Stephen Orr has written about gardening for most of his decades-long career, and now, in The Gardener’s Mindset, he helps readers to understand not just how to garden but how to think about it. Inspired by the great tradition of twentieth-century garden essay collections by writers such as Vita Sackville-West, Elizabeth Lawrence, and Henry Mitchell, Orr delves into his personal gardening journey, culling from the various gardens he and his husband created over the past decades. He remembers his first garden on a New York City rooftop, where he followed beginner’s instinct to rearrange endlessly pots of old roses, herbs, perennials, and even trees. Later in Iowa, the challenge of anything interesting in his shade-filled backyard led Orr to discover the beautiful patterns and colors of leafy lungworts and epimediums. And he shares how his current garden in Cape Cod is a work in progress and serves as his trial-and-error lab, where he is learning how to cultivate plants that can stay resilient in the face of dry sandy soil, dramatic coastal storms, and climate change. Alongside gorgeous photographs and easy projects that range from cultivating a color scheme to building a wildlife habitat, The Gardener’s Mindset will delight anyone interested in the analog pleasures
The author talk on June 15 will take place at the Wellfleet Public Library, 55 West Main Street. Free, but seating is limited so please plan accordingly, For more information call 508-349-0310.

