Peeling off sheets of skin from a sunburned
back. Spending $1,000 at five nurseries in an afternoon. Raising 200
monarch butterflies. Hearing the wing beats of geese thirty feet
overhead at sunset. How one piece of mulch can make all the difference.
These are the stories of Benjamin Vogt’s 1,500 foot native prairie
garden over the course of three years. After a small patio garden at his
last home teases him into avid tinkering, the blank canvas of his new
marriage and quarter acre lot prove to be a rich place full of delight,
anguish, and rapture in all four seasons. Full of lyrical, humorous, and botanical short essays, Sleep, Creep, Leap
will leave you inspired to sit a while with your plants, noticing how
the smallest events become the largest—and how the garden brings us down
to earth so that we can come home to our lives.
"Beautifully and thoughtfully crafted."
-- Amy Stewart, Kirkus Reviews
"This is what a garden memoir should be. Vogt's vivid, detailed descriptions
of the plants, insects, and birds that call his garden home are second only
to his ability to show how transcendent gardening can be. Beautifully written,
full of information about native plants and what it takes to create
a thriving ecosystem amidst modern tract homes.
Highly, highly recommended."
-- Colleen Vanderlinden, author of Edible Gardening for the Midwest
"Excellent as far as it goes and I couldn't help wishing it went further.
It sketches the history of making the garden and is very evocative
about the garden itself--the author is a poet as well and it shows.
Lively, engaging, personal and entertaining."
"Excellent as far as it goes and I couldn't help wishing it went further.
It sketches the history of making the garden and is very evocative
about the garden itself--the author is a poet as well and it shows.
Lively, engaging, personal and entertaining."
-- Anne Wareham, author of The Bad Tempered Gardener
"Be careful if you're sipping anything while reading. My keyboard was
a little endangered several times because I came close to spewing my tea
all over it from laughing.... Vogt can make even digging out a rock,
a task which took several hours, into a wonderful story...
His garden is a magical place full of wonder, and he will transport you
to take his journey right by his side."
