Secret Gardens

I was recently given a load of garden books that had belonged to my mum. There are several interesting ones there that I'll review as I get through them, but the most eye-catching one for me was a book on the creation of private spaces within the garden called Secret Gardens that looks like it was published by an Australian magazine. How it found its way into my mum's collection I have no idea. I assume it was a charity shop find...

Anyhoo, reading through this book really got me thinking about things I'd love to do, but there is a limit to the amount I can or am prepared to do to my current space. As I've mentioned before, the house is rented and given how reluctant the landlord seems to be to spend money on it, I'm loathed to put too much into the garden.

The Curious Gardener, By Anna Pavord - A Review

The Curious Gardener is a collection of Anna Pavord's articles from her column in The Independent. It is set out by month with a few relevant articles and then a "what to do now" section.

The Virgin Gardener, By Laetitia Maklouf - A Review

The Virgin Gardener is intended to be a starter guide for people who have either never gardened before, or are are very new to it and want some low hassle projects to get them started. Don't let this put you off if you are a bit more experienced however as there are plenty of interesting and quirky ideas in here for you too. I'd count myself as being somewhere in the middle. I'm not a total newbie, but I'm certainly not an old hand by any stretch of the imagination. For me this book filled in some informational blanks on topics that other books just seem to assume you know, and gave me some ideas to try out both in the garden and inside.

Life In A Cottage Garden, By Carol Klein - A Review

Written to accompany the TV series of the same name (which unfortunately I've not seen and have infuriatingly just found out was repeated last month), this book takes you through the development and  changes to Carol's garden at Glebe Cottage over the space of a year.

The Ivington Diaries, By Monty Don - A Review

I've just finished reading Monty Don's The Ivington Diaries, and what a joy it was. It has been a long time since I've read a book that I've enjoyed so much that I've actually had to force myself to put it down to avoid finishing it too quickly.

The book is made up of excerpts from Monty's garden diary covering a period from the mid 90's through to the mid 00's (I will not call it the noughties, it sounds ridiculous) and describes the process of building and evolving his current garden. It covers planting, hedging, hard landscaping, successes and failures, and leaves you feeling like you've been given an intimate insight into an obviously much loved personal space. There are interesting reflections on the uses of different areas of a garden that apply to any family outdoor space that make it clear that this is a garden to be used and enjoyed, not just viewed from afar. It is all beautifully written in the style that anyone who has read much of the author's work will be familiar with - articulate, yet not intimidating, and with a sense that he is speaking directly to you.