Gardening

We regard gardens as our personal dominions, where we can create whatever worlds we desire. But they are also occupied by myriads of other organisms, all with their own lives to lead. The conflict between these two power bases, Richard Mabey suggests, is a microcosm of what is happening in the larger world.

Rooted in the daily dramas of his own Norfolk garden, Mabey offers a different scenario, where nature becomes an equal partner, a 'gardener' itself. Against a background of disordered seasons he watches his 'accidental' garden reorganising itself. Ants sow cowslip seeds in the parched grass. Moorhens take to nesting in trees. A spectacular self-seeded rose springs up in the gravel. The garden becomes a place of cultural and ecological fusion, and perhaps a metaphor for the troubled planet.

In 1911, in the Scottish Border village of Sprouston, the young parish minister wrote to the Daily Mail for entry forms for its sweet pea competition. The top prize was a staggering £1000, but a fortnight before the deadline a nation-wide drought would threaten the very existence of the sweet peas he was so painstakingly cultivating.

In this exchange of personal letters, two of Britain's leading gardeners - Christopher Lloyd and Beth Chatto - share their successes and failures, and learn from each other's experiences in their two very different gardens.

A grow-your-own guide for the generation who'd rather eat compost than watch Gardeners' World, this book teaches you how to plan and plant your site for maximum nutrition, and suggests gardening projects to get underway while civilisation still stands, from growing dinner in a dustbin to a juice bar on a balcony. Irreverent, straightforward and useful, it shows even complete beginners how to grow enough of their own food to survive when Armageddon arrives and imports collapse. Or even if they don't.

There is a renewed interest in the nature on our doorsteps, as can be seen in the work of amateur botanists identifying wildflowers and chalking the names on the pavements.

But beyond the garden wall lies a wealth of cultivated plants, each with a unique tale to tell. In The Grove, award-winning writer and head gardener Ben Dark reveals the remarkable secrets of twenty commonly found species - including the rose, wisteria, buddleja, box and the tulip - encountered in the front gardens of one London street over the course of year.

As Ben writes, in those small front gardens 'are stories of ambition, envy, hope and failure' and The Grove is about so much more than a single street, or indeed the plants found in its 19 ½ front gardens. It's a beguiling blend of horticultural history and personal narrative and a lyrical exploration of why gardens and gardening matter.

Join Joe Sugg, our favourite YouTube star on a journey to discover the healing powers of nature in a noisy, digital world.

Having grown-up in the rise of the digital age and as one of the UKs biggest TV and online stars, Joe knows better than anyone how it feels to be overwhelmed by the world wide web and its endless stream of content. Experiencing feelings of anxiety and burnout, Joe has come up with his very own creative and practical ways to let nature in, that are accessible no matter where in the world you live, from the city to the seaside.

Joe's natural storytelling abilities will immerse us in a truly restorative read that shows ways to balance our time online with the outdoors, and grow happier, heathier and calmer by doing so. Alongside Joe's practical tips are his hand-drawn illustrations and personal stories of his journey to happiness.

Joe sows the seeds that will help make the most of the incredible, positive impacts nature can have on our mental and physical wellbeing, and that make it possible to live in harmony with the power of technology.

Carol Klein is one of Britain's best loved horticulturists, and for decades gardening has been at the heart of her extraordinary life. From her childhood adventures in Manchester to her first experiments in plantswomanship at Glebe Cottage, and from training as an artist and a teacher, and then finding an entirely unexpected career as one of Britain's most beloved television presenters, in this long-awaited memoir Carol tells the story of the people, places and plants that have shaped her life.

Exploring why our relationship with the natural world is so important, and how it brings joy, creativity and good health to our lives, Carol also offers irresistible insights on her favourite flowers and plants, and how to help them flourish. A story of a life lived happily amongst the greenery, this book is the perfect companion for anyone who has sought solace in the natural world.

When they were in their twenties, Niall Williams and Christine Breen made the impulsive decision to leave New York City and move to Christine's ancestral home in the town of Kiltumper in rural Ireland. In the decades that followed, the pair dedicated themselves to writing, gardening and living a life that followed the rhythms of the earth.

In 2019, with Christine in the final stages of recovery from cancer and the surrounding land threatened by the arrival of turbines, Niall and Christine decided to document a year - in words and Christine's drawings - of living in their garden and in their small corner of a rapidly changing world.

Proceeding month by month through the year, this is the story of a garden in all its many splendours, and a couple who have made their life observing its wonders.

More practical gardening advice, along with lyrical descriptions of plants and gardens.

A collection of gardening articles, first published in the Observer over fifty years ago.

Penelope Lively has always been a keen gardener. This is partly a memoir of her own life in gardens, such as her grandmother's garden in Somerset and the urban garden in the North London home she lives in today. It is also an engaging exploration of gardens in literature, from Paradise Lost to Alice in Wonderland, amongst others.

Jenny Uglow has a love of gardens and plants, and she is curious about the evolution of gardens and gardening practices. Here she unpicks the history of British gardening from prehistoric times, in a light, pleasurable book.

Alex Dingwall-Main, garden design writer for 'The Times', left London with his wife and dog nine years ago for the Luberon region of the South of France. A landscape gardener of international renown, this is his account of gardening his way round Provence, and in particular, of attempting to restore the secret garden of M-nerbes.

My Garden World by Monty Don is a celebration of every living creature that we all share. This year has given us the enforced opportunity to learn more about the fascinating natural world around us.

Whether you live in the countryside or the town, Monty's observations and insights are relevant to each and every one of us. My Garden World is Monty Don's personal journey through the natural year, month by month, season by season, observed from the immediate world around him.

Terry Walton has kept an allotment for over 50 years in the Rhondda valley in South Wales. He started when he was 4, helping on his dad's plot, and while still in his teens established an allotment empire, growing vegetables and flowers which he sold to local customers. This fascinating memoir also includes anecdotes, topical tips and family recipes.

Roy Lancaster is a world-renowned plantsman and a Vice President of the RHS. This is the story of his adventures with plants - from learning the ropes as a young apprentice, to curatorship of the Hillier Gardens and Arboretum, and his dynamic freelance career.

For over forty years Joan Marble and her husband have lived in a sixteenth-century appartment in Rome. Here she describes the joys, and difficulties, of maintaining her rooftop garden, and the views from the garden.

In 1982 Chas Griffin and his family left suburbia and a secure job to grow garlic in Wales. This is his amusing, warts and all account of his family's early years on the farm.

The fragrance of flowers is one of life's pleasures and in this classic book the author shows how to create a scented garden of any size, from a window box to woodland acres.

Jane Shaw was working as a volunteer in Chelsea’s famous Physic Garden when she earned a placement to work on an organic garden in Greece. Nicknamed 'Alcatraz' by the outgoing assistant, the plot was devoid of creature comforts, perched on a remote hillside that was tropical in summer and freezing in winter.

Join Poppy Okotcha in her wild little garden in Devon, where, over the course of a year, she shares the inspiring, the mundane and the magical moments that arise from tending a garden through the seasons, and what they can teach us about living more sustainably.

Alongside tips for sowing and growing, wild ingredients to be found and delicious seasonal recipes to make, she shows us how the small joys of engaging with the natural world are imperative for our physical and emotional wellbeing. How the more we look at the world around us, the more we learn and the more we care. Woven throughout are personal stories, exploration of environmental issues facing us today, and folktales from her English and Nigerian heritage – stories with nature at their heart that have inspired her, and will inspire us to live a little more wildly.

After years spent living amid the thrum of London, Ruth Pavey yearned to reconnect with the British countryside and she endeavoured to realise her long-held dream of planting a wood. Touring the West Country, Pavey found herself in the Somerset Levels. She bought four acres, and over the years transformed them into a haven where woodland plants and creatures could flourish an emblem of enduring life in a changeable world.