The Savage Garden: Cultivating Carnivorous Plants

The Savage Garden: Cultivating Carnivorous Plants is a carnivorous plant cultivation guide by Peter D'Amato, horticulturist and owner of California Carnivores nursery. It was originally published in 1998 by Ten Speed Press,[1][2] and reprinted in 2004.[3] A revised edition was released in July 2013.[4][5][6]

The Savage Garden:
Cultivating Carnivorous Plants
Cover of first edition, showing a Sarracenia
AuthorPeter D'Amato
LanguageEnglish
PublisherTen Speed Press
Publication date
May 1, 1998
(reprinted in 2004)
July 2, 2013 (revised edition)
Media typePrint (softcover)
Pagesxxii + 314 (first edition)
x + 374 (revised edition)
ISBN0-89815-915-6
OCLC473718060
Cover of the revised edition.

The book won the American Horticultural Society Annual Book Award[7] and the Quill & Trowel Award from the Garden Writers Association of America, both in 1999. It has been called "the carnivorous-plant grower's bible"[8][9][10] and had sold 25,000 copies as of 2002.[11]

Reviews

Barry Rice reviewed the book for the September 1998 issue of the Carnivorous Plant Newsletter:[12]

There are already several full-sized books on growing carnivorous plants. Granted, Slack's works are very hard to find, but Cheers wrote a fine volume. Do we really need another? In answer, I tell you to run, not walk, to the nearest bookseller and buy D'Amato's new book, The Savage Garden.

Rice praised the book's cultivation information, writing: "At no point did I disagree substantially with his cultivation prescriptions—with thirty years of experience, he knows his subject matter."[12] He added that "what really sets D'Amato's book apart is his ability to bring across a sense of gothic fun".[12] However, he identified a number of errors in the text:[12]

The Savage Garden does have flaws. Some are minor but oddly consistent spelling errors (e.g. "N. bicalcurata," "U. reinformis," "U. humboltii," "thripes," and others). More significant is D'Amato's confusing use of a flurry of unpublished cultivar names. It is hoped these are mended in future editions.

Rice concluded: "The Savage Garden is informative, accurate, entertaining, and at $19.95 it is a bargain."[12]

A reviewer for the American Horticultural Society wrote of The Savage Garden: "D’Amato writes with authority, passion, and humor—a winning combination."[7] The Los Angeles Times called it an "exhaustive work".[13] Jerry Williams of the Richmond Times-Dispatch also gave a positive appraisal of the book.[14]

gollark: So what solves TM-ω?
gollark: Oh, I see, you're using subtraction, carry on.
gollark: TM-α.
gollark: Can we use greek letters instead? They're cooler.
gollark: Probably something for a startup to consider making.

References
  1. D'Amato, P. 1998. The Savage Garden: Cultivating Carnivorous Plants. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley.
  2. The savage garden : cultivating carnivorous plants. WorldCat.
  3. Formats and editions of The savage garden : cultivating carnivorous plants. WorldCat.
  4. Review: The Savage Garden Revised: Cultivating Carnivorous Plants by Peter D’Amato. Texas Triffid Ranch.
  5. Mey, F.S. 2014. The Savage Garden by Peter D'Amato, revised. Strange Fruits: A Garden's Chronicle, February 3, 2014.
  6. The savage garden : cultivating carnivorous plants. WorldCat.
  7. 1999 AHS Book Awards. American Horticultural Society.
  8. Van Cleef, L. 2002. Animal-Eating Plants: Carnivorous-plant growing tips from a local expert. San Francisco Chronicle, February 6, 2002.
  9. Coffey, G. 2002. Weird world of the bug eaters: Carnivorous plants nibble at gardeners' sense of curiosity. San Francisco Chronicle, November 6, 2002.
  10. Van Cleef, L. 2004. The Savage Garden. San Francisco Chronicle, July 21, 2004.
  11. Lee, L. 2002. Sonoma's little shop of horrors: The world's largest public collection of carnivorous botanicals lurks in Sebastopol. San Francisco Chronicle, October 25, 2002.
  12. Meyers-Rice, B. 1998. Book review. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 27(3): 72–73.
  13. Smaus, R. 1998. Stop Breaking Ground, Brush Up on Books. Los Angeles Times, September 06, 1998.
  14. Williams, J. 1998. Book reviews. Richmond Times-Dispatch, August 23, 1998.
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