The Captive Reader

Garden at Champigny - Henri Lebasque

A gardening reading list, presented in three parts – See Part I

The Virago Books of Women Gardeners edited by Deborah Kellaway
From diggers and weeders, to artists and colourists, writers and dreamers to trend-setters, plantswomen to landscape designers, women have contributed to the world of gardening and gardens. Here Deborah Kellaway has collected extracts from the 18th century to the present day, to create a book that is replete with anecdotes and good-humoured advice.

We Made a Garden by Margery Fish
One of Britain’s most esteemed gardening writers recounts how she and her husband set about creating an exemplary cottage garden from unpromising beginnings on the site of the former farmyard and rubbish heap that surround their newly purchased home in the countryside of Somerset, England.

Cuttings: A Year in the Garden with Christopher Lloyd
Arranged to cover the seasons, this magical book will delight all who love good gardening and good gardening writing.

The Rose by Jennifer Potter
In The Rose, Jennifer Potter reveals what makes this flower so special. Challenging many long-cherished ‘truths’, she begins in the Greek and Roman empires and moves across Europe, the Middle East, and on to China and the Americas across 4,000 years, uncovering how and why this unique flower has driven people to distraction with its charm, mystery and beauty.

Weeds: A Cultural History by Richard Mabey
A lively and lyrical cultural history of plants in the wrong place, by one of Britain’s best and most admired nature writers.

Please feel free to suggest your own favourites and once I’m back I’ll do a fourth post devoted to them!