Cutting Back: My Apprenticeship in the Gardens of Kyoto

Description

This absorbing debut memoir recounts an American gardener's apprenticeship with the most prestigious gardening firm in Kyoto. --Publisher.;Watchful Turtle is given a pine test -- A seed sprouts in Tokyo Gardens -- Flying into the gardens -- "Senteishi desu" -- Tying the knot with the Kyoto craftsmen -- Reaching for the unexpected fruit -- Stepping into jikatabi -- Garden bling keeps the garden clean -- All the twigs work with speed -- A seasonal garden is about to change -- Surviving Masahiro's Island -- Communicating in silence -- Working under the tree of thorns -- Shifting perspectives in the landscape -- Shearing with emotions -- Songs from the Emerald Opera -- Tanuki discovers garden spirits -- Mother makes a secret offering -- Room with a view of nature -- Feminine strength in the maple grove -- Guardian angel tells a white lie -- Finding heart in the landscape -- Black coffee warms the white garden -- Craftswoman turns the kaleidoscope.;At thirty-five, Leslie Buck made an impulsive decision to put her personal life on hold to pursue her passion. Leaving behind a full life of friends, love, and professional security, she became the first American woman to learn pruning from one of the most storied landscaping companies in Kyoto. Cutting Back recounts Buck's bold journey and the revelations she has along the way. During her apprenticeship in Japan, she learns that the best Kyoto gardens look so natural they appear untouched by human hands, even though her crew spends hours meticulously cleaning every pebble in the streams. She is taught how to bring nature's essence into a garden scene, how to design with native plants, and how to subtly direct a visitor through a landscape. But she learns the most important lessons from her fellow gardeners: how to balance strength with grace, seriousness with humor, and technique with heart. -- Provided by publisher. Watchful Turtle is given a pine test -- A seed sprouts in Tokyo Gardens -- Flying into the gardens -- "Senteishi desu" -- Tying the knot with the Kyoto craftsmen -- Reaching for the unexpected fruit -- Stepping into jikatabi -- Garden bling keeps the garden clean -- All the twigs work with speed -- A seasonal garden is about to change -- Surviving Masahiro's Island -- Communicating in silence -- Working under the tree of thorns -- Shifting perspectives in the landscape -- Shearing with emotions -- Songs from the Emerald Opera -- Tanuki discovers garden spirits -- Mother makes a secret offering -- Room with a view of nature -- Feminine strength in the maple grove -- Guardian angel tells a white lie -- Finding heart in the landscape -- Black coffee warms the white garden -- Craftswoman turns the kaleidoscope.