I'm a big fan of junk! Whether it be creepy big-eyed dolls or funky tiki mugs, I love junk! So when I saw Mary Randolph Carter's book Garden Junk: How to Grow Your Garden Gloriusly and Uniquely with All the Right Stuff, I knew I had found the bible of garden books. Not only does the author show you everything she buys from flea markets and garage sales, she also tells you how much it was and what she did with it. Each chapter takes you into the realm of old tools, found flower art, bizarre pots and watering cans, funky pot holders, tacky garden hats, forgotten yard furniture, absurd-yet-endearing vases and hip-looking birdbaths. I love her addiction to kitschy amateur paintings of flowers and plants. And if you're just in the mood to create, Mary shows you how to restore old shutters, de-rust antique tools, build a gardener's bulletin board (one of my favorite projects), make a rake rack, makeover a windowbox and create a scarecrow from scratch! She also gives you the lowdown on how she transformed an old, boring barn into her fabulous Garden Hutte! Plus the lavish photographs and layout of the book makes it do double duty as a hipster coffeetable book.

I'm astounded at those who found no "substance" in this joyous and lyrical work. This remarkable woman's sincere and candidly expressed love of the old, the shabby, the discarded, ignored, and forlorn -- of things with honest character and a deep beauty when recognized by an open sensibility and given a proper home -- is a fun yet deeply moving (to me) expression of an overwhelmingly authentic heart.

Ms. Carter has a superb eye when she chooses to exercise it (check out which of those decrepit metal chairs on page 172-3 made it home to glory on page 42 -- not to mention the superb "city house" Adirondack chair on page 179, and many other "found" icons throughout). Her prose is both witty and chipper, yet deeply feeling for the simple things of the world, and the homely pleasures they offer.

Of course, everyone will find her accepting to a fault with regard to some item or another; but given her "whole greater than the sum of the parts" approach, its no surprise that these soul-invested objects all manage to find acceptance somewhere.

I feel that I've met a dear friend in the pages of this book; someone who lives the transforming power of love and has invited us into her very special world. To think that this exuberant spirit is not only a full-time junker, but also a wife and mother -- and a VP at Ralph Lauren! I'm curious to know what her husband is, besides one lucky hombre. I'd give a lot of stuff (and tolerate even more) to call a woman of this quality my own. And she takes excellent pictures, too....