A friend recommended this to me, and it's in my 'stack-o-stuff' (Miss You, Rush!) to read.
"Andrea Wulf's fine story of how gardening and farming shaped the thinking of Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Madison … One of Wulf's most luxurious and sharp-witted chapters concerns the matter that would fertilize a new nation: 'Mundane as it seems,' she writes, 'manure was of the greatest concern to all four of them." San Francisco Chronicle
“Eloquently written and very beguiling "Founding Gardeners” … Anyone who thinks gardening has zilch to do with politics should read this book … [Wulf] is a writer of considerable grace and breadth of vision, and "Founding Gardeners" is an excellent portrait of the early years of the federal republic. It will delight the general reader, not just the garden buff. But for the garden enthusiast, this is a book of special interest, reminding us that a garden has a purpose, a character, a soul -- that it's an expression of our relationship not just to the soil, but to a vision of the world.”, The Plain Dealer, Ohio
"Excellent ... riveting …There is a huge amount of fresh research in this valuable book, including the first proper examination of the gardening exploits of presidents James Madison and John Adams. The Founding Gardeners is a great achievement and deserves its place on the shelves of political as well as garden historians", Country Life
She with the most seeds wins, eh?