{"product_id":"maverick-gardeners-dr-dirt-and-other-determined-independent-gardeners-9781496832719","title":"Maverick Gardeners: Dr. Dirt and Other Determined Independent Gardeners","description":"\"Be forewarned that this book honors people like the woman in my hometown who paints the numbers of her favorite NASCAR drivers on her elephant ears, and a Tokyo gardener with over a hundred bonsai plants.\" So says renowned garden journalist Felder Rushing in his new book \u003ci\u003eMaverick Gardeners: Dr. Dirt and Other Determined Independent Gardeners. \u003c\/i\u003eIn this book, Felder delves deeply into the psychology of what motivates and sustains the Keepers of the Garden Flame. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e For thousands of years, a loosely connected web of unique, nontraditional gardeners has bonded people across race, culture, language, and other social conventions through sharing unique plants and stories. Found in nearly every neighborhood worldwide, these \"determined independent gardeners\" (DIGrs) are typically nonjoiners who garden simply and exuberantly, eschewing customary horticultural standards in their amateur pursuits of personal bliss. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Included in \u003ci\u003eMaverick Gardeners\u003c\/i\u003e are classic \"passalong plant\" lists, a dollop of how-to, numerous color photographs, and thought-provoking essays on quintessential tools, sharing with others, getting away with wildflowers in suburbia, and organizing a plant swap. The centerpiece of this unique gardening journey is the no-holds-barred story of a ten-year cross-cultural collaboration between the horticulturist author and a flamboyant rebellious gardener who called himself Dirt. Through swapping plants and garden lore--and rubbing shoulders with fellow DIGrs--they unraveled their shared humanity. From the practical to the inspiring, \u003ci\u003eMaverick Gardeners \u003c\/i\u003eis the perfect book for those nonconformist souls who see no sense in trying to fit in and follow the footpaths of others.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFelder Rushing\u003c\/b\u003e is an eleventh-generation American gardener, a nonstuffy horticulturist who travels the world looking for simple garden approaches, which he promotes in his newspaper columns, books, magazine articles, and NPR radio program. The author of over twenty books and founder of Slow Gardening, he was named by \u003ci\u003eSouthern Living\u003c\/i\u003e as one of \"25 people most likely to change the South.\"\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University Press of Mississippi","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52127628362002,"sku":"9781496832719","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_8d0eaf3e-aa70-47e5-b2db-5122bffaa4bd.jpg?v=1773739840","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/maverick-gardeners-dr-dirt-and-other-determined-independent-gardeners-9781496832719","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}