The woman of the house talks to the spirits of plants, and they tell her how to plant them (sort of an interactive Burpee service), and they grow in sand and fertilizer, blooming in extraordinary abundance where there was nothing but an ugly, abused mobile-home park once.

While this is a 1960's tale, there is much to be admired about it, and much to ponder as to what on earth does this indeed represent?


Food for thought   July 7, 2004
 8 out of 10 found this review helpful

This book is lovely and fun! Sure its concepts are also outrageous to the logical mind, but remember so was microbiology 100 years ago. The controversy of this book doesn't reach the underlying meaning: Through a lot of love, humility, faith and hard work you can lead a gentle and honerable life that creates beauty and gives life and hope where it appears hopeless. Even if you think you can't hear nature spirits and they are someone else's imagination, you can still find strength and peace while working with the natural world. Plus the more people learn to appreciate and love the natural world as part of us, the more we will collectively be able to hold for the future. The people who founded Findhorn are inspiring on many levels. It is wonderful.


I've been there.   April 28, 2005
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

I became attached to The Findhorn Foundation before reading any of the publications that have made it famous. It is an amazing place, and although I did not personally connect with Nature Spirits during any of my visits, I did have what I can only call spiritual experiences that prevent me from doubting any one else's connections to energy we don't understand. To those who have placed reviews that judge the place without going there, you should open your minds. It is not a hoax, but a place where many people are able to access a different perception of life. Findhorn really isn't about gardening, but about people and their relationship to the earth and each other. That's what makes this book so beautiful. It gives us an insider's look at some of the Founding members of a place that has nutured a diverse collection of caring, open minded, peole. Findhorn Foundation members have been advisors to the UN and are on the leading edge of the Ecovillage movement, reforestation, herbal remedies, spiritual and personal development, and alternative medicices that have all come closer to the mainstream since the 1960's. For me, The Findhorn Garden is both a history of a place I love, and an inspiration in keeping my mind open to the infinite possibilities of the universe -- even though I'm quite happy just having an ordinary life with an ordinary garden!