The Earth in Her Hands

December 2, 2019
Jewell, host of the radio program and podcast Cultivating Place, offers a fine collection of profiles of women involved with horticulture. Though gardeners predominate, Jewell’s subjects also include newspaper columnists, photographers, educators, floral designers, farmers, and entrepreneurs, all of whom have a passion for sharing their love of the natural world. Some, such as Carol Bornstein, director of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County’s garden program, work to preserve rare plant species. Many talk specifically about environmental issues, as when designer and flower farmer Ariella Chezar discusses minimizing “the often toxic (to people and land) growing practices” of her industry. Others approach gardening as a tool for social justice. For instance, landscape designer Leslie Bennett works to create, in Jewell’s words, “garden spaces that center on people of color” and provide welcoming spaces to them. Beth Tuttle, president of the American Horticultural Society, sums up the book’s ethos best when she says “We are, and need to continue, moving our cultural understanding of gardening and our relationship to plants from nice to necessary.” Jewell provides generous lists of additional resources and beautiful photos of each woman and her work. This volume should be inspirational to anyone working with plants.

March 1, 2020

Drawing on her work as a radio host (Cultivating Place) and podcaster exploring the relationship between people and plants, Jewell here profiles a variety of women with positions in plant gene science and botany, those who direct botanical gardens and horticultural alliances, who practice traditional herbalism and foodways, and are florists or garden designers. The book specifically aims to broaden the picture of women in the world of plants by featuring women of color and individuals from Asia and Latin America. Lavish illustrations and inspirational quotes from the subjects further enhance the text. VERDICT Young women looking for ideas for a career in agriculture or horticulture are offered a number of paths to explore in this title. Those with a passion for plants who wish to see the many faces of women influencing the field will also enjoy.--Margaret Heller, Loyola Univ. Chicago Libs.

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2019
Public-radio host and garden writer Jewell celebrates women in horticulture through 75 profiles of individuals she feels promote a feminine principle in plant work. Each profile provides the individual's role and a tale of how she got into and has impacted the field. Appended to each is a short list of women who are not included in this book but have done or are doing similar work. While all engage with plants, their efforts take a variety of forms, with job titles including garden designer, entrepreneur, horticulturist, writer, environmental scientist, activist, photographer, farmer, and more. The plant workers featured here are certainly a who's who of those currently excelling in the field, including standouts such as Elizabeth Hoover, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Jamaica Kincaid, and Claire Takacs. While Jewell acknowledges that in mainstream culture the visible faces of horticulture have predominantly been white and strives to decolonize that representation, they are still the majority featured here. Despite that shortcoming, many readers will find this an informative and celebratory resource, making it a recommended purchase.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)