So much of her has been poured into the garden and into the book that it’s easy to understand why it has stood the test of time and remains a classic. Very enjoyable read of an English couple creating a garden in a forsaken plot of land, in 1940s England. One day, sink sorted, kitchen painted, Jim was weeding along the side of the house and noticed angled bricks at ground level, similar to those above all the windows. That house holds so many memories and Sunday trips and pub lunches with you and Andrew are way up there. I whacked at the hole until we could squeeze through and venture down the steps into a large brick-floored cellar – with, sure enough, a bricked-up window.

This might have been first published in the fifties but the fact its still available is testimony to how good it is. Clearly none of us are ever going to achieve a Margery sized garden or house without a lottery win, but you can still dream!By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. But I didn't but it for that, I bought it because it's a beautiful, beautiful book and because I wanted inspiration for my allotment. You can unsubscribe from our list at any point by changing your preferences, or contacting us directly. The husband is older and overbearing, but Margery comes into her own, especially after his death, and becomes a noteworthy gardener herself. No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, no underlining or highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins.

Intrigued and excited, I ran to a neighbour’s, borrowed a sledgehammer and, Thor-like, pounded a hole through the only wall, in an under-stair cupboard, which could possibly conceal a staircase.I had no idea that when it settles down in a place it not only starts raising a family but goes in for founding a dynasty as well. Topics covered are colourful and diverse, ranging from the most suitable hyssop for the terraced garden through composting, hedges, making paths to the best time to lift and replant tulip bulbs. Slightly Foxed introduces its readers to books that are no longer new and fashionable but have lasting appeal. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. After mulling over which long-distance path to walk for my 2017 hiking holiday, I decided to revisit my first love, The Ridgeway.

I also noticed how overbearing her husband was, and how she enjoyed doing things her own way later on when she gardened by herself. With the flowers (which her husband considered the least important part of the garden) dead, perhaps Margery would pay more attention to keeping the paths neat.As another reviewer noted, in the words of LP Hartley, "the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there," and perhaps it is those glimpses into the domestic life of a far off land that compelled me to keep going: a lady in her long dinner dress and satin slippers perched precariously, balanced with a watering can to water the tops of her walls where trails of greenery fall. It made me incredibly sad that her husband’s strong opinions on gardening clashed so much with her own. Her prose is practical rather than lyrical, and you probably should enjoy gardening to enjoy this book. We all have a lot to learn and in every new garden there is a chance of finding inspiration - new flowers, different arrangements or fresh treatment for old subjects. All used books might have various degrees of writing, highliting and wear and tear and possibly be an ex-library with the usual stickers and stamps.