Window-box Allotment

A joy to read

I have a story to tell about this book; some months ago I ordered it, having followed by usual process with Amazon if following the trail of recommendations and star ratings from the general topic of "container gardening". However, it never arrived, and eventually vanished from the available list. So I ordering it second-hand (also from Amazon), and it promptly arrived. This is a most unusual gardening book, and strangely compelling; I read it all in one sitting, cover to cover. There are no illustrations apart from chapter headings, which are black and white. The twelve chapters are named after the months, starting with January. All in all, there is none of the modern marketing and added enticement that publishers seem to adore. The author starts by gently introducing the reader to a few easy plants: specifically, parsley, and various salad leaves. For the first few months we are given detailed planting instructions, all aimed at a couple of window boxes or a tiny balcony. On one of the first pages I found a quote that gives some sense of the authors quirky charm: "For those who are fond of their hands and don't like the idea of touching compost, rub them with barrier cream before resorting to gloves, this at least lets the hands feel what they are touching, whereas gloves do not, a large proportion of the pleasure being on the other side of the glove - one might as well wear gloves while making love." In later chapters, for months after the main harvests, the author indulges what would seem to be her minor obsessions with saffron, wormeries, ants and mushrooms; the latter two giving something to do during December, with an admonition not to raise the subject of wormeries during dinner parties. All in all, this is a remarkably charming book about small scale gardening, very suitable for a beginner, and carried along by an evident keen enthusiasm and some delightful prose. Read more