The Export Gardener: A Clumsy Australian Starts a Gardening Business in the UK, not Knowing a Weed from a Wisteria.

by Richard Harrison

"The cleaner's critique was reasonably kind, before the roofer chimed in. 'Richard's a really nice bloke, ' he told the class. 'In fact he's too nice.' Greg wrote the words 'Too Nice' next to my name on the white board. Oh the shame." Tasked with bringing an iconic Australian gardening franchise to the United Kingdom, Richard Harrison arrives in the medieval market town of Sevenoaks in Kent not knowing a weed from a wisteria. His subsequent adventures are a rollercoaster of laughs and tears, from cutting down the wrong tree and solving a seemingly impossible watering puzzle to the bombshell that ended it all.

Genres: Nonfiction

217 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2014

About the author

My name is Richard Harrison. I am an Australian author, entrepreneur and cricket umpire.
I live in Hastings on the Mornington Peninsula, where every morning I watch the sun rise over Victoria’s Westernport Bay.

I am a cricket fan and passionate Collingwood supporter in the AFL.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

My wife won this in a Goodreads giveaway and she passed it on to me once she'd finished it. I really enjoyed it though the focus on the minutiae of the business evolution was perhaps a bit less appealing than the anecdotes about the customer interaction. Having said that it did make me hanker after starting a business.

The book was well-written and readable, though I wasn't keen on the front cover at all, and Richard does have a slightly odd relationship with the semi-colon. I recommend everybody read it to find out what I mean

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book free through Goodreads First Reads

I enjoyed reading this book, I live quite near to where the book is mostly based so could picture the places mentioned. In parts, it is very funny and you cant quite believe so many daft things could happen to someone in the early months of their new business venture.

[BB · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as part of a goodreads giveaway.

Entertaining quick read about the trials and tribulations of starting a gardening business in a foreign country!

I really enjoyed this easy read. Most of all I was impressed with the authors entrepreneurial spirit and drive.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harrison moved to the UK from Australia and started as a 'gardener' in the south, part of a well-known company from Down Under. I'm not into gardening as it bores me to tears but you don't need to have a green thumb to enjoy this very funny memoir. Amusing and fun read.

[Maddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A humorous read and a good potrayal of the idiosyncratic 'customer'and the pitfalls and inflated optimism that comes with starting your own business.

I found elements of the book a challenge, as the finer details of the business plans and landscape machinery was something I only wanted to briefly hover on. However I found with each chapter I wanted to find out Richard's next endeavour and how successful his start up business had been after all.

[Peter Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. I enjoyed the build up and journey that he took but I found the last couple of chapters rushed and possibly a little bitter (which I can understand). I would have been interested to understand more about how and why it went wrong.

[Jo Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book because I liked the goofy cover and I thought it might have some good gardening tips. Ok, so it turned out to be about an Australian who moves to England to start a gardening franchise. Some funny stories and the writer is a pretty decent scribe. Then he starts on about training to be a cricket umpire and I, as an American female who doesn't like sports, lost all interest in the book, mostly since I had no idea what he was talking about. Disappointing but I gave him two stars for the effort.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure what the cover has to do with anything. The book is not humorous or compelling, as it is represented. It is filled with arcane references to umpiring cricket matches, and attempts at humor that incorporate British terms or culture not quickly understood in the U.S. The author even spends the final chapter detailing the legal shenanigans through which he severed his relationship with the mowing company. Strange book. I guess I'll never get those 3 hours of my life back.

[Christy Olesen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read. I like to read about people who put themselves in a difficult position and how they manage it. Harrison does it with humor grace.