We Made a Garden

Product Information

In this beautiful and timeless work, she recounts the trails and tribulations, successes and failures, of her venture with ease and humour. The battle with horsetails will never end, the butterfly bush mostly feeds bugs, the escalonia requires a firm hand to prevent it taking over the world. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. I particularly loved hearing about the areas where they failed or struggled – it’s always heartening to know this doesn’t just happen to you.

We all have a lot to learn and in every new garden there is a chance of finding inspiration - new flowers, different arrangements or fresh treatment for old subjects.The husband is older and overbearing, but Margery comes into her own, especially after his death, and becomes a noteworthy gardener herself. It’s one of a (not very) regular series of posts about gardens and houses we’ve owned over the years. When I went back to work full time and then with my mother's illness, the garden was mostly neglected.

I am always weak on watering and Margery's habit of using a syringe to water new wall plants, stuffed into a crevice and then surrounded by moss is impressive and salutary. Clearly none of us are ever going to achieve a Margery sized garden or house without a lottery win, but you can still dream! I had no idea that when it settles down in a place it not only starts raising a family but goes in for founding a dynasty as well. This book charmed me by the cover and hypnotized me with old-fashioned language, both British and Latin.Very enjoyable read of an English couple creating a garden in a forsaken plot of land, in 1940s England. In winter, heating of sorts, came from unwilling-to-give-up-their-warmth night-storage heaters, open fires and a marvellous 1950s Rayburn solid fuel range. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. For younger bookworms – and nostalgic older ones too – there’s the Slightly Foxed Cubs series, in which we’ve reissued a number of classic nature and historical novels. I had to pull out my phone so many times to Google them to get an idea of how they looked; a visual glossary of some sort would be a nice addition.

There were so many specific references to plants I wasn’t familiar with (especially native English plants and any referred to by their Latin names. Her good sense, practical knowledge and imaginative ideas will encourage and inspire gardeners everywhere. I started reading this book with the idea of garnering inspiration as I begin planning this year's garden.Margery Fish is entertaining and amusing but in this day and age, there is no place for the constant mentioning of Walter, the absolute domineering, tyrannical gobshite of a husband that not only disallowed Margery any autonomy in the garden, but actively delighted in wrecking her plans by pulling up plants, throwing soil from his projects on her work and generally berating her for every idea mentioned! This might have been first published in the fifties but the fact its still available is testimony to how good it is. Delightful read on the creation from scratch of an English Garden on the site of an old farm house and surrounding farm yard/barton combining her husband's 4 elements of a garden: lawn, walls, paths, hedges and her love of flowers, especially in every season possible.

Topics covered are colourful and diverse, ranging from the most suitable hyssop for the terraced garden through composting, hedges, making paths to the best time to lift and replant tulip bulbs. They seem to have spent a lot of time building drystone walls, terraces and courtyards all over the garden, which sadly (perhaps) is not an option for most of us, and therefore not so interesting.My favorite moment is Margery's description of how she ignored Walter's beloved (and garish) dahlias after his death. Fish’s aspiration to cultivate that most precious and slow-growing quality—the fundamental character of a good garden. With the flowers (which her husband considered the least important part of the garden) dead, perhaps Margery would pay more attention to keeping the paths neat. Being so very historic, you’ll need to excuse the quality of these pre-digital photos – or don’t, if you’d rather not).