My Gardening Life

by Mary Berry

‘In another life I may have been a gardener’

Well-known and loved as a cookery writer and presenter, this is Mary Berry’s deeply personal account of the second great love of her life, gardening. She shares her love of growing plants, visiting gardens, and getting hands-on in her own plot.

A passion that was sparked in her childhood, Mary first started gardening with her father and she has been fortunate to meet many inspirational and knowledgeable horticulturalists throughout her life. Full of anecdotes, pearls of wisdom, and beautiful photos of Mary’s own garden, My Gardening Life is a unique memoir told through the gardens Mary has loved.

As well as Mary's first-hand commentary, she also explains the vital role that being outside, connecting with nature, and celebrating the seasons has played in her life for 90 years. From times of personal solace to times of celebration, moments of sheer joy to gardening frustrations, Mary reveals her deep love of plants and gardens.

Genres: Nonfiction, Gardening

272 pages, Hardcover

Published February 24, 2026

About the author

There are multiple authors in the Goodreads database with this name.

Mary Berry is an English food writer and television presenter. After being encouraged in domestic science classes at school, she went to college to study catering. She then moved to France at the age of 21 to study at Le Cordon Bleu school, before working in a number of cooking-related jobs.

She has published more than seventy cookery books (her first being The Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook in 1970) and hosted several television series for the BBC and Thames Television. Berry is an occasional contributor to Woman's Hour and Saturday Kitchen. She has been a judge on the BBC One (originally BBC Two) television programme The Great British Bake Off since its launch in 2010.

Reviews

[Zarina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lovely photography and a few interesting tidbits, but quite poorly written. It's very repetitive and has random interviews interspersed that don't add anything. It tries to be a "serious" gardening book (and Mary Berry simply isn't an expert), with not enough personal stories. Was also disappointed by recommendations of using things like polystyrene in pots, slug pellets, and chemical sprays.

[Lexi Dacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure comfort and delight for the gardener!

[Mary Lynn]

Difficult to rate this. It’s exactly what the title says it is. So if you’re a big fan of Mary or you are gardening in the same area as her in England and you like her taste, this book is for you.

[Teresa Biggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was printed in thick paper. It had lots of pictures , especially of specific flowers. I wish it had more bigger garden pics , especially in various seasons
It very much sounded like Mary Berry I enjoyed that aspect She says why she plants specific flowers and how she cuts so many. She has many gardening friends who offer advice and cuttings


#2026 summer OSU bingo challenge

[Val Robson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love watching Mary Berry on TV and really like her so it pains me to say I didn't find this book overly interesting. The blurb on the back cover starts "In this deeply personal account..." but it is not deeply personal at all. There's very little about her family except the occasional mention of the names of her husband and three children. Even the tragedy of her son, William, who died in a car accident aged 19 just gets a mention as "our son William had sadly died".

The only really personal parts are the telling of the houses Mary has lived in from her childhood home in Bath to one in central London when first married. Then later a couple of home in Buckinghamshire, one being Watercroft, a nine bedroomed house with huge garden where she filmed her cookery shows. More recently she has downsized a little to her current house in Henley-upon-Thames.

She talks a lot of her ideas for the gardens and how the beds were created and planting done. There is a lot of details about individual plants which is not really of interest to read but more a reference. There are a few tips and anecdotes but these are buried in the details and can get repetitive such as at least three mentions about planting tulip bulbs deeply as Sarah Raven advised Mary to do as they flower more reliably.

There are a few sections from famous gardeners who answer questions which I found interesting. The sections written by Mary really do read as though she is wandering around telling you these things which is good in one respect in that you can hear Mary's voice as you read but they do seem a bit rambling at times. It's mostly information about soil type needed, aspect, amount of sun or shade preferred, watering and all those things that are so well documented in gardening books or in the Internet.

The photographs are high quality and really nice. I read this on an iPad but I expect the actual hardback book will be a lovely item to have. Reading on a Kindle is not satisfactory as you really need to appreciate the photographs which I Kindle cannot do as it is only black and white.

With thanks to NetGalley and DK for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now how does not just love this lady - I know I do. So when I was invited to read her latest book out called My Gardening Life by Mary Berry, I just had to say Yes. This book was beautifully illustrated from the front cover till the very last page, and is a deeply personal account of the second great love of her life, which is gardening. Mary shares her love of growing plants, visiting gardens, and getting hands-on in her own plot.

Mary has a passion that was sparked in her childhood, when she started gardening with her father and never looked back! Mary has been so lucky within her life to meet many inspirational and knowledgeable horticulturalists. So this is a great book where Mary shows beautiful photos of her own garden - which is beautiful.

Mary may be 90 years old but this book is a lovely and beautiful book to see the real Mary Berry in her own garden - and one of the things she loves doing! a deep love of plants, gardening and visiting gardens.

Big Thank you to NetGalley and DK for my ARC.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice to read about how Mary Berry incorporates gardening into her life and how it's influenced her cooking. The book does seem to jump around a lot, not be very linear and repetitive in some parts. I think Mary Berry fans will enjoy this to learn more about her life.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note to self: I particularly enjoyed the section containing Mary's gardening memoirs. Got a few fun ideas for my own flower beds. I liked how down to earth and simple the book was - not pretentious or technical.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listen to the audiobook. Narration was good. To be honest, I don’t think this story translated well in a book. I think it would’ve been much more appreciated seen on TV as a show.

[Tina Panik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great info and insight ❤️

[Jack Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasure to read. This book was a great escape from life, so pleasant and relaxed. The way it was written I could almost hear Mary Berry narrating the book.

[Heatherterrybell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a. Delightful and sweet read. So many ideas and so pretty

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Photographs lovely