Good morning and welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blog! I'm filling in for Frankenoid, who will be back next Saturday.
This is the time of the year that I lay down my garden rake and hoe. After working in the gardens and yard since March, I now let the weeds go and start enjoying the fruits of my labor. For the next six weeks or so, I will spend "the lazy days of summer" reading with the dogs until fall chores start knocking at our garden gate.
h/t the yard
I thought it would be fun for us to discuss garden books today and share some of our favorites. There are many different categories of garden books so I will show some examples of mine below. You can easily tell that my interpretation of what constitutes a gardening book is very wide-ranging. As for the giveaway, you'll just have to read until the end.
ANTIQUE
This little 1924 jewel is actually a book of bound gardening magazines. It's a primer for plant identification and starting little ones off right in helping with the family garden.
When I purchased my antique house with the latest addition completed in 1843, I started off being such a purist that I was only going to plant flowers listed in this 1844 book - "The Flower Vase". Thankfully I tossed out that idea, as well as, sleeping on straw-filled mattresses and reading by candlelight.
These first two engravings are part of an 1812 book - "Kinds of Plants". The plants appear to be ferns, bleeding hearts, daffodils, daisy and others identified only by their Latin names. This 1898 book - "How Plants Grow" belonged to my grandmother.
The British book - "Flowers Shown To The Children" pub. 1906 has forty-eight color plates, probably enjoyed more by adults than children. "How to tell the Birds from the Flowers" pub.1907 is a witty book showing similarities in the appearances of birds and flowers.
VINTAGE
I have started picking up 1950/60s books about flower arranging as I find their vintage photography pretty cool. These can still be found for less than a dollar.
HOW-TO-BOOKS
This is by far the most popular category in bookstores.
GARDEN ACCESSORIES
These are my favorite eye-candy books.
GARDEN TALK
CELEBRITY GARDENERS
I really like The Fabulous Beekman Boys! Dominique Browning, writer and former editor of House & Garden
Our own Kossack, Margaret Roach, has her own garden blog "A Way To Garden" and was the former garden editor of Martha Stewart Magazine, and Stephen Orr, the present garden editor of Martha Stewart.
Designers David Hicks and Bunny Williams. I toured Bunny's gardens and shared a few photographs here. Also Connecticut's own Mar Jennings, a former gold medal-winning figure skater and presently a TV host, author and lifestyle expert.
GARDENS and TRAVEL
MY FAVORITE GARDEN AUTHOR
Beverley Nichols (1898-1983)
h/t the Bryan Connon Collection
Mr. Nichols was a British author of over 60 books and plays with his gardening books being his most popular. This 2011 New Yorks Times article calls Mr. Nichols the most amusing garden writer of all times. I discovered Mr. Nichols when the garden editor in my evening paper raved about his book "Down The Garden Path".
"You will definitely be reminded of why you garden. No wonder this book has for so many years been one of the world's best-loved and most-quoted gardening books."—Ethel Fried, Manchester (CT) Journal Inquirer, May 17, 2005
The only place that I could locate his books back then were from British ebay sellers. My first Nichols book, of course, was "Down The Garden Path" written in 1932. I couldn't believe how many times I laughed out loud while reading an old garden book. His books are almost like a slapstick soap opera centering around gardening. Nichols was very campy for his time and reminds me of what they use to call a "Champagne Queen". He has been my favorite garden author since my first reading and it's like Christmas morning when I obtain another unread book. His books have recently become popular again and new editions are now easily found on Amazon and Ebay. The popular Tara Dillard of Landscape Design blog says this:
Buy any, or all, books by Beverley Nichols.
These are some of my Nichols books.
THE GIVEAWAY
I would like to introduce someone to Beverley Nichols by giving away my copy of "Down The Garden Path". It is a paperback copy that I purchased from a book dealer in London so the handling and shipping costed me more than the book. "Down The Garden Path" has had thirty-two editions and has been almost continuously in print since first published in 1932. If you made it this far then congratulations as all you have to do for a chance to win the book is to recommend this diary. I'll draw a winner from the names in the morning and will post an update, right under here with the person's name. I'll then DK mail them for contact information. Thanks and good luck.
I refuse to weed anymore in my garden, so what's going on in yours?
UPDATE WITH WINNER
Congratulations HOOLIA