One rarely hears gardening books described as "high-spirited, riotously funny, and, at times, deliciously malicious." Unless, that is, the writer in question is Beverley Nichols, a prolific writer, journalist, actor, songwriter, bon vivant, cat lover (he eventually settled on numbers rather than names) and gardener. Green Grows the City: The Story of a London Garden, originally published in 1939, recounts his travails in turning "the ugliest, most desolate strip of ground ever trodden by human feet" into a thing of beauty (and source of serious envy by the neighbors). After the war, Nichols and Gaskin, his Jeeves-like manservant, tackled the restoration of a Georgian manor house and garden. Given the delight of Merry Hall, the first of a trilogy as much about life in an English village as gardening, we should all be grateful.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Give Mom a Rollicking Good Time
One rarely hears gardening books described as "high-spirited, riotously funny, and, at times, deliciously malicious." Unless, that is, the writer in question is Beverley Nichols, a prolific writer, journalist, actor, songwriter, bon vivant, cat lover (he eventually settled on numbers rather than names) and gardener. Green Grows the City: The Story of a London Garden, originally published in 1939, recounts his travails in turning "the ugliest, most desolate strip of ground ever trodden by human feet" into a thing of beauty (and source of serious envy by the neighbors). After the war, Nichols and Gaskin, his Jeeves-like manservant, tackled the restoration of a Georgian manor house and garden. Given the delight of Merry Hall, the first of a trilogy as much about life in an English village as gardening, we should all be grateful.
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