Marta McDowell

Marta McDowell lives, gardens, and writes in Chatham, New Jersey. She writes and lectures on gardening topics and teaches landscape history and horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden, where she studied landscape design. Her interest is in authors and their gardens, the connection between the pen and the trowel.

Plants that Laura Knew and Grew

My garden is as crowded as my bookshelves, and Laura Ingalls Wilder is a good part of the reason why. I sit down to read, come across a plant, and then want to grow it. Here’s how it happens. Start, let’s say, with On the Banks of Plum Creek. By Chapter 2, the family is…

Sweet Potatoes and Pioneers

“Johnny fussed in the bedroom, and Laura quickly pinned her braids, tied on her apron, and said, ‘Let me fix the potatoes while you dress him.’” These Happy Golden Years When you think of Little House on the Prairie, you may think of the covered wagon journey, Jack the brindle Bulldog’s loss and return,…

Laura Ingalls Wilder: Naturalist

“Rabbits stood up with paws dangling, long ears twitching, and their round eyes staring at Mary and Laura.” On the Banks of Plum Creek I’d like to suggest a thought experiment. Instead of categorizing Laura Ingalls Wilder as an American children’s author, think of her as a nature writer as well. Take her titles. The…