hombro y me preguntó, ¿qué lees que no me oyes?, no me di cuenta cuánto me estaba gustando, no lo qué contaba, sino cómo lo contaba. Le respondí, cómo acabar con la plaga de babosas en un jardín. La misma cara que habéis puesto vosotros, es la que puso ella.

 

«De todas las maravillas del maravilloso universo de Dios, nada me parece más sorprendente que todo aquello que resulta de plantar una semilla en la tierra vacía»

 

                Normalmente os hablo de perfiles, de las impresiones, de emociones y sentimientos que capto o de lo impactante de la trama, de esta obra destaco su estilo, es tan hermosos, es una prosa tan musical, tan fluida que os juro, no me gusta jurar, la babosa y otras plagas, así como el cuidado de las semillas, bulbos y parterres me engancharon.

                Celia Thaxter fue una escritora estadounidense de poesía y cuentos, durante la mayor parte de su vida vivió en una isla, su jardín en Appledore fue conocido y hoy un reclamo turístico.

 

Polvo

 

Os traigo una incógnita, una maravilla.

¡Mirad este prodigio que tengo en la mano!

Es magia sorprendente, un misterio extraño,

Como un milagro de muy ardua comprensión.

 

¿Y qué es? Solo un puñado de tierra al tacto,

 un polvo seco y áspero siempre pisoteado,

 oscuro y sin vida, pero pensad un momento

en la belleza que encierra y oculta, dulce o amarga.  




Que complicado tiene que ser la traducción de versos 👏👏👏

[Susan Liston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this lovely little book for Christmas. It is sort of a combo of rhapsodic descriptions of her flowers,(Thaxter was a poet), a gardening journal, and practical advice. Beautiful illustrations by Childe Hassam. Very nice. If it doesn't make you want to go outside and dig, well, there is no hope for you.

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Primero, Dios Todopoderoso plantó un jardín — dice lord Bacon —. Ese es, ciertamente, el más puro de los placeres humanos, el mayor solaz para el espíritu de los hombres”

Un libro muy mono y cozy sobre Celia Thaxter hablando de su jardín. El amor con el que habla de cada una de sus flores, de como las cuida y la descripción de su día a día en la isla… simplemente mis aspiraciones en la vida. Aunque a veces me perdía con tanto nombre científico de flores, ahora solo quiero un jardín con muchas flores de colores y saber cuidarlas. La verdadera vida lenta que quiero, la forma en la que describe cada detalle de su vida, la luz al amanecer, el reflejo del sol, los pajaritos que se pasaban por su jardín, el movimiento de las flores en la brisa… no sé, simplemente un libro muy entrañable.

“¡Nos llevamos tan bien, mis flores y yo!” 😭

[Hildie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most delightful, beautifully descriptive garden tour I've ever happened across.

"As I work among my flowers, I find myself talking to them, reasoning and remonstrating with them, and adoring them as if they were human beings. Much laughter I provoke among my friends by so doing, but that is of no consequence. We are on such good terms, my flowers and I!"

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book with beautiful descriptions of her garden. Celia Thaxter was a joyful gardener!

[Stephanie Weima · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely romantic view of island life in the late 1800's, a must for any passionate gardener who wants to immerse themselves in the joy and all encompassing nature of deep gardening.

[Eden · Rating 2 out of 5]

2019 bk 87. Celia Baxter was born on island with a lighthouse. Her garden was on that island where she lived during the summers. She was well known in her day for her gardens, People on vacation would stay at her father's inn and row out to the island. Childe Hassam (American flag painting in the White House) painted her in her garden in addition to other paintings of the flowers in the gardens.
This book is a beautiful reflection on how she made her garden with great details of each flower being raised from seed. The prose is beautiful, but was so lacking in the human touch that I could only read a few pages a day before nodding off. It is considered a classic of garden literature. Maybe my problem lay in that this was a reproduction that did not include the lithographs illustrating the pictures. Maybe my fascination with garden literature book is not the flowers themselves, but the people who interact with the flowers.
I only learned the information in the first paragraph through a chance encounter of the names Thaxter and Hassam combined in a trivia book and by looking her up in a lit database online. There is only a rare glimpse of her brother to lighten the heavy descriptions of each flower. The reader learns little about the author herself in this book. I'm sure it is a lovely book, but I found it hard going.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

First I must say that I am an avid gardener and my relationship with the natural world is probably more intimate then much of the human population, but Celia Thaxter's romantic interaction with her garden became too much for me quite quickly. I both adored and became tired of her musings about her own dear garden. I wondered about her human interaction and envisioned people rolling their eyes if she conversed anything like she wrote of her beloved garden. She was truly in love with her words.

So why did I give this book 4-stars? Because there are plenty of wonderful thoughts to touch the heart of any true lover of cultivated flora and fauna. I actually gained quite a few ideas from her writings to use in my own future gardens.

Perhaps I too would have the same romantic relationship if all I had to do daily was to get up at 4AM, walk out to the garden to gather armloadsfull of flowers to delicately arrange each day, lay on a blanket searching out minute weeds to pluck, while occasionally rolling over to patiently observe the birds and insects as they frolicked in my dear garden. Oh and when not in the garden, I could spend hours musing on the piazza.

Times were unique and different for Celia Thaxter, and I'm glad she wrote of her intimate love of her garden, although six pages on poppies were a bit too much for me. I have to admit the thought even popped into my head that she loved her poppies for more than the beauty of petal, stem, and pod...maybe more so the pod.....

[Carole Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love gardening and details about it and the flowers, this is the book for you. Although written in 1894, Celia Thaxter tells all about her summer island garden. You will feel the love and care as she writes details about all the flowers she grows. The book also contains illustrations by Childe Hassam that enhance the beauty that Celia describes in her narrative. I've had this book since 1989 and realized once again the love of gardening that has helped me grow a garden of perennials around my house. I was glad to be rereading this beautifully illustrated book about gardening.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations but forgettable prose.

[Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Of all the wonderful things in the wonderful universe of God, nothing seems to me more surprising than the planting of a seed in the blank earth and the result thereof."

These beautiful opening lines lead the way into a charming book of nature writing. In many ways a gardening journal, Celia Thaxter weaves in other aspects of her beloved Appledore Island as well. American Impressionist artist Childe Hassam, who frequented the place, created the beautiful paintings featured.

"The Norwegians have a pretty and significant word, 'Opelske,' which they use in speaking of the care of flowers. It means literally 'loving up,' or cherishing them into health and vigor."

It is amazing to me the lengths she went to protect and nourish her lovely garden. It's no wonder her flowers were renowned far and wide! What dedication and 'opelske' she had; what perseverance!

I smiled at the description of her annual spring voyage from her winter home in New Hampshire to the Isles of Shoals; after tending her beautiful seeds and flowers all winter, she loaded them onto a tugboat and was carried over the waves in a fair jungle of blooming things. I wonder what the captain thought of this proceeding, and if it was a joy to him, or a nuisance?

A peaceful, slow read, this would be most appreciated by those who themselves are gardeners. Not being one, I did enjoy the writing, but skimmed some of the technical descriptions. The sections that spoke of her island birds were more fitting for me, as well as anecdotes like: the importing of frogs and toads to be allies in the Great Battle of the Slugs, the careful reviving of her little hummingbird friend--seemingly dead after a bad storm, and the hummingbird's morning ablutions.

Some delightful passages:

"...mine is just a little old-fashioned garden where the flowers come together to praise the Lord and teach all who look upon them to do likewise."

"I am conscious of the sandpiper calling and the full tide murmuring, and I, too, am content."

"The garden suffers from the long drought in this last week of July...Toward noon on this last day of the month the air darkens, and around the circle of the horizon the latent thunder mutters low. Light puffs of wind eddy round the garden, and whirl aloft the weary Poppy petals high in air, till they wheel like birds about the chimney-tops. Then all is quiet once more."

"In the sweet silence before sunrise, standing in the garden I watch the large round shield of the full moon slowly fading in the west from copper to brass and then to whitest silver, throwing across a sea of glass its long, still reflection, while the deep, pure sky takes on a rosy warmth of color from the approaching sun."

"...it is one of the wisest things in the world to carry in one's pocket a little magnifying glass, for this opens so many unknown gates into the wonders and splendors of Creation."

Having enjoyed Celia Thaxter's beautiful writing in this book, I'd like to search out a volume of her poems as well!

[Alberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

no existe lengua ni pluma ni pincel alguno entre los mortales capaz de representar el fresco esplendor de esta flor. ¿quién podría, en efecto, describir con acierto uno solo, incluso el más simple, de estos seres radiantes?

bueno supongo que cuando se tira cuatro páginas exactas hablando de las amapolas escarlatas de la forma más poética y descriptiva posible ella misma se acerca bastante. y lo hace muy bien porque podría haber seguido leyéndola hablar de ellas treinta y ocho páginas más. dentrísimo del estilo sobrecargado, de los millones de adjetivos, colores y olores, de las mil metáforas y símiles que usa para hablar de la belleza que le inspira todo. y el poema del principio? !!!!!! qué ganas tan grandes de tener exactamente su vida y vivir en una isla enanísima y que mis días fueran cuidar de mi huerto y mi jardín y mirar el mar y los pájaros y mis únicas preocupaciones fueran que los petirrojos se comen los tallos de caléndula o que las babosas me invaden las madreselvas y las arvejillas.

cuando el sol declinó hacia el oeste al caer la tarde, me senté a la sombra y, desde el porche, estuve regando todo el jardín con la manguera y el aspersor pequeño, y fue un momento maravilloso. los deliciosos aromas de la tierra y las hojas, el centelleo de las gotitas sobre la frescura verde, la gratitud de todas las plantas ante ese baño refrescante y esas ráfagas de agua… los preciosos alhelíes rojos inclinaron las bellas cabezas para mecerse con placer al compás de la brillante ducha.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thaxter declares this text to be her response to the entreaties of her admirers, explaining how she accomplishes her magnificent island garden. Although the pages are lined with insight into her methods, we quickly find ourselves immersed not in a manual, but an exultant love letter to her beloved flowers. Her writing is so whole-hearted, she calls to mind Mary Oliver’s, “what will you do with your one wild and precious life?” 

There is such delight in listening to someone speak of their absolute passions, and there can be no doubt that this is what gardening is for Thaxter. But while the blossoms may be her pride and joy, we see that the process of caring for them is a true labor of love at every stage. Descriptions of the most painstakingly tedious work are outlined with verve and proclaimed to be, “such pleasant work!” I could not help but get swept up in her disgust toward slugs, and my heart dropped when she found her tame hummingbird dead after the storm–how my heart soared along with hers when it was not dead, but only stunned! 

Her rapturous perspective extends to every piece of the island she mentions, including the varied bird life. And it is easy to forgive the lost lists of minute floral details that carry on for too long (as they often tend to do), because we know at every turn how much she is holding back.

For me, it was less a book detailing her specific garden than it was a treatise on observing the world with adoration for nature’s gifts.

[Colin or Lettuce Real Plant · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a delightful little story! I loved how passionate Thaxter is about gardening, and it surely made me feel like some british old lady pondering about flowers, lol.
I especially adored the little nibbles at chemistry and biology surrounding the consciousness of plants and flowers! I found it so interesting that a book that was written so long ago already had some ideas of many, many studies to come. I love how observation, from a place of pure love an passion, is what makes Celia enjoy gardening so much, I couldn't avoid but to smile at some points because of her never-ending stream of descriptions, colors and joy from seeing her flowers bloom.
Another peak for the narrative was the long description of the storm that struck the island, just so, so well written and passionate!
Overall, not a deep story that made me cry or anything, but a sweet place to go to when I feel bad. This book was also a birthday present, so I might be a little biased tehee

[Kathy D · Rating 4 out of 5]

My ‘Marmee’ and I loved flowers and gardens along with walks along the Lake when she was having one of her good days. Many years ago The Denver Botanic Gardens recreated Thaxter’s garden and was selling a reprint of her book (this one). I bought one for Marmee and ironically, she had found one back in Chicago and sent me one at the same time. I love the old Victorian prose and have been amazed at how Thaxter, with her stories and descriptions has been so helpful to me with my garden, thousands of miles away and hundreds of years later. As other readers suggest, it is a challenging read but to me it was a wonderful visit to a time and place I’ve never been.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult to read this book and not feel oneself Thaxter’s exuberance! In the middle of winter, I felt the hot sun, the wind and salty air, heard the bees and birds.... Thaxter is an attentive, fantastic, fresh observer, and her nearly breathless tone reflects her joyful, deep attachment to her island garden. I loved the passage about carrying her plants over by boat and that hummingbird she restores to life! (and the moth she does not...chloroform?! I am guessing this was more common at that time.) I also loved her complete pleasure in the effort, the work of gardening—in the middle of the night even.

A note too here that Hassam’s illustrations make it also a beautiful book: in fact, the whole book itself is lovely (cover, etc.)— a great representation of a Godine title.

*I want to add that I was often struck by the change in thinking about gardening here. While there is not thankfully the truck pulling up to spray industrial poisons (they were not as yet made popular and marketed), she does have her own “solutions” and a constant war with bugs rather than identifying their importance and creating an ecosystem with native plants, predators, etc. She spends time picking slugs off plants rather than knee-deep in neurotoxins, but still I hope for a garden where the affinity one has for flowers extends to the soil and insects too.

[Kristin Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written book about gardening on small Island near New Hampshire. I found it lovely and escapist, but would only suggest it to someone who really enjoys reading about flowers and gardening. Also, coming from the arid West, I was unfamiliar with a lot of the flowers and spent a great deal of time Googling pictures of flowers. I received this book as a gift more than 30 years ago and had almost forgotten about it until a new friend referenced it. The illustrations by Childe Hassam are exquisite.

[davidperezf · Rating 4 out of 5]

En esta pequeña joya de finales del siglo XIX, la narradora divaga sobre lo humano y lo divino mientras detalla los cuidados que pone en el jardín que lleva cultivando, desde que tiene 5 años, en la islita en la que vive.

Las luminosas y líricas descripciones casi hacen que puedas tocar y oler esas flores. Escuchar el canto de los pájaros que revolotean. Oler el viento del mar que augura tormenta. Contemplar el fulgor de los primeros rayos del sol.

Un libro absolutamente esplendoroso.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this would be relaxing bedtime reading, but I forgot how warlike gardening is. Reading it at night made me start worrying about all the critters outside munching on my garden.

Also, my version has grayscale illustrations, which hardly lend themselves to the spirit of the book.

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

siento q este libro debería valorarse por lo q evoca y no por lo que cuenta. son 100 paginas pero leerlo me tomó mas de un mes porque leía un cachito y me daban muchas ganas de estar con las plantas

me hizo ilusión empezarlo en mi jardín y acabarlo en una isla (and i know thats righhhtttt(

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming but also sort of twee.

[Lisa Daleiden-Brugman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book about a charming life. Lovely to read each morning over breakfast.

[Madeleine]

Most delightful read in a while

[Philemon - · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet book I read after visiting her island in the Isles of Shoals, with wonderful Childe Hassam illustrations in color.

[Justyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly I’m one inconvenience away from running away to start gardening on an island and taking to my flowers! Such a peaceful book & her descriptions of her garden and flowers were beautiful

[Valentina · Rating 4 out of 5]

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2026: 01. Un libro donde la jardinería o un jardín sean centrales en la trama

[Paloma de tinta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se suele decir que una persona tiene mano para las plantas (o "dedos verdes", en inglés) cuando tiene en su casa un jardín hermoso o un vergel de cuidadísimas plantas de interior. Si hiciéramos caso a esas expresiones parecería que la suerte, la magia o la genética tienen algo que ver en el proceso, cuando lo que hay detrás es observación atenta, cariño hacia las cosas que crecen y mucho trabajo.

Ana, la de Tejas Verdes, ya contaba entusiasmada los maravilloso que era encontrar espíritus afines. Pueden esconderse en muchos lugares diferentes, como entre las páginas de un libro. En Celia Thaxter me he encontrado a una de ellas. Su libro "El Jardín en una isla", no es una novela, es un compendio de consejos de jardinería, destinados a sus vecinos y amigos, que no se conseguían tan buenos resultados en su parcela.

Comparto con Celia mismo amor por las flores. el odio eterno a las babosas y la pasión por los libros. He disfrutado de las múltiples referencias y citas literarias que nos regala la autora, y de su prosa, cuidada y casi musical. Un libro que me ha hecho totalmente feliz

[Madame Mim · Rating 4 out of 5]

-𝐄𝐋 𝐉𝐀𝐑𝐃Í𝐍 𝐃𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐀 𝐈𝐒𝐋𝐀-
.
Que efecto tan sanador me produce, el leer libros sobre plantas y flores, y aunque es algo que ya llevo haciendo desde hace tiempo, nunca dejará de sorprenderme, los beneficios que tiene en mi el contacto con la naturaleza, en cualquiera de sus versiones.
.
'El jardín de una isla', es un clásico de jardinería de 1894, que escribió la autora y poeta Celia Thaxter, animada por unos amigos, y en el que nos comparte, a modo de ensayo, las experiencias de jardinería que tuvo desde niña, al cultivar un jardín en la isla de Appledore.
.
Un tesoro oculto, traducido por primera vez al español por @galloediciones, y que describe con gran detalle, y a lo largo de todo un año, una gran cantidad de consejos, técnicas, y remedios, para cultivar un jardín de flores exuberante y lleno de vida.
.
Además, la autora es una gran amante de la literatura, y con su prosa tan poética, logra expresar vivamente los colores, olores y belleza del jardín.
.
Una lectura preciosa, que me ha dado mucha paz, y que ir leyendola por las mañanas, en los momentos en que amanece, con el canto de los pajaritos de fondo, ha sido un disfrute sanador.
.
Como curiosidad decir, que el jardín del libro aún existe, pues fue restaurado en 1977, y puede visitarse cada verano, cuando florecen en él amapolas, dalias, girasoles, guisantes de olor...un total de más de 85 especies.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that I would love to own! It reminds me of The Passionate Observer by Jean Henri Fabre, except that here Ms. Thaxter is rambling on about her love affair with her garden instead of bugs. The version I read didn't have the intro by Tasha Tudor and I think the fellow who did introduce it biased me a little against the author. She liked to hear the sound of her own words and it gets annoying occasionally. Nevertheless, by the end of the book, it's as if you've been dashed into your very own New England vacation to a cottage garden by the sea.

(The hurricane and the hummingbird nearly made me cry! :tear: A pretty chapter on arranging flowers that is right on. I want to grow water lilies in tubs!)

"For mine is just a little old-fashioned garden where the flowers come together to praise the Lord and teach all who look upon them to do likewise."

"All the cares, perplexities, and griefs of existence, all the burdens of life slip from my shoulders and leave me with the heart of a little child that asks nothing beyond its present moment of innocent bliss."


Available online (with all the charming illustrations!) here:

[dthaase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Celia Thaxter takes you through a descriptive and stunning tour of her flower garden (c. 1893) located on Appledore, one of the Isles of Sholes off the Shores of Portsmouth, NH. Simply put this book is charming. This is a must read for any gardner who has experienced the toil and delight of the garden or for anyone who has ever appreciated a flower. Thaxter's descriptions and stories are wonderful. One of the most delighful reads I have had in a while. It deserves to be read outside on a summer day or at least in a favorite chair with a bouquet of flowers in the room.

An added bonus are the watercolor illustrations provided by Childe Hassam (an American Impressionist and good friend of Thaxter's). I first came to know of Thaxter through Hassam's paintings and the combination of the two artistic expressions make for a very satisfying read.