NOTES from. the bookshelf // May picks
What's on my bookshelf this month including nature-inspired publications from Andrew Timothy O'Brien, Alice Vincent, Tom Massey, bloom, Marian Boswall, and a new herb offering from me
Anyone who knows me knows that I have infinitely growing piles of plants and books, the latter of which include a precariously stacked collection of old Penguins and a whole lot of gardening and nature books. Some I get sent through my work as a writer and editor, some I authored or edited myself, but others I just can’t help buying. When someone visits my house I get quite over-excited about showing them my new additions or those that I think might inspire them. Librarian tendencies? Probably. Off to get a date stamp. Here are some of the highly recommended new kids on my shelf:
To Stand and Stare – How to garden while doing next to nothing by Andrew Timothy O’ Brien (DK Books, 2023)
I had the pleasure of editing this one so I’ve read it about eight times and never got bored once. In fact I laughed and cried and wondered in equal measures and learnt something new at every turn of the page. ‘Gardening while doing next to nothing’ – the hook of the book – leads you down the garden path and into a welcome loop of standing and staring via heart-achingly lyrical observations of the connections between gardening and nature, and the growing that can be done by simply looking closer. As a gardener and gardening consultant, Andrew also draws on the lived experience of standing (and staring, or kneeling on a board) for hours among the beds, borders, hedges, lawns, trees, and weeds of other folks’ gardens, eloquently delivering the art and science of gardening between the lines. Next to nothing this is not.
Why Women Grow – Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival by Alice Vincent (Canongate, 2023)
I’m a huge fan of Alice’s similarly engaging writing but also her confidence to get out there, connect with people, draw on her personal experiences, and turn visions into action. All inspiring skills. Why Woman Grow is a book conceptualised and researched during the pandemic, exploring why women turn to the earth ‘as gardeners, growers, and custodians’. It is not, as it so easily could be, in the hands of other writers or editors, a formulaic directory of women and their gardens but an artfully woven narrative of female experience and their relationship with the soil, of nature and nurture. Among the herbs and the weeds and the wildflowers, the powerful stances on sustainability and sisterhood, is Alice’s own journey towards motherhood – and indeed a new stage of womanhood – and a new, more insightful approach to gardening that comes from digging deep.
Resilient Garden – Sustainable gardening for a changing climate by Tom Massey (DK Books, 2023)
The past few years, through pandemic to heatwave, through global flood and fire, have quite clearly illustrated the importance of resilience in an ever-changing landscape. This book applies this principle of the actual land providing guidance to gardeners experiencing the challenges of climate change. From the acid-bright call-to-action cover to the thought-provoking, how-to content there are tips on analysing your site, climate resilient garden design, using sustainable materials from hard landscaping alternatives to peat-free compost, and a comprehensive plant directory that includes ideal specimens for gravel gardens, pollution resilient plants, and matches for green roofs and wildlife. Introductory sections on responding to climate change and what is resilient gardening also cover Tom’s own journey to many of the book’s tried and tested solutions including RHS show gardens for the UN Refugee Agency and the Lemon Tree Trust. A QR code on the contents page also leads to a virtual resilient garden, an inspiring use of phone-accessible 3D tech to illustrate key elements of the book.
What Gardener’s Grow – 600 plants chosen by the world’s greatest plantspeople by Zena Alkayet and Matthew Biggs (a Bloom book for Frances Lincoln, 2023)
Another beautifully designed book from the editorial team of bloom magazine led by Zena Alkayet (other recent titles include the perfectly portable Shade, Cut Flower, and Pots). This larger format hardback collated by Zena and gardener and broadcaster Matthew Biggs with truly gorgeous graphic botanicals by illustrator Melanie Gandyra presents a directory of 600 plants personally chosen by some of the world’s greatest plantspeople including formal and grassroots gardeners, horticulturists, designers, plant curators, nursery owners, flowers farmers, florists, herbalists, and writers. Each entry – or series of entries for bigger names such as Piet Oudoulf – includes an introductory bio followed by the reasons for choosing the plant, its key features and characteristics, and growing notes. There’s no particular order or index to the contributions so it’s a case of reading it front to back or dipping in and out for regular inspiration, each plant or flower a little story of their own that implores you to go and find out more, or if the hat fits (in terms of aspect, soil etc), add it to your plot.
The Herb Book – The stories, the science, and the history of herbs with contributions by Dr Ross Bayton, Peter Marren, Sonya Patel Ellis, Michael Scott OBE, and Dr Elizabeth Dauncey (DK Books, 2023)
I love growing and writing about herbs, each seemingly humble plant a conduit for myriad stories about its origins, discovery, usage – as medicine, in cuisine, in the home, as perfumes and cosmetics, or spiritually and ritually – botanical characteristics and scientific merit. It was therefore a huge pleasure to contribute to this comprehensive introductory compendium of over 100 herbs including trees and shrubs, perennial flowering herbs, annual and biennial flowering herbs, and even a few ferns and fungi. An ideal tome for curious minds of all ages (a follow up to the widely received The Tree Book), it reminds me of the Joy of Knowledge volumes I so avidly collected as a child, packed with information, photos, illustrations and graphics inspiring readers to look closer at plants and flowers, but also the wider world via their stories within. Harking from a medical family (we grew up reading my dad’s Pulse magazine playing snap with images of horrific rashes and pustules) and as someone drawn to that fine line between art and science (is there even a line?) I particularly like the medicinal details including how herbs work through their constituent components – nature’s medical chest of calmatives, nervines, digestives, choleretics, and adaptogens. Intrigued? This is the book for you.
Sustainable Garden – Projects, insights and advice for the eco-conscious gardener by Marian Boswall (Frances Lincoln, 2022)
This is a much needed and well done guide to sustainable gardening with projects that are easy to implement or can be adapted for different spaces. Thoughtfully written by leading landscaper architect and passionate sustainability advocate Marian Boswall and evocatively photographed by the wonderful Jason Ingram each page is engaging and easy to navigate. The step by steps actually translate (not all project based books do!) and I’ve used the book a lot in my own gardening at home and with my mini gardeners at school – the custodians of the planet as it were. I’m equally passionate about serious issues such as sustainability and climate change being presented in style (communication is powerful) and this one perfectly does the job in a timeless fashion, which means I’m going to keep it on my table, use it, and gift it way more. Having recently met Marian at the Garden Media Guilds awards and spoken about some of her forthcoming work around sustainability, I’m looking forward to reporting on new collectives and initiatives.
Collins Backyard Chickenkeepers’ Bible – A practical guide to identifying and rearing backyard chickens by Jessica Ford, Rachel Federman, and Sonya Patel Ellis (Harper Collins 2023)
There are a few new chicken books out this spring. The fantastic Chicken Boy by chicken lover, gardener, and plantsman Arthur Parkinson, which traces his life with hens: 'I am a toddler the first time I meet a chicken, and we are equal in size and height. The hen has tiny eyelashes, a strawberry-jam face and a voice of purring clucks. I sense a happy spirit of inquisitiveness and smile in fascination. From that moment on, I will always love the company of chickens. I have found my tribe'. Arthur’s bestselling memoir is illustrated with his own skilled penmanship, which also appear in this more practical guide to keeping hens – part of a series of books that includes my own Collins Botanical Bible (2018) and Collins Backyard Birdwatcher’s Bible (2021). While I’m no chicken-keeper myself – I’ll leave the coop care to the experts – I do love a deep dive into the cultural side of a subject, and drawing connections within nature. It was therefore a pleasure to contribute a chapter on chickens in art (turns out there’s an unbelievable amount to say here) and offer guidance on planting for chickens. Beautifully illustrated (cover and graphics by Lynn Hatzius) and packed with advice, it’s a great gift for a chicken loving friend.