Beautiful at All Seasons

Elizabeth Lawrence (1904-1985) is recognized as one of America's most important gardeners and garden writers. In 1957, Lawrence began a weekly column for the Charlotte Observer, blending gardening lore and horticultural expertise gained from her own gardens in Raleigh and in Charlotte and from her many gardener friends. This book presents 132 of her beloved columns. Never before published in book form, they were chosen from the more than 700 pieces that she wrote for the Observer over thirteen years. Lawrence exchanged plants and gardening tips with everyone from southern "farm ladies" trading bulbs in garden bulletins to prominent regional gardeners. She corresponded with nursery owners, everyday backyard gardeners, and literary luminaries such as Katharine White and Eurora Welty. Her books, including A Southern Garden, The Little Bulbs, and Gardens in Winter, inspired several generations of gardeners in the South and beyond. The columns in this volume cover specific plants, such as sweet peas, hellebores, peonies, and the bamboo growing outside her study window, as well as broader topics like the usefulness of vines, the importance of daily pruning, and organic gardening. Like all of Lawrence's writing, these columns are peppered with references to conversations with neighbors and quotations from poets, classical philosophers, and her many correspondents. They brim with knowledge gained from a lifetime of experimenting in her gardens, from her visits to other gardens, and from her extensive readings. Lawrence once wrote, "Dirty fingernails are not the only requirement for growing plants. One must be as willing to study as to dig, for a knowledge of plants is acquired as much from books as from experience." As inspiring today as they were when they first appeared in the Charlotte Observer, the columns collected in Beautiful at All Seasons showcase not only Lawrence's vast knowledge but also her intimate, conversational writing style and her lifelong celebration of gardens and gardening.