Second Nature by Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore’s Dilemma, is one of his earlier works on gardening. This is the third book that he wrote and it’s also ironically the third book I’ve read by him, the first two being Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food which I highly recommend you read if you haven’t already.

This book is a gardeners manifesto. At it’s heart it’s a series of independent essays connected by the themes of gardening and nature all stuffed into a single book. I later learned that some of these essays were originally published as standalone works in Harpers and The New York Times, and unfortunately it reads like they are independent of each other.

It hints of the brilliance of his later works, it’s well written with, at times, beautiful prose. It falls short both in a consistent narrative and interest of topic. The musing of a gardener waxing philosophical on gardening doesn’t hold the allure of exploring man’s relationship to food. Perhaps I garden for utilitarian purposes: interest, learning and food.

The most interesting essay was about roses entitled “Into the Rose Garden”. This chapter explored old world roses vs. modern hybrid roses. It was interesting, well researched and well written. However, even this chapter went a bit long and became haughty at times. Take this quote from pg. 84 as an example:

“Proponents of the old Rose have more than disease resistance and a nice smell on their side, however. Their champions may not acknowledge it directly, but a large part of the appeal of old roses – which seems to be enjoying a renaissance today – is based on snobbery. The war of the roses is at bottom a class war.”

Really rose gardening is basically a class war? It was disappointing perhaps because I have really loved the last two books, but I would pass on this one unless you really want to read about gardening. If you decide to read it I would wait until winter when you’re spending time reflecting on your garden and preparing for the next one rather than getting your hands dirty working, you’ll be in more of a musing mood.

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