My Summer in a Garden

Modern Library Gardening

by Charles Dudley Warner, Allan Gurganus (Introduction)

Oft quoted but seldom credited,Charles Dudley Warner’s My Summer in a Garden is a classic of American garden writing and was a seminal early work in the then fledgling genre of American nature writing. Warner—prominent in his day as a writer and newspaper editor—was a dedicated amateur gardener who shared with Mark Twain, his close friend and neighbor, a sense of humor that remains deliciously fresh today.

In monthly dispatches, Warner chronicles his travails in the garden, where he and his cat, Calvin, seek to ward off a stream of interlopers, from the neighbors’ huge-hoofed cows and thieving children, to the reviled, though “propagatious,” pusley weed. To read Warner is to join him on his rounds of his beloved vegetable patch, to feel the sun on his sore back, the hoe in his blistered hands, and yet, like him, never to lose sight of “the philosophical implications of contact with the earth, and companionship with gently growing things.”

This Modern Library edition is published with an extensive new Introduction by Allan Gurganus, author of Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All and The Practical Heart .

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

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1870

About the author

Charles Dudley Warner was an American essayist, novelist, and friend of Mark Twain, with whom he co-authored the novel The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today.

Warner travelled widely, lectured frequently, and was actively interested in prison reform, city park supervision, and other movements for the public good. He was the first president of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and, at the time of his death, was president of the American Social Science Association.

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lighthearted and funny collection of essays about the author's summer of gardening and all the problems he ran into. And there is quite alot about his amazing cat. Really, the cat was awesome. He got a whole chapter that I'm not ashamed to report brought tears to my eyes. Free from Amazon for Kindle, though was as good as Beverley Nichols' garden books. These were American and about an edible garden. The bits about the naughty neighbor kids who ate all his goodies before he could have some is hilarious.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charmer of a summer read by Sam Clemens' old friend and writing partner (The Gilded Age.) Warner pens weekly dispatches on the state of his garden and the doing of his cat Calvin. Lots of rueful grumbling - if you enjoyed The $64 Tomato by William Alexander, or if you like Calvin Trillin's grumpy humor, this will amuse you.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is written in two sections: one was a study of the author's garden broken down into weekly development in 1870, and the other was a tribute in memory of his late beloved cat and written in 1880.
My friend, a former English faculty member who is an avid master gardener had this short book on her to-read list, so I had to look into it and loved it. At first, since the language and structure is a little stilted in comparison to today's usage I had a little trouble; however, it eventually became interesting and readable. The author used tongue-in-cheek, and the analogies were beautifully and thoughtfully written. I was amazed that customs then did not keep others away from his garden, and not only did he have to fight off birds and the like, but human "poachers," both children and adults. I did not know what "pusley" was, and since in my garden I am always fighting weeds, I hope I never get it. After researching, I have seen it in lawns in Florida, and I do not like it. Since I garden in a Great Lakes State, I hope it never comes here, but he had it in Connecticut in 1870. Stay away!!!
Oh, how I dream about my summer garden all winter, and I will want to re-read this book during those months, so I can "return" to my love of the soil and how time flies when I am digging, weeding (not pusley, thank God), and planting.

[bxa · Rating 5 out of 5]

In starting out on this book, I was a bit confused and even irritated, as I had not realized that the author put pen to paper almost 150 years ago. So, some of his (only sometimes irony-flavored) statements about women did not go down too well.

However, if you read this book in full acknowledgement of the times and the kind of society it was written in, then I am sure you will be able to enjoy it sufficiently. As a person who likes to read about gardening and the constantly changing (while constantly recurring) challenges a gardener is facing; but also as a person who likes witty remarks about politics, society and the state of affairs as such. Very intelligent and amusing, sometimes deeply philosphical allegories drawn from the garden make for a highly entertaining and rewarding read. If you like tongue-in-cheek, better still - especially since almost all of statements, especially the more cynical political ones, still hold true 150 years later.

Regarding women's role in society, I prefer to hope that things have changed rather significantly since 1870, though ;-)

[Summer Fernandez Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have found a kindred spirit in Charles Dudley Warner. The bad news is that he has been dead for 100 years like most of my literary kindred spirits. The good news is that he was a close friend of Mark Twain which means maybe I would have been as well if circumstances had allowed. This funny collection of essays hooked me from the first paragraph: "The love of dirt is among the earliest of passions, as it is the latest. Mud pies gratify one of our first and best instincts. So long as we are dirty, we are pure."

[Kem Mirsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but not nearly as much fun as another book in the series -- Eleanor Perenyi's "Green Thoughts", which, before Michael Pollan spearheaded the reprinting of a number of classics of garden writing, I bought copies of whenever I came across them in used bookstores in order to share her wit and wisdom with other like-minded gardeners.

[Christina Bellamy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My OH son gave me this little book as he knows me well in this realm of reading about gardening. Charles Dudley Warner, a 19th cent. journalist writes about much more than nicotiana: "The garden thus becomes a moral agent, a test of character, as it was in the beginning". Ah, so.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Observation: Woman always did, from the first, make a muss in a garden" (11).

Many of Warner's gardening reflections strike a chord. The casual (and incessant) misogyny hasn't aged well.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is composed of weekly observations as the author grows his own backyard garden. Warner was a contemporary and friend of Mark Twain, whose humor I love, and shares a similar satire. I marked so many quotes that it would be too much to record them all, so I'll just record a few of my favorites.

"The love of dirt is among the earliest of passions, as it is the latest. Mud-pies gratify one of our first and best instincts. So long as we are dirty, we are pure."

"However small it is on the surface, it is four thousand miles deep; and that is a very handsome property."

"There is life in the ground; it goes into the seeds; and it also, when it is stirred up, goes into the man who stirs it."

"Observation - Woman always did, from the first, make a muss in a garden."

"We all have something in our nature that requires contact with the earth."

"The nutmeg-melons, having covered themselves with delicate lace-work, are now ready to leave the vine. I know they are ripe if they come easily off the stem. Moral Observations - You can tell when people are ripe by their willingness to let go."

"Philosophical Observation - Nothing shows one who his friends are like prosperity and ripe fruit. I had a good friend in the country, whom I almost never visited except in cherry-time. By your fruits you shall know them."

"It is work, too, that I know by experience I shall have to do alone. Every man must eradicate his own devil-grass. The neighbors who have leisure to help you in grape-picking time are all busy when devil-grass is most aggressive."

[Carmen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was not about gardening in any way. It is a diary of sorts basically going into the gardener's neighbors and friends visit conversations about religion, politics and the like. About 1/3 of the pages in the book are forward, introduction ect and the book itself was dry and boring, nothing funny or interesting at all really. A direct quote off of page 43 " I will not associate with any vegetable which is disreputable, or has not some quality that can contribute to my moral growth. I do not care to be seen much with the squashes or the dead-beets. Fortunately I can cut down any sorts I do not like with the hoe, and, probably, commit no more sin in so doing, than the Christians did in hewing down the Jews in the middle ages." If I had known this trash was in the book, I would never have purchased it. I don't want my money supporting that.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5—a truly delightful journey through gardening and the variety of related topics that it sparks for Warner. His musings are as timeless as gardening itself, but what really surprised me was how very lyrically written many of them were. The description of the camping trip was breathtaking. He has historical opinions and perspectives, however, I was never quite sure what they were, as his writing frequently has a tongue-in-cheek, exaggerated quality to it. Overall, I enjoyed his thoughts, his cat, and his garden. (I do wish the introduction by Gurganus had been shorter—for an already short book, 37 pages of intro is a bit tedious.)

[Federico · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like to go into the garden these warm latter days, and muse. To muse is to sit in the sun, and not think of any thing. I am not sure but goodness comes out of people who bask in the sun, as it does out of a sweet apple roasted before the fire. The late September and October sun of this latitude is something like the sun of extreme Lower Italy: you can stand a good deal of it, and apparently soak a winter supply into the system. If one only could take in his winter fuel in this way! The next great discovery will, very likely, be the conservation of sunlight.

[Deidra Chamberlain · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, he loves his garden, and his cat. However, he has lots of snide comments to make about children, women, Jews, Chinese people, Irish people, plumbers, and insects. I might have missed something. Not funny. Anyway, I did appreciate the reminder that comedy is the first genre to become irrelevant. It is also one of the best genres to really get a feel for the popular sentiment of the time period. Let them be known by what entertains them. It gets a star for that, and another for the prediction about solar power. That was pretty spot on.

[Jane Dugger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick, if silly, read about a man & his garden. It is difficult to imagine someone reading this who isn't also into gardening. However, the best part (of my edition at least, which was published by the author in 1898) was the essay at the end about his beloved cat, Calvin. It was the highlight!

[Tyche · Rating 1 out of 5]

"...think of the moral satisfaction of watching the bugs hovering over the screen, seeing, but unable to reach the tender plants within. That is worth paying for. " 😂

Despite the eminently horrible elements of these personal essays, one cannot help but weep for Calvin the Cat.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Summer in a Garden

It was not what I expected. I was disappointed that the weed " pusley" was never defined. I couldn't picture what this garden looked like. I felt the ending was rather abrupt.

[Brianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed and I cried. Please read this book. It is an absolute delight!

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, wonderful read. Need to read more of Warner and his co-authoring with Twain.

[starlabev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il vero gioiello di questo libro è il necrologio finale al gatto di Dudley, Calvin.

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The misogamy and racism hasn't aged well, but putting that aside (the book was written 154 years ago, afterall) it was a quick and fun read.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our 56th Retirement Read Aloud, found in Escanaba , MI on our vacation in 2023.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like reading Jerome K. Jerome is he had been a Puritan.

[Gwynplaine26th · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Ogni libro che interpreta la scienza segreta di campi e giardini, ogni saggio che avvicina gli uomini alla comprensione dei misteri che gli alberi sussurrano, i ruscelli mormorano, le erbacce, persino, accennano, è un contributo al benessere e alla felicità della nostra specie”.

Amico e collega di Mark Twain, Charles D. Warner scrive da Nook Farm, Hartford, nell’ ottobre 1870. L’amore per la vita agreste, il trarre piacere dalla quotidianità del vivere tra flora e fauna e l’animo che trepida per il canto degli uccelli e per la consistenza della rugiada sull’erba, sono le costanti di questo volumetto breve.

“Un’estate in giardino e Calvin, uno studio sul personaggio”, ecco il bi-titolo di questo prezioso testo di garden literature (dove il Calvin del titolo naturalmente è il gatto che con lui frescheggia in giardino), perfetto da leggere sul balcone all’ombra di questa calura estiva.

Se piace il genere:

-          Richard Adams “A nature diary”

-          Elizabeth Von Armin “Il giardino di Elizabeth”

-          Marta McDowell “Beatrix Potter’s gardening life”

-          Edith Holden “The country diary of an Edwardian Lady , 1906”.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 1870, Charles Dudley Warner’s My Summer in a Garden is a must have for any gardener. We follow Charles and his cat Calvin in this humorous weekly account of his garden adventures. As an editor and writer Warner’s observations of gardening are timeless and is just as relevant today as it was 14o plus years ago. As an amateur gardener, Warner goes through garden woes such as pesky children, the neighbors chickens and the weeds that grow “as if the devil were in them” but he reminds us of the reason we garden. Gardening he says is the “philosophical occupation of contact with the earth and companionship with gently growing things.” Although we may have many sleepless nights worrying about what may happen day to day with our gardens, with patience and a watchful eye we will be wholly rewarded. After all it is the work that is put into our plot of land at the end of the day that is edifying.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a lilting, gentle book that is serene as serene can be, and that is why I enjoy picking up this work from time to time and read it. It makes for a sane, albeit private, world. The writing style is smooth.

Following are four memorable passages:

The garden thus becomes a moral agent, a test of character,

The squash has always been to me a dish of contempt; but I eat it now as if it were my best friend.

I think the squash is less squashy, and the beet has a deeper hue of rose, for my care of them.

It is difficult to convey a just idea of his gayety in connection with his dignity and gravity, which his name expressed. As we know nothing of his family, of course it will be understood that Calvin was his Christian name.

🟣Kindle version.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up in part because Michael Pollan is the series editor. The essays were orginally written as chatty newspaper gardening columns, and that makes this a good piecemeal read. The language is not modern, but is very accessible despite the age of the pieces, and exudes a quaint literary patina.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Late 1800's take on gardenng...some things don't change much! Really enjoyed the authors commentary and could not resist reading passages out loud to whichever unfortunate family member happened to be in the room at the time. Bless 'em, they thought it was funny too.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A joy to read. Warner has John Burroughs' depth and sensitivity, and adds value with humor and style. Totally enjoyable. I'm now reading Warner's 'In the Wilderness' and the first few vignettes have been just wonderful.

[Jennifer Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

So deliciously witty and wise. Anyone who has spent a summer cultivating a garden will appreciate Warner's conclusions and tongue in cheek theories. Loved every week of this sage memoir. Laughed out loud again and again.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was surprisingly amusing. The "extensive new Introduction" was amazingly boring, but the actual essays were usually honest, often philosophical, and always witty.
This was an excellent Little Free Library find.