Subtitled "Women Writing on the Green World", this collection of essays
and poems celebrates the unique connection between women and plants
throughout recorded history. As sources of food, medicine, and beauty itself,
plants have occupied the attention of women much as politics and war have
occupied the attention of men.
The fact that Earth is given the title "Mother" attests to this bond,
lending it a legitimacy not always recognized by the male of the species. In
"Fate of the Wise Women," Jean Achterberg describes the Middle Age conflict
between men and women over the use of plants as medicine. European women who
defied the authorities and practiced the art of healing with herbs were
routinely persecuted as witches. During this same period, a continent away,
the Aztecs were discovering the psychotropic effects of the peyotl cactus. In
"Peyote," Native American Church member Mary Crow Dog tells how, until
recently, women were denied full participation in religious ceremonies
involving this plant.
Leaving controversy behind, Sharman Apt Russell explores our age-old
fascination with perfume in "Smelling Like a Rose." In "The Language of Flowers,"
Isabel Allende goes one step farther by explaining the symbolism given plants
during the Victorian age. At that time, subtle messages could be conveyed via
the choice of flowers or the positioning of a bow in a bouquet. Presenting a
more modern view of plants, Molly Peacock sees her garden as a "State of
Grace," a sanctuary in which she can connect with her inner self. Trish
Maharam mirrors this thought in "Plantswomen," a story of her own personal
growth as a gardener.
In "Earth's Green Mantle," Rachel Carson delves into the relationship
between plants and animals and the consequences of man's interference with
nature. Sharon Bertsch McGrayne gives us a glimpse into the life of a plant
geneticist in "Barbara McClintock," while Linda Jean Shepherd describes her
love affair with a philodendron in "My Life with Weed."
Rounding out this unique book is a section called "The Forest for the
Trees." In "Dreaming of Trees," Kathleen Norris reflects on the treeless
plains of western North Dakota and the beauty of the few stands of greenery
dotting that area. Laura Bowers Foreman recalls her years as a forestry
student in "For the Maples." One of only a handful of women in her class,
Foreman is now a member of Catkin Moon, a community of women dedicated to
learning and teaching about the plant ecology of the northwest.
The above-mentioned selections comprise only a fraction of the essays and
poems featured in The Sweet Breathing of Plants: Women Writing on the Green World. While the collection as a
whole reflects the differing perspectives of the authors, what holds the work
together is a commonality of belief in the beauty of the green world. Kudos
to editors Linda Hogan and Brenda Peterson, who have produced a beautiful and
thought-provoking book that should appeal to any gardener, but especially
gardeners of the female persuasion.