Author: Chotzinoff, Robin

Publisher: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1996.

This is another book I found at our local arboretum book sale. I have not heard of this book or found it at any local libraries but it is exactly the type of book that is delightful to read if you are a gardener. If you are not a gardener, it would give you insight to the many different types of gardeners and their specialities.

Chotzinoff writes about the different types of people who garden and their specialties: the ones that raise heirloom roses, New Mexico chile, provide compost for urban gardeners, and those who learn gardening from a relative, are some of the topics. She also visits small seed companies and a company which harvests ladybugs.

This book is not a how-to book on its varying garden topics, however, if you have some gardening experience, you may have observations and it is within Chotzinoff’s profiles of these gardeners that you pick up on some tips about the subjects. For example, in the heirloom roses story, it depicts the great lengths that rose growers go to find a rare variety, from asking complete strangers for a cutting from a rose bush you see while driving, to gently taking a cutting from graveyards.

In the New Mexico chile chapter, there is a chile feud between two families. Each family strive to be the tastier Hatch chile while also struggling as a small farm in today’s current economic conditions. This chapter also reminded me of a current situation in the news with the popular “rooster hot sauce” and its change in chile supplier which caused fans to say that the sauce does not taste the same. Likewise, neither of the the Hatch chile tastes the same in either of these farms while they are located in the same state and not far from each other.

There’s an interesting story of the indigenous Shinnecock Native Americans located in the NorthEast which was known for their agricultural roots. Through the years, the tribal group became smaller and smaller and they eventually lost some of their practices from their elders. They are currently reviving their traditions by learning from other indigenous tribes and gleaning knowledge from those elders.

“People with Dirty Hands” is a fun book to read. It gives you insight to the people she interviews–for many, gardening was passed down from a previous generation through a relative, and keeps them going in life. By reading about them, you might possibility identify yourself with some of these gardeners.