English Summary/英文概要： Big city highrises are chockfull of penthouses and terraces that garden innocents hope to turn into a sylvan paradise or a bower of roses. That’s at least what they see in movies and real-estate ads. With honesty and humor, and thirty-five years of challenges and triumphs, best-selling author, Susan Brownmiller describes her battle to sustain an oasis of beauty twenty floors above street level in Manhattan, in less than hospitable conditions caused by more than the wind. My City Highrise Garden examines various natural and man-made catastrophes: barred from daytime access during the apartment building’s pointing and re-bricking projects; the sad death of her peach tree from winterkill after fifteen productive years; and the bidding goodbye to the birches in the wake of a hurricane. Brownmiller reveals the unexpected results from encouraging nature where it was not meant to exist: annual visits from Monarch butterflies; bees zooming for nectar suck the life out of her flowers; and a crazy mockingbird that once commandeered the whole terrace for his mating season. However, when things go right, Brownmiller stresses, she is astounded by the ability of her garden to prosper against the odds. With over twenty beautiful color photos depicting the complex relationship between the growing city and the dwindling natural world, Brownmiller provides a passionate account of a struggle for urban highrise gardening and the ever-changing landscape of the city.

Awards/获奖情况： "Charles Darwin made us aware of the ingenious adaptations plants evolved to survive in unlikely environments. Susan Brownmiller delights us with the ingenious adaptations plant growers like herself evolve to garden on the 20th floor. Defying drying winds and pests of several species, including homo sapiens, Brownmiller keeps the clematis climbing. My City Highrise Garden is a terrace gardener’s how-to and every gardener’s why-to. It’s ardent, informative and also funny."--Barbara Garson "author, playwright and community gardener " "Susan Brownmiller’s delightful book is a gift not only for lucky city-dwellers able to cultivate green outdoor spaces of their own but for those who can only garden mentally. Nothing I’ve read has done a better job of capturing the inherent drama in gardening--the constant struggle against weather, drought, insects, disease, as well as the special challenges in cities posed by altitudes, landlords, developers and neighbors. Brownmiller’s observant and witty writing has taken me back all over again to the special thrill and satisfaction of making things grow."--Joyce Johnson "author of Minor Characters "

-Susan Brownmiller’s delightful book is a gift not only for lucky city-dwellers able to cultivate green outdoor spaces of their own but for those who can only garden mentally. Nothing I’ve read has done a better job of capturing the inherent drama in gardening--the constant struggle against weather, drought, insects, disease, as well as the special challenges in cities posed by altitudes, landlords, developers and neighbors. Brownmiller’s observant and witty writing has taken me back all over again to the special thrill and satisfaction of making things grow.---Joyce Johnson -author of Minor Characters -

-Charles Darwin made us aware of the ingenious adaptations plants evolved to survive in unlikely environments. Susan Brownmiller delights us with the ingenious adaptations plant growers like herself evolve to garden on the 20th floor. Defying drying winds and pests of several species, including homo sapiens, Brownmiller keeps the clematis climbing. My City Highrise Garden is a terrace gardener’s how-to and every gardener’s why-to. It’s ardent, informative and also funny.---Barbara Garson -author, playwright and community gardener -