For the avid gardener who happens to also love the Goddess, this
book will no doubt be a delight. There are a lot of creative ideas
within and I enjoyed reading it.
The author begins with a brief introduction to "Goddess
spirituality" in Part 1. Then comes an overview of practical
information (basic garden tools, information about soils, etc.).
The text then covers a few metaphysical (land blessings, moon
cycles, and so on) gardening considerations. Correspondences and
plant meanings are discussed at the end of Part 1.
The rest of the book (Part 2) is concerned with ideas on garden
areas dedicated to specific Goddesses. The information is well
researched. The history and cultural information, plants, colors,
stones, minerals, crystals, shells and other things associated
with each Goddess featured are all covered. I especially liked
how the author discusses patterns and directions for each Goddess
garden, and she gives some great ideas on decorative touches and
adaptations as well. The "after-harvest applications"
are especially useful in informing ones magical and personal growth.
Goddesses from a generous sampling of various cultures and pantheons
are represented – Amaterasu, Bast, Cerridwen, Fortuna, Hecate,
Lakshmi, Venus, Tara - and even the Muses and the Norns are covered!
The appendix has some additional material on "theme"
gardening and some brief ideas on "god gardens" to balance
things out nicely.
Even if you are not a dedicated gardener, this is a useful book
– some of the ideas within could even be used for creating
an altar to a specific Goddess.
