The Last Garden: A Memoir
Liza Ketchum
June 30, 2023
“A lovely, gentle memoir that takes us through a life, garden by garden, with delicate illustrations of flowers.”
—Five-star review, Amazon.com
Liza Ketchum
June 30, 2023
“A lovely, gentle memoir that takes us through a life, garden by garden, with delicate illustrations of flowers.”
—Five-star review, Amazon.com
Liza Ketchum
June 30, 2023
“A lovely, gentle memoir that takes us through a life, garden by garden, with delicate illustrations of flowers.”
—Five-star review, Amazon.com
Release Date: June 30, 2023
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-57869-141-8
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-57869-153-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023909995
eBook: tbd
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Synopsis
Embark on a writer’s personal garden journey! Liza Ketchum’s story begins and ends in Vermont, with settings as varied as the Adirondacks, a New York suburb, an urban yard, coastal Florida, and Oxfordshire, England.
With detailed, monochrome drawings by botanical illustrator Bobbi Angell, The Last Garden describes the practical aspects of gardening as we face the perils of climate change, food scarcity, and pollinator decline.
This memoir also profiles the gardeners whose techniques and wisdom influenced and helped shape the gardens Ketchum created. She shares the myriad ways that gardens have provided beauty, comfort, healing, and inspiration during periods of change, loss, and renewal. She also offers inspiration for readers to create their own gardens, whether on a city balcony, a suburban yard, or a larger country plot.
PRAISE
“Wonderful reading, bringing memories, gardening lore, and scientific understanding to all who admiringly turn their pages.”
—Laura C. Stevenson, author of All Men Glad and Wise
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“Whether you are an expert in the garden or someone who doesn't know their viburnum from their viola, you will find this book informative and interesting. I was continually amazed by the author’s ability to remember individuals from her past and their contributions to her gardening nature. This is more a book about family than a ‘how to garden’ book, but I think you’ll enjoy it and find yourself reading with a notepad handy to jot down ideas for your next garden project.”
—Michael Epstein, EpsteinReads.com
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“A lovely, gentle memoir that takes us through a life, garden by garden, with delicate illustrations of flowers.”
—Five-star review, Amazon.com
MEET THE AUTHOR
Author photo by John H Straus.
Liza Ketchum is the award-winning author of seventeen books of fiction and non-fiction for young readers. Her historical novels include two with Vermont connections: The Life Fantastic, a vaudeville story from 1913; and Where the Great Hawk Flies, winner of the Massachusetts Book Award for Young Adults. She is a co-author, with Phyllis Root and Jackie Briggs Martin, of the nonfiction picture book Begin With a Bee, illustrated by Claudia McGehee.
A citizen scientist volunteer and climate activist, Liza enjoys writing essays on issues related to gardening, the environment, and climate change. She taught creative writing at the graduate level at Hamline University in St. Paul, at Rhode Island College’s ASTAL Institute, at Emerson College, Simmons College, and Vermont College of Fine Arts. She and her husband divide their time between Massachusetts and Vermont. Visit her website: www.lizaketchum.org.
MEET THE ARTIST
Trout lily. Erythronium americanum. Bobbi Angell.
Botanical and scientific artist Bobbi Angell draws plants at her home in Southern Vermont where she gardens, searches for native flowers, illustrates books and works on copper etchings. Visit her website: www.bobbiangell.com.