CLIP Review: Planting the WILD Garden

Author:  Kathryn O. Galbraith
Illustrator:  Wendy Anderson Halperin

On the first page of this lushly illustrated book, are a farmer and her son kneeling in their garden planting seeds.  While the text explains they are planting pumpkins, peas, carrots and cabbages, the borders of the page are rimmed with detailed drawings of each of these plants in various stages of growth.  And then your curiosity is aroused by the sentence which follows;  "In the wild meadow garden, many seeds are planted too, but not by farmers' hands."   I was captivated by this lyrical book, as all of nature disperses the seeds, flinging them here, there and everywhere.  "OOoo-whishhh! The wind spins and spills seeds out across the meadow".  But it doesn't stop there. The raindrops "Plip-plop" them, the birds "nibble, nibble, peck, peck" them, and on it goes through countless other animals in all kinds of weather. You may be surprised to find out that you have also, without even realizing it, been a seed carrier and planter. Birds and animals, plants and people. All of us together, creating wild meadow gardens.

The author has written an interesting bibliography of books used for reference in writing Planting the Wild Garden.