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Digging In: Tending to Life in Your Own Backyard
The story of a small garden large enough to hold everything in life that really matters.
“These days the portion of Eden for which I am responsible is fairly modest. . . . It is a small house in a small garden in a small neighborhood. But it is large enough . . . Large enough to hold everything dear.”
Digging In tells the story of the author’s move into an early twentieth-century cottage with a long abandoned back yard, and the work that he and his family had to do to bring a garden to life there. It is the story of the way that the garden became the ground upon which deeper relationships with his family, friends, and neighbors began to blossom and grow.
Written in the gentle, revealing prose for which Benson is acclaimed, this is a lyrical and wise book, beautifully evoking the wonder of planting and seasons, humorously recalling the challenges and the struggles of the labor itself, and carefully observing the simple truths and timeless joys that were there to be found.
“These days the portion of Eden for which I am responsible is fairly modest. . . . It is a small house in a small garden in a small neighborhood. But it is large enough . . . Large enough to hold everything dear.”
Digging In tells the story of the author’s move into an early twentieth-century cottage with a long abandoned back yard, and the work that he and his family had to do to bring a garden to life there. It is the story of the way that the garden became the ground upon which deeper relationships with his family, friends, and neighbors began to blossom and grow.
Written in the gentle, revealing prose for which Benson is acclaimed, this is a lyrical and wise book, beautifully evoking the wonder of planting and seasons, humorously recalling the challenges and the struggles of the labor itself, and carefully observing the simple truths and timeless joys that were there to be found.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
6 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Robert Benson
93 books34 followersRobert Benson has written more than a dozen books about discovering the Holy in the midst of our everyday lives. He is a lifelong churchman, a graduate of the Academy for Spiritual Formation, a member of the Friends of Silence and of the Poor, and has been named a Living Spiritual Teacher by Spirituality and Practice. Benson lives and writes, pays attention and offers prayers at his home in Nashville, Tennessee.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 23, 2019
I don't get it. So many people love this book but I can't understand why. While it had some delightful moments and I can truly relate to the personality of the author, it seemed like a book that made a lot out of nothing much. I understand that one's nostalgic pleasures and quiet places are often very profoundly moving, but it is usually only the case that they are profound to us alone. They are pleasant to tell about, but not in long and drawn out tales about little.
I sympathize with Benson though, as I'd write the same book, even more 'wordier,' because I draw great pleasure in quiet, birds, backyards coming to life, a job well done, and would love to have a garden writing studio in which to drink coffee as the sun rises and the daily chorus comes to life, ending with the late-rising wrens (see, I did read it all the way through!) And there, thinking about that last couple of chapters, I think maybe I'm too harsh. I did smile a lot, but by the time I was two thirds of the way through, I kept looking to see how much of the book was left to endure.
It was short, and while it was not the kind of book I rushed to pick up after having been away, it was pleasant once I was reading. Unless you like sitting for long hours listening to someone explain their back yard and its pleasures in wordy detail, you would do better sitting in your own.
I sympathize with Benson though, as I'd write the same book, even more 'wordier,' because I draw great pleasure in quiet, birds, backyards coming to life, a job well done, and would love to have a garden writing studio in which to drink coffee as the sun rises and the daily chorus comes to life, ending with the late-rising wrens (see, I did read it all the way through!) And there, thinking about that last couple of chapters, I think maybe I'm too harsh. I did smile a lot, but by the time I was two thirds of the way through, I kept looking to see how much of the book was left to endure.
It was short, and while it was not the kind of book I rushed to pick up after having been away, it was pleasant once I was reading. Unless you like sitting for long hours listening to someone explain their back yard and its pleasures in wordy detail, you would do better sitting in your own.
June 18, 2021
I found this little book nestled among the gardening books at a used bookstore near my parents' house. It wasn't quite a gardening memoir but more of a landscaping memoir, since there was much more content about fences, fountains, and pools than plants (the 45 rose bushes notwithstanding) but it was an enjoyable read.
I wondered about his description of 'a large African American man' who regularly helped the author's grandfather, because none of the other minor characters have even a hint of physical description. So... there's that.
I wondered about his description of 'a large African American man' who regularly helped the author's grandfather, because none of the other minor characters have even a hint of physical description. So... there's that.
January 5, 2022
Excellent book! I read it years ago and wanted to share it with others. My memory is it made me feel excited about being ambitious. Inspirational in many ways.
September 26, 2025
I’ve read this book over and over for years now and it never disappoints. Robert Bensons writing comforts like a conversation with a good friend.
May 25, 2016
This is a lovely little book of vignettes from Robert Benson’s garden. More accurately, it is a series of stories about how his garden came to be, with Benson serving mainly as the builder-of-fences and digger-of-beds, while his wife (whom he refers to as the Master Gardener) tends to the business of tending to the plants. Robert and his wife lived in a tract house in the suburbs, which they had transformed into a version of a Victorian cottage, with a potting shed, a kitchen garden, and lots of fences and hedges. Just as they were on the brink of being “finished” – ready to maintain, rather than build, their garden – a huge change came into their lives when Robert’s young children came to live with them. Needing a larger house, and wanting to move into a neighborhood near good schools, they moved to a neighborhood in the city of Nashville called Sunnyside. Sunnyside may have sounded like a cottage garden paradise, but the yard needed a lot of work before it could even be called a garden, let alone a paradise! With the help of a host of memorable characters – Hal, the neighborhood jack-of-all-trades, Mr. Shrub, Sammy, and his own children – Benson builds fences (repeatedly), puts in a fountain, digs beds, adds a pool, and wrests a garden to life. Wally and Pops, Benson’s deceased grandfathers, play a large role, too. Not only did growing up under their tutelage teach him the skills that help him in these tasks, but one of them, Wally, his mother’s father, used to live in this same neighborhood. Wally was well-known for sharing his beloved irises, and when Benson walks the streets near his home, he wonders how many of those purple flowers growing in the yard were originally Wally’s irises. One reviewer (Rebecca Kolls, host of a tv show called Rebecca’s Garden) wrote: “Now this is what gardening is really about! It’s not only about getting your hands dirty, but it’s the experiences and life lessons that grow from the garden. Robert Benson’s story is touching, funny, and delightful. I want to see Robert’s garden!” Enough said.
August 30, 2007
I found this book on the new book shelf at the library. It is a slim 150 pages. The review on the cover promised it was "Touching, funny, and delightful." Inside it is described as a gentle gardening memoir. Mostly true.
I liked how Benson refers to his wife as the general contractor, master planner, gardener. I could relate both to her desire for more flowers and therefore more flower beds and to his constant campaign for lawn elimination hence more flower beds. There is a lovely chapter in the middle describing the planning, digging, and arrival of the roses for the rose bed.
After I finished the book I looked at www.robertbensonwriter.com. Which is also worth a look. There he expresses admiration for Annie Dillard. I have to say I prefer Benson. His writing is perhaps less brillant but warmer for it.
I liked how Benson refers to his wife as the general contractor, master planner, gardener. I could relate both to her desire for more flowers and therefore more flower beds and to his constant campaign for lawn elimination hence more flower beds. There is a lovely chapter in the middle describing the planning, digging, and arrival of the roses for the rose bed.
After I finished the book I looked at www.robertbensonwriter.com. Which is also worth a look. There he expresses admiration for Annie Dillard. I have to say I prefer Benson. His writing is perhaps less brillant but warmer for it.
July 19, 2011
Loved this memoir of one man's adventures in his garden and how he found that tending it complemented the tending of his life. Benson's voice reminds me of Bill Bryson and Robert Fulghum. Read this in one evening and found myself lost in the simple, yet elegant, prose. Loved his observations about life in one's backyard -- funny, poignant, lovely.
March 29, 2016
Using the canvas of backyard gardening as his starting point, Robert Benson shares a warm and famial slice of life with his readers. As a hobbyist gardener myself, his tales of expertise and happenstance ring true. With his characteristic deceptive simplicity, he makes me want to get my summer projects lined up and to decide whether I am the gardener or the general contractor.
August 27, 2009
Benson's writing often makes me feel like I am reading my own thoughts. He is engaging, hilarious, and thoughtful about his engagement with life, daily activities, and the people around him. Another winner from Benson.
April 12, 2020
I’ll give it 4 stars for the content... a pleasant early spring read as I begin puttering in my own yard. The kindle edition was ridiculous though... Benson is a good writer, so I’m guessing the ridiculous number of typos have something to do with transferring it to the kindle. :-p
June 7, 2009
Lovely little tome delving into the pleasures and lessons of gardening, writing and finding peace. The humor was warm and friendly.
November 7, 2013
I love gardening and enjoyed this sentimental humorous read. Very relaxing to read and quietly inspiring for your garden.
February 24, 2014
AmaZing his love of gardening describes what nature will show you in the Garden you create with green fingers and your toil of Love. CA
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews