The Gardener Says invites readers to a festive garden party where guests ranging from Gertrude Jekyll and Henry David Thoreau, to Michelle Obama and Michael Pollan share their insights and words of inspiration.

Ranging from the humorous to the poignant, these quotes from gardeners, poets, philosophers, and landscape designers highlight both the joys and challenges of gardening-the exhaustion at the end of a long day’s work, the satisfaction of seeing a flower blossom, the peace and happiness of time spent in quiet contemplation.

A delightful hobby, a potent tool for ecological and social transformation, and a crucial reminder of our place in nature, gardening is, in the words of Mirabel Osler, the one occupation where if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling.