Home and Garden - Notes and Thoughts, Practical and Critical, of a Worker in Both - With 53 Illustrations from Photographs by the Author

by Gertrude Jekyll

Gertrude Jekyll's "Home and Garden" is a wonderful vintage guide to gardening comprising an assortment of notes, thoughts, and practical advice concerning a variety of garden-based topics. From charming anecdotes of notable country walks to how to make potpourri and beyond, this vintage volume will appeal to gardeners and native-lovers alike, and it would make a for a wonderful addition to any home collection. Contents include: "How the House was Built," "A Wood Ramble ion April," "A Garden of Wall-Flowers," "Trees and Lanes," "Wild Honeysuckle," "Brier Roses," "Midsummer," "Roses and Lilies," "Large Rock-Gardens," "The Workshop," "The Kinship of Common Tools," "Cut Flowers," "Conservatories," "The Making of Pot-Purri," etc. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new introduction on the history of gardening.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

404 pages, Paperback

Published December 24, 2018

About the author

Gertrude Jekyll was an influential British garden designer, writer, and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the UK, Europe and the USA and contributed over 1,000 articles to Country Life, The Garden and other magazines.

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of book to dip into rather than read straight through. I've been reading two or three chapters a day. Jekyll shares her thoughts on everything from house design to the best plants for dry soils, via articles on potpourri making, spring walks and pet cats! This book has really deepened my appreciation for Jekyll as a person, not just a garden designer. She was clearly a woman of many talents, thoughtful, intelligent and kindly too. I loved her description of the 'cats' tea party' she arranged to entertain a small niece. She must have been a wonderful auntie, although I expect she didn't have much patience with fools!

[Ruth Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun look into English gardening a century ago. The author has no qualms about sharing her strong opinions about certain plants and planting methods. I really liked her idea that certain places need certain plants. She also likes to see large swaths planted in the same plant. The chapter on her cats was delightful!