Gardener, television presenter and author Carol Klein talks about her new book, the books she loves, her current challenges and what she\u2019s up to next <\/p>
What\u2019s your new book about?<\/strong><\/p> It\u2019s a memoir about my life from the word go, up to the present day and a bit into the future. I started writing it a few years ago and things have happened since then, especially this year [Carol was diagnosed with breast cancer, then had a double mastectomy in April; she has subsequently been given the all clear]. I\u2019ve written about that too. It\u2019s all very positive, of course. The title of the book came from my husband, Neil.<\/p> SQUIRREL_13135912<\/p> You may also like<\/strong><\/p> What did you learn about yourself from writing the book? <\/strong><\/p> That there was far too much to fit into one book. I also found I need a sense of priority. Whether I\u2019m writing or doing TV, there\u2019s always too much to say. Self-editing is a difficult thing to do.<\/p> \u2018If you emulate nature, you\u2019re on to a winner\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote> If there\u2019s one idea or piece of advice that you\u2019d like to share from the book, what would it be?<\/strong><\/p> Garden whenever you can. Encourage other people, especially children, to do the same. And grow your own plants \u2013 get to know them. And the biggest lesson of all: gardening is not nature<\/a>, but if you emulate nature, you\u2019re on to a winner.<\/p> I\u2019ll read anything by or about\u2026<\/strong><\/p> Richard Mabey<\/a>. I just love his writing. I\u2019ve never read anything of his that wasn\u2019t completely enthralling. I also love Christopher Lloyd<\/a>, Margery Fish<\/a>, Beth Chatto<\/a> and Graham Greene. Also, the Inspector Montalbano books by Andrea Camilleri. They\u2019re better than going on holiday, really.<\/p> Which book is currently on your night stand?<\/strong><\/p> I\u2019ve just started England\u2019s Gardens: A Modern History<\/em> by Stephen Parker. It\u2019s fabulous, and has fantastic photographs too \u2013 you need good pictures if you\u2019re talking about gardens.<\/p> What first sparked your interest in gardening?<\/strong><\/p> As a child, I used to bring in soil from the garden, empty it on to the kitchen floor, then decorate it with flowers. My Mum had hardly any time for gardening, but she was mad keen on it. She started me off with big, fat nasturtium<\/a> seeds and I remember pushing them into the soil, watching their progress and then actually collecting seed from those plants. I\u2019ve been doing exactly the same thing ever since.<\/p> Have you made any changes to your own garden recently?<\/strong><\/p> We\u2019ve been here for 46 years and my major thing at the moment is trying to accommodate the mature trees. My Mum gave me a Cercis<\/a><\/em> more than 40 years ago, which she grew from (and here\u2019s a nice bit of alliteration for you) a pod that she picked up from the pavement in Portugal. And, of course, it\u2019s grown bigger and bigger. While it\u2019s still flowering well, it looks a little drawn. My biggest failure is not keeping up with the trees<\/a>.<\/p> Do you have a guilty gardening secret?<\/strong><\/p> Not pricking out seedlings<\/a> promptly. This year I was out of action for a few weeks, but it\u2019s something I always struggle with. The answer is to limit the number of things you grow from seed and then limit the number of seeds that you sow. Sow more sparsely!<\/p> Do you have a favourite garden or landscape to visit?<\/strong><\/p> The garden at Ashwood Nurseries is wonderful and John Massey is a brilliant bloke. Great Dixter<\/a>, naturally, but also Marchants Hardy Plants<\/a>. I\u2019ve known [founder] Graham Gough ever since he was working with Elizabeth Strangman, who is one of my all-time heroines. I love the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh<\/a> \u2013 I love everything about it, but particularly its overall attitude. It\u2019s incredibly welcoming and it involves not just visitors from elsewhere but everybody in the city. It has real energy.<\/p> What are you up to at the moment? <\/strong><\/p> I\u2019m going on a book tour and have recorded an audiobook too, and I\u2019m filming for Gardeners\u2019 World<\/em>. We\u2019ve got six and half acres next door and I\u2019m going to slowly make a \u2018nature reserve\u2019. I\u2019m going to plant a wood, make a pond<\/a>, create a meadow<\/a> and extend a bit of my garden to make a big bog garden\u2026 all sorts of things.<\/p> Hortobiography: A Gritty Woman\u2019s Tale of People, Places and Plants<\/strong> by Carol Klein, Witness Books, \u00a322 ISBN 978-1529144246<\/p> SQUIRREL_13135912<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n Gardener, television presenter and author Carol Klein talks about her new book, the books she loves, her current challenges and what she\u2019s up to next <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":40966,"template":"","categories":[1,17],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/10\/tv-gardener-carol-klein-on-her-life-to-date-and-what-comes-next.jpg",1920,2560,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/10\/tv-gardener-carol-klein-on-her-life-to-date-and-what-comes-next-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/10\/tv-gardener-carol-klein-on-her-life-to-date-and-what-comes-next-225x300.jpg",225,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/10\/tv-gardener-carol-klein-on-her-life-to-date-and-what-comes-next-768x1024.jpg",768,1024,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/10\/tv-gardener-carol-klein-on-her-life-to-date-and-what-comes-next-768x1024.jpg",768,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/10\/tv-gardener-carol-klein-on-her-life-to-date-and-what-comes-next-1152x1536.jpg",1152,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/10\/tv-gardener-carol-klein-on-her-life-to-date-and-what-comes-next-1536x2048.jpg",1536,2048,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Gardener, television presenter and author Carol Klein talks about her new book, the books she loves, her current challenges and what she\u2019s up to next","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/40965"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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