Voices from the Earth: A Year in the Life of a Garden

``The more you give, the more you take. That is the only true measure of the economy of a garden,'' warns Longgood ( The Queen Must Die) , a retired New York City newspaperman transplanted to Cape Cod. His purpose here is ``to explore facets of gardening that are often neglected or overlooked altogether.'' Explore them he does, with the sharp focus of a magnifying glass. Since a garden--even Longgood's 30 x 90 vegetable plot--is ``a whole universe in microcosm,'' almost any topic falls within the gardener's purview. He discusses everything from the finances of the hobby to the life cycle of the cabbage looper to why cucumber plants wilt after being watered on a hot day. The author comes to see some very human qualities in the myriad insects he encounters, particularly the ever-copulating potato beetles who are all too willing to ``die for love.'' Although not strictly a ``how-to'' book, this intersperses much solid organic gardening lore with keen observations and philosophical musings--plenty for readers to mull over while tending (or dreaming about) their own green microcosms. (Apr.)