Gardener’s Digest, as published by Bauer Verlag is not merely a compendium of advice on sustaining perennials. Though the narration does seem geared towards those inclined to garden and appreciate the prospects of DIY plant-growth, a few exterior levels of meaning extend off the surface of this publication. It is separated by prompts, most of which have very little to do with literal gardening, and are more related to philosophy or, at very most, the contextualization of farming/planting as an ethical quandary to theorize about. The characters present in the book are in the form of insects; speech bubbles have been added in to imply that fairly unproductive conversations are occurring between the multiple confused and apathetic participants. This may be meant to metaphorize the truth within many discussions of nature, growth, and the human condition. The authors of Gardener’s Digest stay true to the title’s integrity, and incorporate a large amount of language and discussion pertaining to issues in ecology, environmental planning, and the effects of certain species on their terrain. The takeaway of the publication, in part, is for the reader to be equipped with the process of synthesizing concerns like gardening with those of a larger, philosophical origin. The resulting prose is at once, weighty and humorous, while also apt in its capturing of cultural theory in action.