Mister Owitas Guide To Gardening

Mister Owita's Guide to Gardening: How I Learned the Unexpected Joy of a Green Thumb and an Open Heart

A true story of a unique friendship between two people who had nothing - and ultimately everything - in common.

Carol Wall, a white woman living in a lily-white neighborhood in Middle America, was at a crossroads in her life. Her children were grown; she had successfully overcome illness; her beloved parents were getting older. One day she notices a dark-skinned African man tending her neighbor's yard. His name is Giles Owita. He bags groceries at the supermarket. He comes from Kenya. And he's very good at gardening.

Before long Giles is transforming not only Carol's yard, but her life. Though they are seemingly quite different, a caring bond grows between them. But they both hold long-buried secrets that, when revealed, will cement their friendship forever.

Nonfiction

Memoir

Gardening

Biography

294 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Best known for her groundbreaking memoir, Mister Owita's Guide to Gardening: How I learned the Unexpected Joy of a Green Thumb and an Open Heart, Carol F. Wall (1951 - 2014) was also an accomplished teacher and public speaker. Beginning in 1973, with her first teaching job at East High School in Nashville, TN (Oprah Winfrey's alma mater), Carol became famous for her ability to reach even the most reluctant student, and for her storytelling talents. Whether describing the culinary exploits of her husband (a "binge cooker") or detailing the day her beagle Rhudy was banished from an exclusive spa for dogs, she brought wit and liveliness to ordinary subjects. Later, as Writer-in-Residence for Roanoke County Schools, Carol's high school audiences looked forward to her entertaining and engaging presentations. A graduate of Peabody College for Teachers at Vanderbilt University, her articles and essays on family life were popular features in such publications as Southern Living magazine and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In 2014, just nine months after Mister Owita's Guide To Gardening was published to critical acclaim, Carol died from complications from breast cancer. She is survived by her husband, three grown children, three beautiful granddaughters, and two grandsons—all of whom, in accordance with her wishes, are carrying on the message of her book, speaking to readers and groups across the country. In tribute to his mother, Carol's youngest son, the filmmaker Phil Wall, joined his father on a book tour in 2015, shooting footage for The Ground In Winter, an upcoming documentary about Carol and her work. Upon the publication of her memoir in 2014, Carol's book was named one of the top 10 books of the year by USA Today, and then cited as one of the best books of 2014 by AARP, and acclaimed by Oprah as a "book that every joy-seeking woman should read."

863 reviews

March 16, 2014

Boy do I feel out of step when I see what other readers have rated this book. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy reading it or find it touching in places, but (and it is a BUT) I felt it was so contrived. Wall used the whole story of the gardener to augment her own story which felt like a gimmick. Not that I doubted that she had a nice friendly relationship with the gardener, but so much of the suspense seemed contrived and didn't evoke the sympathy I would normally feel for people in the same circumstances. The fact that Wall would continually act rashly, yet immediately recognize her fault for doing so, just didn't feel authentic.

I actually think that Carol's story or Owita's story alone, told simply, would have been endearing. Sorry, this just didn't hang together for me.

Edited June 12, 2014

This book has little do do with gardening. It is about a selfish, whiny, middle aged woman who hires her neighbors gardener to help with her neglected yard.

Lucky for the Kenyan born Mr Owita, Mrs Wall is not a racist . . .which we know because she tells us and Mr. Owita several times. Like when she is holding up the line at the grocery store where he bags because she wants to discuss the bushes in the yard. When the manager asks Mr. Owita to help Mrs. Wall take her purchases to the car and he will bag. She sure it is racism and tells Mr. Owita she does not support such attitudes. (silly me, I thought the manager wanted to help cutomers get through checkout quickly)

Unluckily though for the minimum wage earner, she is a snob. Mrs Wall hires Mr Owita after seeing his impressive work next door. (The neighbor runs a nursery where Mr. Owita is an employee and hired him to help maintain her gardens.) Mrs. Wall treats him like an idiot, until the neighbor shares his nursery job application (can anyone say privacy act?) which shows his doctorate in horticulture. She writes him insisting on the correct address of Dr. Owita in future and proceeds to call him Giles.

I have to admit I did not finish.. . I just couldn't take another line of her whiny, selfish, self adoring, snobbish writing.

didn-t-finish

518 reviews 210 followers

September 12, 2018

A surprising friendship blossoms between two people with supposedly very little in common.

SUMMARY
Carol Wall was at a crossroads in her life. Her children were grown, she had successfully overcome an earlier illness, and her beloved parents were getting older. One day she notices a dark-skin man working in her neighbors yard. The yard was gorgeous, while hers was well beyond "rough around the edges." It wasn't the worst yard in the neighborhood but it was quickly moving in that direction. She wanted to hire this gentleman to work on her yard. His name was Giles Owita, and he had immigrated from Kenya. The book is about the relationship that develops between Carol and Mr. Owita. It is about the changes in both their lives and about how they helped each other overcome some difficult battles.

"I never liked getting my hands dirty. This was one reason that our yard looks so sad but there were other reasons, too— bigger reasons that were much harder to confront than brutal grass and overgrown bushes."

REVIEW
My favorite part of this charming story was the silent war over Carol's three azela bushes. She detested them and wanted them yanked out...Mr. Owita thought them beautiful, and merely fertilized and trimmed them. And so their relationship began. She was furious, he would not do what she wanted with the blasted azaleas, she wanted to be in control. Mr. Owita was a soft-spoken, humble horticulturist with a huge smile for everyone. He was full of wisdom about plants and about the difficulties of life. A unique and enjoyable part of the book were the letters that Mr. Owita and Carol exchanged with each other. Each letter from Mr Owita further conveyed his wisdom and bright attitude. They were a joy to read. The story written by CAROL WALL was part memoir and part tribute. The writing was charming, heartfelt and thought-provoking. It increased my awareness of the importance of treating all those around you with respect and dignity. You never know what someone else is going through.
Publisher Berkley Books
Published February 3, 2015
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

"It's seem to me like too many people spend too much of their time taking care of their houses instead of enjoying their spouses. And where was the fun in that?

author-req

1,086 reviews 37 followers

April 27, 2014

I have tried twice, months apart, to get into this book but I can't. Part of my problem is that there is too much unpleasantness. The title leads me to believe that the tale is going to be uplifting and wondrous. A story of plants and personalities --like A FARM DIES ONCE A YEAR-- but in reading the beginning chapters I keep falling across prejudices, hateful concepts and speech, and information that seems too personal and not at all about Mr. Owita and Carol Wall's relationship, but rather about Carol Wall and how she feels responsible for her parents' and children's' happiness.... The conversation about her sister's death decades before is an example. It is curious and interesting, but as a modern reader I'm a bit put off by her constant references to this sister as being mongoloid. I know that's the term they used then, but I find it repulsive and not a little bit off-putting.

I think I would have liked the book better if it had more clearly indicated that is was really an autobiography.

803 reviews 483 followers

Edited September 2, 2014

Our yard is beautifully landscaped with green grass and trees, much like a park. My husband works hard to keep the grass trimmed, bushes shaped and trees pruned. Despite this I could relate to how Carol Wall felt about the "rough around the edges" look of her property. No longer could she just call it natural. What it lacked was color and flowers reminding me of mine. This is totally my fault, a lack of knowledge of where to start and a fear of getting it wrong. I could use the gardening lessons Carol Wall hoped to learn from Mr. Owita.Mr. Owita's Guide to Gardening: How I Learned the Unexpected Joy of a Green Thumb and an Open Heart turns out to be much more than the transformation of a person who sports a brown thumb into a green one. It is a slow journey for Wall who finds that things are not always as they seem, that assumptions truly do make "an ass out of you and me" and that in midlife she still has much to learn. She does manage to learn a lot about plants, flowers and balance along the way.

It was hard for Wall to separate her own story in writing a tribute to Mr. Owita. Some readers faulted her for this. I enjoyed the blending of their lives that begins with Wall hiring a helping hand which then grows into a friendship built on caring and respect, each benefiting from the best qualities of the other.

A touching read which kept my interest.

non-fiction

115 reviews 5 followers

February 24, 2014

As someone who loves flowers and gardens, I was attracted to the title of this memoir even before I read the publishers note. Imagine my surprise when in the Prologue, the Author states her hatred for flowers!
Carol Wall is a white woman living in a neighbourhood in America where an African man will definitely be noticed. Despite being raised by parents who teach her to not to judge a person by the colour of their skin, Carol nevertheless jumps on her brakes when she notices such a man in her friend Sarah's garden. She learns his name is Giles Owita, he is from Kenya and he is very good at gardening
When Carol employs Mr Owita as her gardener, she means for him to tidy up, get rid of weeds and dispose of the azaleas she hates! He seems to not fully understand her instructions when he tells her he will prune and fertilize the azaleas. Despite a beautifully written note in English Mr Owita leaves in Carol's letterbox, she wonders if perhaps he has trouble understanding her instructions. Who wins? Do the azaleas stay or go and what about Carol's hatred of flowers? You will have to read the book to learn the answers to those questions, although the subtitle may give you a hint.
Nonetheless, whilst the garden is the heart, the soul of Mr Owita's Guide to Gardening is friendship. Despite their huge cultural differences, Carol Wall and Giles Owita become friends, although both have secrets not easily revealed. Discussions about the garden turn into discussions about life
Many people in this day and age have difficulty understanding a friendship between a man and a women which does not threaten the other relationships in their lives. Carol and Giles are two beautiful souls meeting at the right time in their lives for a friendship to blossom.
This is a life-affirming memoir beautifully written by this first time author, so much of which resonated with me on a deeply personal level. Both Carol Wall and Giles Owita have faced many challenges in their lives and Carol tells their stories with humour, pathos and love.
Thanks to Random House Australia via NetGalley for my prepublication copy of Mr Owita's Guide to Gardening; it's a pleasure to meet such quality people.

1,463 reviews 428 followers

Edited June 20, 2014

2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 stars
Carol Wall has written a memoir about her friendship with Giles Owita, a horticultural specialist and African immigrant. They bonded as they gardened and faced other challenges, especially health problems. Although I felt empathy for the author battling breast cancer, Mister Owita's story was the more compelling. The charismatic man found such beauty in nature, and approached life with optimism and wisdom. I wish more of the book had been devoted to Mister Owita.

autobiography-memoir

nature

non-fiction

486 reviews 123 followers

Edited May 1, 2015

I hated this! I hated her adjective loaded meaningless descriptions, I hated her arrogant assumptions that she is so insightful and wise. I hated her meandering attempts to tell us what should have simply remained between herself and her therapist. I hated her instant bestowal of "natural" wisdom, "close to the earth"ness on a chance-met unknown black man. I hated her need to immediately start displaying her non-racistness to him. I hated her assumptions of his magicalness. I can't help wondering if she is really this unpleasant in real life, or if this is just a disservice she has done herself by displaying her innermost thoughts to us.

The first third of this is horribly written, and I just didn't want to hear this woman's whining and watch her put her foot in her mouth or be her therapist. After the first third it got a touch better – she began to show us what was so interesting about this man instead of all the mystical nonsense she'd been feeding us; perhaps she was just guilty of heavy-handed foreshadowing? But it is still so awkwardly written and the unrecognized racism and blind assumption of privilege that underlies this is truly disturbing.

fab-15

160 reviews

Edited June 7, 2014

The title suggests it's about him. But it's really about our whiney multi-cancer surviving victim. I mean author. That sounds wretched but she is Debby downer cloaked in I-and-every-white-person-in-my-middle-class-Roanoke-suburb-learned-so-much-from-this-extraordinary-and-misunderstood-PhD-possessing (oh shock!!!)-African-gardener-grocery-bagger . And of course is a better person for it. Blah blah blah. Nothing wrong with that experience OR writing a memoir but it was often eye-rollingly trite and dully written. Would've been so much more interesting if we focused on him instead of her thru the lens of knowing him. She saddles us with her banal dramas. She tries to be simple everywoman (nothing wrong in that either). And she's just boring. I wanted to smack her. Not alwasy, but enough to win 2 stars. And my mean review.

I was misled by the NYT book review!

Edited March 14, 2014

It really wasn't Mr. Owita's story. It was Carol Wall's story of her life. Disappointing.

non-fiction

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