Andrea, it has been a while since I've read them, but as I recall, I liked the first two of the books better than the third, HENRY MITCHELL ON GARDENING (which was published posthumously; he had sold his wife the rights for his essays for $1, if memory serves).
I don't recall which of the other two books came first, though. I enjoyed both of them, so you might like either of them.
None of the essays are how-to... They are more about the goings-on in his garden (with a few departures to talk about his dogs), and his opinions and observations on gardening and gardeners and life. He had a lot of admirers; as I recall, there were people who didn't garden (or have dogs) who read every one of his EARTHMAN essays.
