Laurie Lisle

Four Tenths of an Acre is such a lovely, reflective read. Laurie Lisle takes us through her journey of transforming a small piece of land into a thriving garden, but the book is about so much more than just plants. It’s about patience, creativity, and the deep connection between nature and our own personal growth.

What I loved most is how Lisle weaves together gardening wisdom with life lessons. She shares her triumphs and struggles in the garden in a way that feels so relatable, whether show more you have a green thumb or not. Her writing is descriptive and soothing, making you feel like you're right there alongside her, watching the seasons change.

Even if you’re not a gardener, there’s something really grounding about this book. It reminds you to slow down, appreciate the little things, and embrace both the messy and beautiful parts of life. If you love nature, reflection, and beautifully written memoirs, I highly recommend it! show less

This biography of Georgia O'Keeffe comes highly recommended, based on the reviews I've seen. It certainly was voluminous and went into great detail about her day-to-day life. But I felt at times that the author bent over backwards to make O'Keeffe look stubborn, nasty, and self-centered, as opposed to individualistic and determined. Actually I'd use all five terms to describe her. It's the balance I wondered about.

Also, something I found disappointing about the book's formatting, the author show more chose to use endnotes (at the end of the book), rather than footnotes (on each page or at the end of each chapter). I didn't even realize the endnotes were there until I was already part way through the book. On the other hand, I'm not sure how useful they really are, considering that Ms. Lisle allowed many sources to be simply named as a source, leaving out what specifically they said about Ms. O'Keeffe. Not quite anonymous, but not attributed either. Why bother?

And one last point, although Georgia O'Keeffe's relationship with Juan Hamilton is discussed in the book's ending chapters, apparently, Mr. Hamilton was not used as a source. I'd guess he declined to be included. I think it's a very telling omission. An unfortunate one. show less

Four Tenths of an Acre: Reflections on a Gardening Life

"The ritual of gardening gives a rhythm, even rapture, to everyday life that is apart from the routines of writing and the flows of relationships.
Tending my garden became the same as taking care of myself."
(Laurie Lisle)

It was a delight to walk life's path with Laurie.
I appreciated the gardening histories and the step by step transformations both of her personal life and the essence of her garden.

Her chronicle often made me pause and show more consider my own life, my own garden.
I smile at the intertwining of life and gardening.
Taking that bare plot of ground, honestly assessing plus and minus and moving ahead to create something uniquely your own.
When there is clash in your color palette or "too much" of this or that, you gently redistribute and redesign.
A pioneer can be as welcome as an old fashioned favorite.
And the gardening saga goes on and on.

Thank you Laurie, I had fun reading this.
I identified many times with your joys
and trials.

This was a goodreads giveaway. show less

I gave this a three not because of interest because the life of Georgia OKeeffe is definitely interesting, but the writing is pretty straight forward - almost textbookish. Still, I learned much about an amazing, talented, and forceful woman. Georgia was born on a farm in Wisconsin, but after deciding that she wanted to be a painter at an early age, headed for New York City where her work became noticed and promoted by the photographer Alfred Stieglitz. They soon lived together and were show more eventually married.

Before that, however, Georgia spent time as an art teacher in Virginia and Texas. However, she always returned to Stieglitz. The relationship between a young female artist and a man much older than she was interesting and difficult. He controlled her, yet he promoted her. Their relationship lasted a lifetime and was one of seemingly deep love and devotion although they led vastly separate lives at times.

I was not aware of Georgia's work painting much of New York City. Her work in New Mexico is much more familiar. She was a strong woman with a great sense of herself; she knew what she wanted and culture, art critics, or her husband stood in the way. At the same time, she often found herself giving in to expectations especially of Stieglitz. She had many friends who supported her and who in turn she supported. At the same time, she could be extremely abrasive and rude.

Interesting person. show less