Ellen Mary is a busy lady, she hosts a radio show, is one half of the Plant Based Podcast and is a influencer on instagram and twitter. Ellen lives and breathes horticulture coupled with her keen interest in gardening for wellbeing. Her new book 'the Joy of Gardening' masterly brings these two themes together. I have not paid for the two books in this review and I have not been paid to write this review. My words and opinions are my own.
For starters let me say this is a joy of a book. It crammed full of information which is quite an achievement as it is not a huge tome, it is a veritable tardis of a book. Ellen takes us through every aspect of gardening you can think of: starting with 'The Patient Approach to Gardening', Ellen says that when you move into a new house/have your first garden you should wait and get to know your garden. That you need to learn how it changes through the day and over the year and also start to visualise what you might want to grow/develop where. Whilst patience is not a virtue I claim to have, I do believe that the garden tells me what I should be doing: such as where the pond was sited was the dip in the garden that looked like it could become a pond.
Ellen covers everything you might need to know: from soil types to planting the right plant in the right place. Ellen talks about weeding and maintenance, companion planting and growing food and mowing the lawns. So many books do this so what, I hear you ask, makes this book different?
Throughout the book Ellen is weaving mindfulness. This is done effortlessly but carefully. The language of the book is a bout 'finding new hope' and 'nurturing'. There is a section on reflection and also about how to share your garden with others. There is a very good section on wellbeing through the seasons which I particularly focussed on winter as I think for many people including myself that is when things can feel the hardest. Ellen talks about what to focus on in the beauty of all the seasons and suggests activities we can do.
I must also praise the artwork in the book by Romy Palstra, it works perfectly and gives it extra charm.
Stay safe and be kind.
