Lloyd, Christopher,192 – The Bell Bookshop

A lifetime of seasons

Emma — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

‘He was the best informed, liveliest and most innovative gardening writer of our times’ GUARDIAN

‘Infuriating, irascible … a brilliant gardener and a brilliant writer’ Monty Don, Observer

Christo Lloyd was recognised as one of the foremost gardeners and garden writers of the 20th century. Here, for the first time, is the definitive collection of his best, most informative, and so often amusing, garden writing.

Christo on gardening: Ours, in its humble way, is an art as well as a craft. At the same time it keeps us in touch with the earth, the seasons, and with that complex of interrelated forces both animate and inanimate which we call nature. It is a humanizing occupation.

On weeding: Many gardeners will agree that hand-weeding is not the terrible drudgery that it is often made out to be. Some people find in it a kind of soothing monotony. It leaves their minds free to develop the plot for their next novel or to perfect the brilliant repartee with which they should have encountered a relative’s latest example of unreasonableness.

The well-chosen garden

Emma — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The perfect book on how to make your garden the best it can be.

‘Essential reading’ Country Life

‘Funny, encouraging, informative’ Sunday Times

Would your garden, small or large, in town or country, win a prize? Is there room for improvement?

Everybody has favourite plants, but the ability to put them all together to ensure a splendid show throughout the year is a skill that must be acquired. THE WELL-CHOSEN GARDEN will guide you to making the most of your available space, help you avoid untimely gaps, colour clashes and many other pitfalls of garden planning.

The perfect book for new and experienced gardeners alike.

Dear friend and gardener

Emma — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

In this engaging and fascinating exchange of personal letters, two of the most influential gardeners of all time compare notes on successes and failures in their two very different gardens.

As Christopher Lloyd and Beth Chatto convey their gardening experiences, share gossip and discuss life and nature, the horticultural expertise of these two long-established friends and distinguished gardeners gives these inspirational letters a life of their own.

Beth Chatto’s garden in East Anglia is a place of pilgrimage for plant lovers, while Christopher Lloyd was one of the major figures in twentieth century gardening, transforming the gardens of his home Great Dixter in East Sussex.

Friday 16 February

Dear Beth,
Today was straight out of my idea of heaven – the first such day this year and the first time that all the winter crocuses have opened wide, in appreciation. Armed with my kneeling pad, I dropped to my knees to savour the honey scent of C. chrysanthus ‘Snow Bunting’. Rosemary Alexander, who spends more and more time at Stoneacre (the National Trust property near Maidstone, which she rents), expressed doubts on whether it wouldn’t be better to concentrate on snowdrops, seeing that crocuses spend so much of their time in an obstinately closed state, loudly proclaiming ‘this isn’t good enough for me’. I can see her point, of course. [?]

Tuesday 20 February

Dear Christo,
What a good thing you enjoyed your crocuses when you had the chance! Today we are blanketed in snow once more, with a wild north wind hurling stinging dry snow horizontally past the windows. Your way of having crocuses (and many other bulbs) naturalized in short grass is a far more effective way of growing them than in conventional borders. Left to seed themselves in little knots and ribbons of colour they appear like embroidery across a carpet before something else takes over the design. [?]