The Gardener's Year

"This very entertaining volume with its delightfully humorous pictures should be read by all gardeners." -- Nature"Mr. Capek writes with sympathy, understanding, and humor." -- The New York Times"Has a mellowness and a charm that give it a high place in the humorous literature of gardening ... will delight the amateur gardener, and indeed everyone else." -- Saturday ReviewThe creator of this book is best known internationally as the author of R.U.R., the science-fiction play that introduced the term "robot" to the world. Karel Capek's satiric gifts take a different turn in this impishly comic book, which recounts the trials, labors, joys, and meditations of the amateur gardener.Rather than a how-to book, Capek's volume offers a lighthearted mock-treatise on the pains and rewards of tending a small and resistant garden plot. From January to December, the author and his brother, illustrator Josef Capek, trace the vagaries of the amateur horticulturist's year, with brief side notes on seeds, the soil, plants, the beauties of autumn, and other aspects of gardening. Fifty-nine delightful drawings complement this book, which will amuse readers with and without green thumbs.