Cutting Back: My Apprenticeship in the Gardens of Kyoto

Leslie Buck

Jun 2017 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Caroline McLaughlin

About this audiobook

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.

About the author

Leslie Buck is a garden designer and aesthetic pruner who specializes in natural design in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has over two decades of gardening experience, and a fine art degree from UC Berkeley and the Bordeaux School of Fine Arts in France.

Caroline McLaughlin is a versatile narrator with a smooth voice who strives to bring the author's words to life. Known for her rich characters and accents, she equally enjoys narrating fiction and nonfiction works. Her languages include conversational Mandarin Chinese.