Gardening for Love - CL

Miss Bessie Bloodworth has some amaryllis bulbs to sell; a beekeeper ""not afraid of bees or work'' is wanted; Miss Donna Tidwell wants to trade a pair of goats for a hog. These are a few of the colorful characters who appear in the pages of market bulletinsregional publications that offer seeds and miscellanea for sale or swap. Introduced to the bulletins by Eudora Welty, veteran gardening writer Lawrence became an avid subscriber to various publications across the country and was preparing a book on the bulletins before her death in 1985; New York Times gardening columnist Lacy has edited the draft. With her homespun yet poetic style, Lawrence captures the spirit of the dedicated gardeners with whom she corresponded for a number of years. She lovingly describes the plants and flowers she obtained from bulletin folks. Unfortunately, the anecdotes wax repetitious and the book bogs down in minutia about seeds, bulbs and cuttings. Illustrations not seen by PW. (April 24)