Kenneth I. Helphand

This book is as much about the psychology of people in extreme conditions as it is bout the gardens they created. As is repeated several times throughout the individual stories, the essential feature of gardening as opposed to, say, music, is that gardening involves investing in an unknown future. How could one plant seeds in the Warsaw knowing that you would be unlikely to see the harvest? It is these and similar dilemmas that Kenneth Helphand explores. Using photographic, documentary and interview resources he investigates the 'why' and 'how' peoplecreated gardens in these conditions. From soldiers at the Front in WW1 to US Japanese internees in the desert, tribute is paid the the determination,ingenuity and inspiration of the gardeners. Interestingly, the final chapter touches on the guerilla gardening movement - are some people so urbanised now, that our cities themselves can be regarded as extreme environments?… (altro)