A new year calls for a new reading list…
By Joan Morgan, Ebury Press, £45
Many winters ago, my father gave me a copy of Joan Morgan’s The Book of Apples, first printed in 1993. It became one of my favourite books and I often hoped for something similar on pears, which, as Morgan says, are “gold to the apple’s silver”. And now it is here: the result of 20 years of studying and cataloguing the National Collection at Brogdale in Kent.
The Book of Pears is sheer joy. You can travel with Morgan to the province of Gilan, where the wild pear may have made its first steps into cultivation – or imagine yourself in the 17th century when French pears conquered British taste buds. Savour mouth-watering descriptions of 500 varieties in the latter part of the book: ‘buttery, juicy, with plenty of sugar and lemony acidity’ (‘Beurré Superfin’) or ‘balanced and quite rich, distinctive musky flavour’ (‘Robin’). There are clear keys to help identify pears by their shape, colour and flesh and 40 wonderful watercolours by Elisabeth Dowle to aid identification.
What this book offers is a body of knowledge that we have almost lost, which perhaps explains why pears have been replaced by apples in our national consciousness and in our gardens. This book could put that right.
Reviewed by Jackie Bennett
By Mark Newman, Boydell & Brewer, £35
Twenty-six years of work have gone into this book on the landscape garden of Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal – 333 pages of dense text, detailed maps and illustrations, all on one garden in North Yorkshire. If you are unsure of having the stamina, it is worth saying that this, above all else, is a fascinating story, not only of a garden and the historical events that affected its development, but of the people who created it. It is also a beautifully produced book – thoughtfully laid out in manageable chapters that take you through the history of this World Heritage site.
The story centres around the Aislabie family who transformed the garden in the 18th century. John Aislabie, at one point Chancellor of the Exchequer, was involved in a public financial scandal, leading to imprisonment in the Tower of London. After he was released, he put all his energy into his garden. His son William took over when his father died in 1742, buying new land that included the 12th century Fountains Abbey.
This is only part of the story however, in an incredibly detailed account that takes readers from prehistoric times to the modern day. Anyone interested in garden history will not be disappointed.
Reviewed by Tamsin Hope Thomson
Grow your own Wedding Flowers*
By Georgie Newbery, Green Books, £24.99
Even experienced gardeners would find growing perfect flowers for a wedding daunting. There is a high chance you could find yourself weeping over a bed of wilting annuals a week before the big day. I am confident, however, that this book will get you through to the wedding with buckets-full of blooms to show for your efforts.
Georgie Newbery supplies cut flowers for around 50 weddings a year from her smallholding in Somerset, so she is more than qualified to take people through the tasks involved in this comprehensive guide.
All the questions you might have are answered: How many stems will you need; How do you get them ready for a specific day? Not many people will have thought about the vital need for a cutting schedule. No bride wants to be cutting flowers for five hours the day before her wedding.
There are step-by-step guides, including how to make a buttonhole and bouquet, timetables taking leading up to the wedding day and an at-a-glance planner for which flowers suit which season.
Reviewed by Tamsin Hope Thomson
*Save 30% with free UK p&p. Order from www.greenbooks.co.uk and enter the code ‘Englishgyowf30’. Offer valid until 31 January 2016.
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