Paths of Desire

By Jennifer Sergent
Scripps Howard News Service

Paths of Desire: The Passions of a Suburban Gardener. By Dominique Browning. Scribner, $24).

Beyond the dogwood flowers that grace the cover, this is a garden book with no pictures -- and thank goodness. This is not a book with photos of perfect gardens, or how-to diagrams about how to build the perfect raised bed, or graphics about which seeds should be planted when.

Dominique Browning, editor of House & Garden magazine since 1995, is in a good position to know about perfect gardens. How refreshing, then, that she writes this diary about her own distinctly imperfect experiences as a suburban gardener.

There is a "yeah, me too!" feeling that pervades this book, as readers will undoubtedly see their own experiences in hers -- we all must deal with pests; most of us can identify with her futile cajoling of children for help in the garden; and we know her sweet sense of victory when she finds that rare Helpful Man to repair landscaping damage.

Paths of Desire is a refuge for the ever-struggling backyard gardener. It lends us all the moral support to carry on within our small, fenced-in plots.