Jacques-Felix Lelievre's New Louisiana Gardener
, by Lelievre, Jacques-Felix; Reeves, Sally Kittredge- ISBN: 9780807124796 | 0807124796
- Cover: Hardcover
- Copyright: 3/1/2001
Originally published in 1838, Nouveau Jardinier de la Louisiane, by Jacques-Felix Lelievre, was the first of only two books on Louisiana gardening to be written in the nineteenth century. The book drew upon the confident spirit of eighteenth-century Enlightenment France, forming a bridge from the writings of French horticulturalists to an American audience. Optimistic, ambitious, and progressive, the guide urged gardeners to manage nature by acclimating new species and constantly improving native ones through the application of innovative scientific techniques. Now available in English for the first time as New Louisiana Gardener, this charming period piece and path-breaking work can be enjoyed once again by gardening enthusiasts and historians alike.
An introduction by Sally Kittredge Reeves gives historical context to the translation that follows, detailing the author's reasons for coming to America and his struggles to make a new life, his employment at and eventual ownership of a bookstore in New Orleans, and his reasons for compiling Nouveau Jardinier an