My Garden Background

My Garden is a non-fiction book and somewhat a memoir written by author Jamaica Kincaid. It was published in 1999. Kincaid is an Antiguan-American writer and gardener. She has written numerous books, and the most famous were My Garden and A Small Space.

In terms of content, My Garden talks about how Kincaid builds up a relationship with her garden, especially after she started getting interested in gardening after her children were born. She starts to describe how her garden became significant to her. She also says some information about gardening and the people who sow and harvest the fruits and vegetables we eat now. As with most of her stories, My Garden reflects on her personal life and experiences and her culture and home place. She includes how gardening can be affected by things that were never expected to affect it and how the important gardeners are.

The way Kincaid portrays her journey to understanding gardening and enjoying it in a very intriguing, unique way. She uses simple language and refrains from using technical informational language. All information gained is not directly stated, yet grasped after reading; she uses funny language and many examples to make it even more interesting.

The book was enjoyed and adored by many of the readers. It earned a 3.7 out of a 5-star rating on Goodreads. A reader said: "I absolutely adore this collection of essays about the famous writer's own gardens. Jamaica Kincaid creates on paper and creates in the ground." Publisher's Weekly wrote on its book review: "Celebrated novelist Kincaid (The Autobiography of My Mother) should delight fans of her fiction and connoisseurs of the literature of horticulture with this personable and brightly descriptive, if somewhat rambling, book-length essay, most of it about her own garden in Vermont." Donna Nurse from Black Iris said that the book " is one of the most exuberant, idiosyncratic expressions of the pleasures of the pastime that you are likely to come across, which is amazing, really, when one considers the source."