Cultivating Sacred Space: Gardening for the Soul

This is a book about the spiritual and emotional rewards of gardening. Murray, a garden designer, painter, and author of Monet's Passion: Ideas, Inspiration and Insights from the Painter's Gardens (Pomegranate, 1989), divides the book into four sections (for each season) and covers a different aspect in each section. The first, Winter, examines the gardener's relationship with nature and profiles seven paintings throughout history that illustrate this theme. Spring then presents glossary-type entries that define individual elements of the garden. The Summer section is the largest part of the book, and here Murray visits 12 gardens (public and private) that successfully show how the garden can bring serenity into our lives. She uses the final section, Fall, to discuss how the garden can be used for personal ceremonies. Here she talks about the role the garden played in her own wedding ceremony. Beautifully illustrated with exceptional photographs, Murray's unique book includes a bibliography, a reading list, and a list of gardens to visit.