The Heirloom Gardener

May 3, 2021
Garden historian Forti debuts with an earnest but overripe treatise on the “heirloom gardening lifestyle.” Railing against modern industry, corporations, and GMOs, Forti champions local and artisanal products as “a delicious act of resistance” to consumerism and argues “sustainable practices can meet financial bottom lines and foster an environment that allows us to eat, drink, and breathe.” His musings cover such topics as sea vegetables, medicinal herbs, his work saving “forgotten fruits,” the joy of edible flowers, and plants native to New England. He also covers tips for crafts (such as building a herbarium), foraging, and pandemic-inspired back-to-the-land survival. Forti finds some fascinating historical tidbits—the Victorian era’s fondness for lawns, chestnuts’ role as a protein staple until the trees were wiped out by fungus—but his perspective often strikes as elitist and off-putting (“Instead of impulsively buying into cheap particleboard that will end up in landfill, I wait until I can afford a locally crafted wooden table”). This lands as mostly a work that preaches to the choir. Those not of a similar mindset can safely take a pass.

May 15, 2021
In this collection of essays, Forti aims to encourage people to connect with the land and plants, providing inspiration through his experiences and reflections. Forti's work as a historical gardener informs his approach, which is enhanced by the beautiful wood block print artwork that accompanies each essay and illustrates key ideas throughout the book. Each essay addresses an individual plant (such as angelica or zucchini) or plant-related concept (such as the language of flowers or xeriscaping). The fairly broad range of topics combined with this specific style of artwork give the book the feel of an old herbal, where the subject matter is driven more by the author's interests than a desire to be comprehensive or methodical. While there is plenty of information here about particular plants, this is less a guide and more a series of ruminations on the author's experiences with these plants and methods. Though the artwork forms an integral part of this book, the artists, Mary Azarian and Patricia Wakida, are curiously only credited on the copyright page.

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