My Garden, the City and Me: Rooftop Adventures in the Wilds of London

by Helen Babbs

Helen Babbs is a self-proclaimed city girl who lives on the second floor of a flat in a chaotic corner of London. An urge to find more green in the city and a stronger connection to the natural world leads her to create her first garden, an organic edible garden on her rooftop. This year-long adventure is the story behind "My Garden, the City and Me."

The journey begins in the dark of winter, where Babbs finds herself at a seed swap on a February morning, seduced more by packaging than by any true understanding of the plants. As the year progresses, Babbs revels in failures, like waking up bleary eyed and stomping on her seed starts, and triumphs like her summer-ending dinner party made with homegrown produce. Along the way she discovers "that I like gardening in my pajamas and that growing something from seed, watching it develop and then eating its fruits is truly joyful. I've daydreamed out there and entertained out there. It's the force behind new friendships that I've forged. The garden has opened my eyes to a whole new side of London and urban living." "My Garden, the City and Me" is a lyrical narrative about a twenty-something in search for a bit of wild in her city. The journey is charming, honest, and steeped in the lore of London, a city equally known for its gardens and its grit. In the end Babbs has achieved a new perspective on what it means to live green in the city she loves.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Gardening

147 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 9, 2011

Reviews

[Karen Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful read for anyone who is into gardening and/or nature. It is a compelling story with personal character for anyone who is a long time gardener or has just begun to garden. It magically tells the story of exploring the city of London.

[Danielle Pichlis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful insight into one person's experience, getting back in touch with nature over the course of a year. Honest and often amusing, I loved to hear the very personal tale of battling with pests and triumphing with sweet and juicy tomatoes. Perhaps I too can achieve some success in my severely light-challenged garden. Makes me want to get out of the house and find some similar idyllic pieces of nature in Helsinki.

[Alisa Kester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written, interesting little book about gardening on a rooftop in London. Bonus: she mentions a couple of places in London I'd never heard of, and I have added them to my list of "must-see" when I go over there this fall. Who knew there were FARMS inside the middle of London????

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written as a first person account of the authors attempts at gardening in the middle of London. I enjoyed the slightly daydreamy style of writing and learnt many interesting things about gardening, nature and the environment, and London. I'm not sure how I acquired this book but I throughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading her other works.

[Ogniana · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a person which makes first steps in gardening, the book is a pleasure. It gives a few ideas about what to sow as a beginner.
As my reality is different than London's reality but I still persist to have a green paradise on the small balcony and yes, I already started with plans what to sow next year :)
So yes, the book is inspiring

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick and wonderful read!! I do have a garden, one that often overwhelms, but now I’m inspired to get back to cultivating every inch!!

[William Sowka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring book on growing gardens in small urban spaces

[Waverly Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful account of the year the Helen Babbs spent growing vegetables and flowers on the roof of her flat in London. Part of its charm is the glimpse of the life of a twenty-year-old in London, with late nights, visits to urban farms and urban orchards, and outings with friends to explore moss in a graveyard on Halloween or an evening with friends drinking red wine in the Chelsea Physic garden. She waxes poetic about the beauty and flavor of her garden's bounty (I was impressed, never having been so successful as a gardener even in an easier setting--a Seattle p-patch). As she skips about town, observing falcons and herons, foxes and squirrels, farms and orchards, one sees how easy and how important it can be to find nature in the city, and how when one begins to look for it, it is everywhere. My only disappointment was that some of the scientific paragraphs (e.g., kinds of bees and their importance as pollinators) seemed bland by comparison to the rest of the text.
What I learned: I found this when looking for comparable books for my comparable book, My Year i Flowers, and really learned a lot. Both how important the voice is--Helen is cheery and poetic--and how much a book like this is really about the place--I got a glimpse of what it is like to live in London as a twenty-year-old. So fun! I have left much of this out of my book. I also learned that Helen has made quite a name for herself. She edits Wild London magazine, blogs about urban growing for Kitchen Garden and is the author of a nature guidebook, 152 Wild Things to Do. All the sorts of activities I should be doing if I wanted Timber Press to invite me to write a book for them (as they did with Helen).
How I found it: searching on Amazon, probably, for comparable books

[Andu · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a fantastic quick read. Was given to me by the in-laws in what I suspect is their subtle way of telling me to sort out my roof garden!

As someone who lives in the area it was great to learn more about the hidden spaces in London and 5 days since getting the book I've already retraced some of the authors excursions and I am looking forward to going to the rest during the year.

This book has definitely given me inspiration to start planting and even if you're not a gardener the book is beautifully written.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this little book. It's a cosy, informative account of the author's adventures creating a garden on her flat's roof terrace. Following the changing seasons, it's charming, sweet, and left me wanting to know more.