WE ARE THE ARK
by Mary Reynolds
Timber Press, 2022
In We Are the ARK, Mary Reynolds argues for a radical shift in how and why we garden. Reading that sentence, you may assume the book is an angry or preachy one, but in fact it is not. Reynolds is passionate about her views, but she writes in a way that welcomes the reader and, importantly, never shames the reader. Her approachable voice combines with Ruth Evans’s whimsical illustrations to encourage an imagining of how we might try to shift at least part of our outdoor space back into the hands of nature.
Reynolds is an Irish self-described “reformed landscape designer.” She has worked all over the world creating gardens that won great praise. But when she became aware of the sharp decline in biodiversity that our planet faces — a peril usually overshadowed by the problem of climate change — she became an advocate for returning land to nature, rather than designing gardens to please people.
She believes the goal in gardening should be to nurture a
