There is a renewed interest in the nature on our doorsteps, as can be seen in the work of amateur botanists identifying wildflowers and chalking the names on the pavements.

But beyond the garden wall lies a wealth of cultivated plants, each with a unique tale to tell. In The Grove, award-winning writer and head gardener Ben Dark reveals the remarkable secrets of twenty commonly found species – including the rose, wisteria, buddleja, box and the tulip – encountered in the front gardens of one London street over the course of year.

As Ben writes, in those small front gardens ‘are stories of ambition, envy, hope and failure’ and The Grove is about so much more than a single street, or indeed the plants found in its 19 ½ front gardens. It’s a beguiling blend of horticultural history and personal narrative and a lyrical exploration of why gardens and gardening matter.

My Thoughts:

I could not wait to get my hands on this book and start reading it. I absolutely love being in my garden and feeling at one with nature. I love tending to the plants that I have in my garden and seeing them grow but I also love looking at other people’s front gardens to get ideas and to see what they are growing. The book is divided up into a different plant for each chapter and what I love also are the illustrations that just seem to bring the book to life. It is such a charming and beautiful read, I really felt as though I learnt some new things about some of the different plants that Ben writes about. It is such a lovely and inspiring book to make you get out into your garden and smell the roses.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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