Garden Open Today

by Beverley Nichols

When Beverley Nichols first published Garden Open Today in 1963, he was already well known for his "garden adventure" books such as Down the Garden Path and Merry Hall , whose unforgettable characters still live in the imaginations of present-day gardeners. In Garden Open Today , however, Nichols attempted a departure from his previous gardening books; he sought to distill 30 years of practical gardening experience in an entertaining fashion, and perhaps to strike back at critics who whispered that he was not a "real gardener." Our new facsimile edition includes a foreword and plant-name index by Roy C. Dicks.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, British Literature, Humor

258 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

John Beverley Nichols (born September 9, 1898 in Bower Ashton, Bristol, died September 15, 1983 in Kingston, London), was an English writer, playwright, actor, novelist and composer. He went to school at Marlborough College, and went to Balliol College, Oxford University, and was President of the Oxford Union and editor of Isis.

Between his first novel, Prelude, published in 1920, and Twilight in 1982, he wrote more than 60 books and plays on topics such as travel, politics, religion, cats, novels, mysteries, and children's stories, authoring six novels, five detective mysteries, four children's stories, six plays, and no fewer than six autobiographies.

Nichols is perhaps best remembered as a writer for Woman's Own and for his gardening books, the first of which Down the Garden Path, was illustrated — as were many of his books — by Rex Whistler. This bestseller — which has had 32 editions and has been in print almost continuously since 1932 — was the first of his trilogy about Allways, his Tudor thatched cottage in Glatton, Cambridgeshire. A later trilogy written between 1951 and 1956 documents his travails renovating Merry Hall (Meadowstream), a Georgian manor house in Agates Lane, Ashtead, Surrey, where Nichols lived from 1946 to 1956. These books often feature his gifted but laconic gardener "Oldfield". Nichols's final trilogy is referred to as "The Sudbrook Trilogy" (1963–1969) and concerns his late 18th-century attached cottage at Ham, (near Richmond), Surrey.

Nichols was a prolific author who wrote on a wide range of topics. He ghostwrote Dame Nellie Melba’s "autobiography" Memories and Melodies (1925), and in 1966 he wrote A Case of Human Bondage about the marriage and divorce of William Somerset Maugham and Gwendoline Maud Syrie Barnardo, which was highly critical of Maugham. Father Figure, which appeared in 1972 and in which he described how he had tried to murder his alcoholic and abusive father, caused a great uproar and several people asked for his prosecution. His autobiographies usually feature Arthur R. Gaskin who was Nichols’ manservant from 1924 until Gaskin's death from cirrhosis in 1966. Nichols made one appearance on film - in 1931 he appeared in Glamour, directed by Seymour Hicks and Harry Hughes, playing the part of the Hon. Richard Wells.

Nichols' long-term partner was Cyril Butcher. He died in 1983 from complications after a fall.

Reviews

[Mila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took off a star because it was too short and not as good as his others. My favourite part is him being carried on a stretcher and persuading the carriers to dig up a plant for him. I like the way he tells the reader where to source the plants in his "open garden" but of course the information is out of date and most nurseries are in Great Britain. Alas, his favourite flower - the Green Dragon lily is extinct. It sounds gorgeous the way he described it. Google couldn't even find any pictures so I will just have to be content with his description I guess.

If I were asked to name the most beautiful flower in the world I would unhesitatingly choose one which few people in this country have ever seen, the Green Dragon lily. In America it is rather better known, for that is where it originated - in the Oregon lily farm of Jan de Graaf, two hundred miles west of the windy city of Chicago. But even in America, it is not sung or celebrated as it should be; there are no pilgrimages to Oregon, and nobody as yet has suggested setting up a statue of Mr. de Graaf next to, and slightly larger than, the Statue of Liberty.

After this, you will not be surprised if my description of this flower is more than faintly ecstatic. Here goes. The Green Dragon is a regale lily powdered with the dust of emeralds, flowering by moonlight in a green glade. In case that sounds to you a bit thick - and on reading it over, that is rather how it sounds to me - I can only apologize. In shape and in scent it is the replica of a regale, except that the inner cup is of a more luminous gold. It is on the outside of the flower that green fingers have been straying, leaving this pale sheen of cool green. A plague on these descriptions - but how else can one make the flower blossom before you?

To try again - imagine that by some exotic process a wizard has contrived to blend ivory with jade. An that from this substance a great craftsman has carved . . . but no. We give up. Let's just call it an exceptionally fine regale tinted with a luminous green.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another delightful read by this very humorous author. Because he goes into a lot of detail about flowers, it's really a book to keep by one's bedside to read a chapter at a time. It would be too much information to read for hours on end. As always, the illustrations are wonderful.

[Beauty is a Necessity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beverley Nichols was born and bred for literary, botanical and décor success! Any criticism of him here will only fall on deaf ears. The man is a gleaming beacon of cultural, worldly richness from a precious era of patina gone by. His polished vocabulary alone comprises a uniquely bound dictionary in its own right. After reading this book I went onto order it’s sequel. Finding myself gone mad in a swirling dance of lyrical splendour I purchased the lot of his books being his two famous trilogies, Allways and Merry Hall. I also now own Cats A. B. C. and Cats X. Y. Z. which I adore in tandem! I’m simply frothing to read everything.

I once feared I’d run out of books I love to read however my fear has vanished having metamorphosed upon entering an enchanting botanical gateway! I refer to Mr. Nichols’ books as a trove of gardening sagas to be savoured alone and never read hastily amongst distractions. Beverley Nichols illuminates a rainbow of flora transporting me to a realm of divinity ushered far, far away from the mundane. His words are a wand of intoxicatingly resplendent spellcraft.

Via this petite volume I’ve learnt of
Constance Spry. I gazed through her books from the library to apprentice in floral arrangements. Mr. Nichols’ description of her workplace is another blossoming wonderland.

From cover to cover I’ve learnt of new places, people and vocabulary apart from flora alone. Having a smartphone in hand provides convenience to clarify any unknowns immediately as read, especially unseen flowers. I feel I’ve won the lottery stumbling upon B. N. via Instagram. I’m deeply grateful needless to say.
Beverley Nichols has saved my deeply sensitive elemental heart so to speak by showering it in what was missing: “The Green Dragon is a regale lily powdered with the dust of emeralds, flowering by moonlight in a green glade.” As I floated over his descriptions upon a dusty pastel cloud one eventide, I knew I found a passage *home*. Along with illustrious black and white drawings by William McLaren I experienced charms around every bend.

For I dream of secret gardens overflowing in enchanting ecstasy. Beverley Nichols’ gardens lie betwixt earth and Tír na nÓg. His botanic tales are a metaphorical literary duirwaigh (doorway). I have long tired of reading books of problem/reaction/solution plots possessing utter malaise and depression along the way. I only wish to read of wonderment and be lifted to Fairylands. If you’re like me then don’t miss The Story of a Dewdrop by J. R. Macduff and What the Wood Whispers to Itself by Gustav zu Putlitz. I also adore Edith Ogden Harrison’s antiquarian books. Although some are written for children, her imagery is sheer enchantment! Lastly, I recently stumbled upon an annotated volume of Shakespeare. After reading only the first leaf, I’m swooning upon dreamy poeticism within. My mother calls it high cholesterol prose. I quite agree!

[Squeak2017 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reads almost like a plantsman’s catalogue. Nichols gives advice on how to grow his favourite plants, offering up unusual varieties for their colour or rarity, which sometimes goes against the accepted orthodoxy and sometimes is as plain as “follow the instructions on the packet”. He ends with an appendix detailing all those nurseries he uses to order his plants, which seems quaint in modern internet times but no doubt reduced the size of his postbag of letters asking where such plants might be found. It’s an enjoyable read, like a conversation as he shows you round the garden, but it’s not for those who aren’t keen gardeners. There’s little in the way of human interaction to liven proceedings with a little neighbourly envy or squabbling.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another wonderful book by Beverley Nichols. This one (and Garden Open Tomorrow) was written a little differently than his other garden-themed books. It was less memoir-ish and more like a how-to or try-these plants kind of book, with practical advice and even an appendix including where to buy certain plants/seed (obviously outdated now). I thoroughly enjoyed it.

From page 16: "I am all for abiding by the rules, and it is foolish not to read the directions on the packet, but if ever there was a place where rules were made to be broken, it is in the garden."

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Nichols' last two garden books. He took a slightly different angle with this one--instead of just focusing on how he created his garden, he offered a lot of practical advice for gardeners. I like his others better, but this is still enjoyable, and not very much different from what he did in the past, as the garden he uses as exemplar is his own. We just get more about plants and less about his process of design.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m on a quest to read all of Beverley Nichols’ books. This is one of his gardening books, which normally I would find boring, but there is something about the way he writes!

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

How fun to discover that one of my favorite gardening writers, Beverley Nichols, published a book in the year I was born! While not quite the caliber of “Down the Garden Path,” or “Merry Hall,” Mr. Nichols whit, and a little wisdom, are present. His earlier books are more short story collections, with gardening the theme and a cast of characters that appear in each of his trilogies. In “Garden Open Today,” the focus is more on the gardening, and while it works, I do wonder if his practices are a bit suspect in his native England (and thus why Timberland Press had a disclaimer at the front of the book.) I think Nichols is more of a landscaper than horticulturalist as he paints wonderful pictures with words of his gardens and their contents. I was also surprised to find him recommending a water feature for every garden, even if it was just a “tub” of water with a water lily placed in it (which is pretty much what I have.) I would only recommend this to a Nichols fan or an English garden historian.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving this book 4 stars. I've loved the previous Nichols books and really enjoyed this one as well. I miss the characters from the earlier books (or at least the use of the characters as new neighbors and friends appeared in each new home). A pity his publisher told him "character" books wouldn't sell!

[Maureen E · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure i f I’d like this one as much as the Merry Hall books since I’d heard that Nichols cut out a lot of the characters which make them so delightful. But I did like it very much, and of course he couldn’t resist adding just a few people to his garden tour.

[Tricia]

"there may be few who will read it as it is written, beginning at page one and ending-after a suitable allowance for skipping-at whatever the number of the last page"

I appreciated learning about Constance Spry.

[Karen Floyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nichols wrote this in the 1960's, when he was told that his "whimsy" was out of date, so there's not so much storytelling, and only one or two "characters." What a shame! But he still has his sense of humor and knows his gardening and plants.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as charming (or as delightfully snarky) as his previous book, Down the Garden Path, but it's a thoroughly enjoyable tour of his garden. A gentle read if you're looking for a bit of comfort.

[Taya V]

Wonderful ideas on gardening, well that is what Mr. Nichols calls it, although he does the planning and his "gardener" does the work.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those opinionated gardeners that I love; hates contrived flower arrangements. Mentions things to grow and how to. He lived in Surrey, England.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nichols gives E.F. benson a run for his money with his amusing descriptions of the cutthroat gardening competition with his neighbors.

[Mo]

Need to have sent from Naples Library.
look at 635.9 NIC for others
Doc & Katy Collection

Several of his others are available through Monroe County Library System.

[Teddington Gardener · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know this garden today - the gardener then, in this book, only retired at Christmas last!

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as fun as his earlier books--Merry Hall, etc.--but still enjoyable, especially if you dip into it a bit at a time. His love of gardening shines through.