In her introduction to this new edition, the gardener, writer, illustrator, and craftsperson Tasha Tudor explores the space Celia Thaxter made for herself on one of the Isles of Shoals and the place her gentle, commonsense journal has held in the hearts of gardeners and artists for over a hundred years.
A popular poet in her day, Thaxter is best remembered for AN ISLAND GARDEN, originally published by Houghton Mifflin in 1894. The book chronicles a year in the life of Thaxter’s garden on the island her father had purchased in 1848 and renamed Appledore Island. The hotel he built there was among New England’s first offshore summer resorts and attracted writers, musicians, and artists, including the American Impressionist Childe Hassam, whose beautiful paintings of Thaxter’s house and garden are reproduced in this book. Considered one of the most delightful examples of horticultural writing, AN ISLAND GARDEN has served as an inspiration for essayists and gardeners alike since its first publication.