| The Diary of a Mad Gardener is a
delightful and hilarious
peek into the frenzied mind of Dibble, a passionate, obsessive, and
absolutely
"mad" gardener. His single-mindedness propels the reader from day to
day
though a series of totally plausible, though definitely unusual,
horticultural
happenings, meanwhile revealing great gardening tips!
Dibble struggles alone as he battles the forces of
nature, including
pests, atrocious weather, and Shirl, the garden woman from up the
street.
From garden shows to garden disasters he experiences what every
gardener
experiences, but with a decidedly wacky approach.
His backyard is a horticultural flea market -- if
it's green, he'll
plant it. There is no aspect of gardening that Dibble doesn't dabble
in,
even creating a pay-per-view Bart Simpson topiary that turns out to be
one of his less successful ventures when fans of Bart beat a path
through
his flower bed. Yes, whether he's weeding or whining, Dibble's
philosophy
truly is "to boldly grow where no one has groan before."
Gardening and laughing are two of the best things
in life one can
do to promote good health and a sense of well-being. Hoe, hoe, hoe and
ho ho ho with this refreshing "chuckle-and-learn-book."
Reviews
The East Coast Gardener
Review by Carla Allen
Dear Dibble. He’s a bumbling, scrabbling, frantic, and
hopelessly passionate
gardening fool. If you don’t see yourself in at least one of his days
in Diary
of a Mad Gardener, then you’re not a true-blue gardener. David
Hobson
has done it again and produced a book that is ‘laugh out loud funny’.
His
first book, Soiled Reputations, highlighted the rivalry between
Cynthia and Riley. Now Dibble’s diary captures the perennial optimism
and
the obsessive tendencies of all die-hard gardeners.
Be careful who you loan this book to. I pointed out
the October 30th
entry to my nine year old and lost this paperback for the next half
hour.
It was worth the experience to hear him chuckling about Dibble’s
adventures.
This book rolls along like a fully loaded wheelbarrow
going downhill.
The only pictures you’ll find will be those created by your own
imagination,
but Dibble plants plenty of viable seed for those.
Diary of a Mad Gardener is a delightful
break from ‘instructive’
horticultural books but there are many subliminal tips included.
Dibble’s
fictional diary underlines the importance of keeping a journal. As he
concludes
near the end of the year, “Some of the things I’ve done might seem odd,
even bizarre but I’m not concerned.” True gardeners will understand.”
We
understand, Dibble, we really do.
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