Janet Marsh's Nature Diary

by Janet Marsh

The book has been read but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, Collections, Nature

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Sherrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, in which the author follows a year in the life of a Hampshire river, deserves 5 stars for the exquisite drawings and paintings alone. She records all types of life on the river which at the time was under threat from a motorway extension.

[Painting · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had given away this book over 20 years ago and wondered if I would ever get another copy, especially because I loved it so much. Perhaps I would have found a copy sooner if I had remembered the author's name, so simple and yet somehow elusive to my silly mind. Very recently, while watching videos of wonderful English gardens, a lovely natural swimming pond garden with marsh plantings inspired me to recall a this long forgotten name. (Funny how I needed such a graphic cue!) I am delighted to have found a copy of Nature Diary and have purchased one for a friend. I learned so much about the four seasons of England through Janet's gorgeous, delicately drawn and colored illustrations and I have since paid closer very close to all the small and large details of my own garden and seasonal environmental changes everywhere I have lived. So...I still believe that when you give away something you love, (with a bit of patience) you will find it again.

[Ingrid Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I got waaaaaaay back in 1986, and it is just a beautiful book.

It's not a how-to book, but more of showing a way to record your observations of life with drawing. It is full of drawings, sketches and watercolors of the natural world. Focusing mostly on birds and small animals, the author kept a kind of nature diary by drawing and painting all the discoveries she made in the area surrounding her home, with notes and remarks about what she had found.

The drawings are lovely and fragile, and so incredibly detailed in some cases, with nearly each twig of a nest having been drawn. I often go back and flip through this book, as each image is a joy to look at.

[Jackie Law · Rating 2 out of 5]

save for later - or for someone else someday - definitely NOT same as Dairy of an Edwardian Lady

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marsh spends a year studying nature in and around her rural Hampshire home. She includes her written observations in the form of a nature diary, but the book's real charm lies in the detailed pencil sketches and watercolour drawings which make up the chief part of the book. This can either be read from beginning to end or just dipped into when you want to see what is happening in a specific month. The only thing I didn't like about this book is that the captions and explanations of the pictures were in Marsh's handwriting, which I found quite cramped and hard to read - it would have been a more enjoyable reading experience if this information had been in type.

[Candii · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this book in an antique store and purchased for the beautiful artwork and the written observations about nature. This was apparently written to bring attention to a rare, mostly unspoiled area around a chalk creek that was slated for destruction to create a highway. I don't know if she was successful and am pessimistic that this area remains as described.

The author's careful observation of the plants and animals throughout a year in the country surrounding this creek make me realize how little time I spend observing nature in my own back yard. Her detailed descriptions of the habits of the various bugs, birds and animals is amazing. So glad I found this treasure!

[*°meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The meadows transport me to another, quite separate world."

This nature diary is stunning, in writing style, descriptions, illustration, and also the very unfortunate but obvious reality that most humans have less value for nature than they used to. I was able to connect so deeply with her joy and wonder from experiencing the most valuable things that this world has to offer. Worth mentioning that she is also so incredibly knowledgeable of the natural world, very much appreciated her humor and her personality shining through and tied into the adventures/observations.

"The wheel can now only be turned with effort and will-power ; my husband gets the job while the world's laziest naturalist awaits the outcome, with a plastic bag."

Overall such a very special and thoughtful book, the only thing I wish it included more of was - insight into her life, her humor and thoughts because I appreciated every morsel that she included.

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many people have diaries, some of which focus on nature and the environment, but Janet Marsh put together her observations and drawings/watercolours in such a beautifully detailed and inspiring way not many others could achieve but many would aspire to. Clearly she spent much time and energy focusing on every detail of the flora and fauna of the Itchen Valley in Hampshire back in the 1970s and her enthusiasm and skill bring what she saw to life even today. If only we could all be such careful and meticulous observers of our environment.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have owned this glorious history of a years observation in a small village in Hampshire. Re-reading it again after many years reminded me of how acute Marsh's observations are and how beautiful her drawings are.