People with Dirty Hands: The Passion for Gardening

There's no better antidote to the dreary non-gardening months than a great read, and in this gallery of colorful portraits, Chotzinoff, a columnist for Garden Design, delivers one of the most amusing, eclectic gardening books in recent memory. Curiosity led her to some unusual corners of the U.S.-locales as different as a Louisiana bayou, a New Mexico chile farm, an elegant Virginia estate and Manhattan's wild underbelly to name just a few-where she met with diverse and offbeat gardeners to find out what makes them tick. The result is a series of lively and highly entertaining interviews. Her subjects, sensing a kindred spirit in Chotzinoff, prove a winningly chatty group, and the author makes the most of their willingness to run on about their individual passions-be they rustling roses in Texas, collecting heirloom seeds or growing prize-winning giant tomatoes with names like ""Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter."" Pull the chair up closer to the fire, sit back and enjoy the company. This group is sheer delight. (Feb.)