Beverly Nichols, Gardener, Author, Philosopher

Updated: Jan 7

Reading Beverly Nichols' garden books has become a

delightful winter tradition for me.

For those of you who haven't yet stumbled across these treasures,

you're in for a treat.

Part practical knowledge, part philosophy,

and part hysterical humor,

they are in a genre all their own.

Doesn't this map make you want to grab some graph paper

and plot out a new garden?

His books have a way of livening up the soggy, cold winter months,

especially as he had a passion for winter blossoms,

always trying to come up with more to add to his collection.

Personally, I'm perfectly content to take a couple months

off from the garden,

drink a cup or ten of tea,

and read about winter flowers instead,

graph paper close at hand.

The first of his books, and my favorite, was written in 1931.

Beverly was a journalist, playwright, and war correspondant

with an apartment in London and a cottage in the country.

As many of you gardeners have discovered,

gardening is good, relatively cheap therapy,

and Beverly plunged himself into transforming his cottage lot,

spending time there as often as he could.

From line one, I was absolutely captured...

"I bought my cottage by sending a wireless to Timbuctoo from the Mauretania, at midnight, with a fierce storm lashing the decks."

Note from Karen... I wanted to include a link, but they are horredously expensive on Amazon. If I could bear to part with mine, I might make a small fortune :) Before purchasing mine a few years back when they were much cheaper, I found mine at the local library. Maybe you can do the same!

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