Gardening books

“Mother you have the National Collection of Gardening Books!”.  This announcement came from youngest son recently having been asked to help me look for a book that had gone AWOL.     Of course I was hugely flattered (and amused) but I don’t think his aim was to flatter!    The missing book  was duly found in the obvious place, the sideboard, then the next question was how do you quantify the national collection.  Is it just by quantity or by having every book written by certain authors or every book on a particular topic.   I set about counting the books, starting with the sideboard – 51 in there – and got to a total of 345 which I found slightly disappointing.   I thought I had more!  Then we found another one propping up the end of the sofa – that one obviously isn’t a favourite!

Having satisfied himself that I had too many gardening books son went off to do homework and I started thinking about it even more.    One of the very first books we bought was the RHS Gardeners Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers at the huge cost of £25 (this was nearly 30 years ago).    I treasured this book, and still do, and used to sit poring over the pages of photographs trying desperately to learn the names of everything.  I started to acquire “text books” that would tell me what to do and when, all very useful and of course we all dip into them to check things out.  However it was the purchase of Geoff Hamilton’s Ornamental Kitchen Garden and Geoff Hamilton’s Cottage Gardens that really inspired not only our gardening adventures but also my love of gardening books.  So inspired were we by these two books that one winter with eldest son aged two and a half years and eldest daughter aged four months we dug up the entire garden (approx size 60ft x 25ft) and transformed it into a “cottage garden”.  Hard work but fun and who cared what the neighbours thought as we carried on digging and laying turf in the half dark once the children were asleep.  Checking the book shelves I seem to have many books with “cottage garden” in the title which probably indicates my gardening style.

Of course I was always being recommended books I should read.  Both Mother and Mother in Law would recommend “We made a Garden” by Margery Fish.    I tried to read it and enjoy it and just didn’t,  however my next theory is that you “grow into” certain books and authors.   Certainly the case with me and “We made a Garden” is now a firm favourite and indeed I think I have most written by Mrs Fish including “Gardening on Clay & Lime”.  Not the most useful book for someone with acidic sandy soil, but a good read nonetheless!  I have also come to appreciate and love the books of Vita Sackville-West, Christopher Lloyd, Beth Chatto and Gertrude Jekyll amongst others.

Some of the older gardening books almost cross the line into social history books too as they give an insight into how gardening life has changed immeasurably as society changes.

My absolute favourite books though are the ones written by people charting the making of their own gardens.  Always enjoyable and inspiring me to get outside and do something about the muddle.   One I happened upon by chance many years ago in the local library was “The making of an English Country Garden” by Deborah Kelloway.   I read it, enjoyed it , returned it but could never find it in the library again.   I was thrilled a few years ago to find a copy of this book in a second hand book shop in Hay on Wye, so now it is in my “collection” and treasured.     One more favourite – so many to choose from – is “The Ivington Diaries” by Monty Don.   I never feel that I have “done it all wrong” and must start again when I read this book, it inspires and entertains in equal measure.   It reassures me that even if I don’t garden by the text book it will probably be ok or if it does go wrong there is always next year.

So a National Collection,  definitely not but a Personal Collection – Yes.