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Green Grows the City: The Story of a London Garden
Octavo
285 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1997
3 people are currently reading
212 people want to read
About the author
Beverley Nichols
106 books148 followersJohn Beverley Nichols (born September 9, 1898 in Bower Ashton, Bristol, died September 15, 1983 in Kingston, London), was an English writer, playwright, actor, novelist and composer. He went to school at Marlborough College, and went to Balliol College, Oxford University, and was President of the Oxford Union and editor of Isis.
Between his first novel, Prelude, published in 1920, and Twilight in 1982, he wrote more than 60 books and plays on topics such as travel, politics, religion, cats, novels, mysteries, and children's stories, authoring six novels, five detective mysteries, four children's stories, six plays, and no fewer than six autobiographies.
Nichols is perhaps best remembered as a writer for Woman's Own and for his gardening books, the first of which Down the Garden Path, was illustrated — as were many of his books — by Rex Whistler. This bestseller — which has had 32 editions and has been in print almost continuously since 1932 — was the first of his trilogy about Allways, his Tudor thatched cottage in Glatton, Cambridgeshire. A later trilogy written between 1951 and 1956 documents his travails renovating Merry Hall (Meadowstream), a Georgian manor house in Agates Lane, Ashtead, Surrey, where Nichols lived from 1946 to 1956. These books often feature his gifted but laconic gardener "Oldfield". Nichols's final trilogy is referred to as "The Sudbrook Trilogy" (1963–1969) and concerns his late 18th-century attached cottage at Ham, (near Richmond), Surrey.
Nichols was a prolific author who wrote on a wide range of topics. He ghostwrote Dame Nellie Melba’s "autobiography" Memories and Melodies (1925), and in 1966 he wrote A Case of Human Bondage about the marriage and divorce of William Somerset Maugham and Gwendoline Maud Syrie Barnardo, which was highly critical of Maugham. Father Figure, which appeared in 1972 and in which he described how he had tried to murder his alcoholic and abusive father, caused a great uproar and several people asked for his prosecution. His autobiographies usually feature Arthur R. Gaskin who was Nichols’ manservant from 1924 until Gaskin's death from cirrhosis in 1966. Nichols made one appearance on film - in 1931 he appeared in Glamour, directed by Seymour Hicks and Harry Hughes, playing the part of the Hon. Richard Wells.
Nichols' long-term partner was Cyril Butcher. He died in 1983 from complications after a fall.
Between his first novel, Prelude, published in 1920, and Twilight in 1982, he wrote more than 60 books and plays on topics such as travel, politics, religion, cats, novels, mysteries, and children's stories, authoring six novels, five detective mysteries, four children's stories, six plays, and no fewer than six autobiographies.
Nichols is perhaps best remembered as a writer for Woman's Own and for his gardening books, the first of which Down the Garden Path, was illustrated — as were many of his books — by Rex Whistler. This bestseller — which has had 32 editions and has been in print almost continuously since 1932 — was the first of his trilogy about Allways, his Tudor thatched cottage in Glatton, Cambridgeshire. A later trilogy written between 1951 and 1956 documents his travails renovating Merry Hall (Meadowstream), a Georgian manor house in Agates Lane, Ashtead, Surrey, where Nichols lived from 1946 to 1956. These books often feature his gifted but laconic gardener "Oldfield". Nichols's final trilogy is referred to as "The Sudbrook Trilogy" (1963–1969) and concerns his late 18th-century attached cottage at Ham, (near Richmond), Surrey.
Nichols was a prolific author who wrote on a wide range of topics. He ghostwrote Dame Nellie Melba’s "autobiography" Memories and Melodies (1925), and in 1966 he wrote A Case of Human Bondage about the marriage and divorce of William Somerset Maugham and Gwendoline Maud Syrie Barnardo, which was highly critical of Maugham. Father Figure, which appeared in 1972 and in which he described how he had tried to murder his alcoholic and abusive father, caused a great uproar and several people asked for his prosecution. His autobiographies usually feature Arthur R. Gaskin who was Nichols’ manservant from 1924 until Gaskin's death from cirrhosis in 1966. Nichols made one appearance on film - in 1931 he appeared in Glamour, directed by Seymour Hicks and Harry Hughes, playing the part of the Hon. Richard Wells.
Nichols' long-term partner was Cyril Butcher. He died in 1983 from complications after a fall.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 27, 2013
I have never had such a sustained smile while reading a book. I laughed out loud. Repeatedly. In public. This does not happen often when I read. This is my first foray into Beverley Nichols' writing, but I can't wait to read more. His wit and charming use of language, his deftness with a turn of phrase, I couldn't get enough. I've always had dreams of a small edible garden and I admire a good landscaping as much as the next, but I in no way share his passion for gardening. It's irrelevant. There's the expression, "I could listen to her sing the telephone book." I think I could read him writing about dust mites and I'd be thrilled.
September 19, 2024
Simply wonderful. I just love to read him rhapsodizing over his garden.
November 23, 2018
Don't even try to critique Beverley Nichols to me. It will fall on deaf ears. Yes, his offhand comments about the political climate in Europe in the late '30s can seem horribly trite, but by God, how could he know what was to come? Don't hold that against him.
Hilarious, self-centered to the extreme, acerbic and bitchy: how we love him. And his gardens. And his cats. And his man, Gaskin. All of it.
Hilarious, self-centered to the extreme, acerbic and bitchy: how we love him. And his gardens. And his cats. And his man, Gaskin. All of it.
August 31, 2013
Beverley Nichols is rapidly becoming my favorite writer. Who knew that gardening could be so funny? His adventures in post-war England will keep even the most stoic reader in stitches. I'm so happy to see he wrote tons of books because I haven't laughed this much in awhile!
February 7, 2010
This tale is slightly more relatable than Mr. Nichols' other adventures...its all about his making a tiny, triangular backyard in an urban London neighborhood into a lush, little paradise. Clever ingenuity, frustration with normal gardening issues (not enough light, strange shapes, bad soil, lack of space for ENOUGH flowers etc.), and his riotous adventures with his dragon lady neighbor make for a wonderful story. I wish I could have him come look over every house I tackle with my gardening gloves and spade. His great ideas and boundless zeal are the kind of gardening virtues I wish I could develop over time. I can only hope that perhaps they are the sort of thing that can rub off through the page. Thankfully, he wrote a lot of books!
December 13, 2013
I love this book! I think it is my favorite of Beverly Nichols because of this garden location and what he did with it. The domed greenhouse in the dreaded triangle was fantastic. This book was written in 1939 and the many references to war that was brewing and hitler now seems so prophetic. Informative, serious but always with that dry wit that is present in all his books.
June 6, 2008
A saddened and dispirited gardener to begin. Nichols has suffered a reverse in fortunes so he has come to buy a small house with only an awkward pie wedge of land. After years of gardening with acres he is reduced to a small suburban plot. However Nichols might disparage his lot he still relates the tale with wit, charm, and a bit of a campy style. This book also has the advantage of pictures to let us see the garden as it changes.
What struck me is how emphaticly the prewar period comes to infect even a story about gardening. This was written in the period when Hitler was freely consuming small countries like a person eating peanuts and unable to eat just one. Nichols is biting in his views on the zealot rampaging around Europe.
As usual I find myself wishing for some of the plants he discusses. I long for a Paeony tenuifolia, the fern leaf peony with crimson blossoms, to plant with my Aquilegia flabellata "Nana Alba" a beautiful pure white fan columbine like Nichols did in his rock garden.
http://www.nccpg.com/gloucestershire/...
http://www.peonies.org/P_tenuifolia.html
What struck me is how emphaticly the prewar period comes to infect even a story about gardening. This was written in the period when Hitler was freely consuming small countries like a person eating peanuts and unable to eat just one. Nichols is biting in his views on the zealot rampaging around Europe.
As usual I find myself wishing for some of the plants he discusses. I long for a Paeony tenuifolia, the fern leaf peony with crimson blossoms, to plant with my Aquilegia flabellata "Nana Alba" a beautiful pure white fan columbine like Nichols did in his rock garden.
http://www.nccpg.com/gloucestershire/...
http://www.peonies.org/P_tenuifolia.html
July 17, 2009
So is that breezy, light-hearted tone of voice charming, or too shallow to be tolerated? Think Noel Coward plays; think witty repartee a la "The Thin Man". I think this author could write about an aerial bombing of London and make it sound like a minor inconvenience. But since he confines himself to talking about his back yard, the blithe narrative voice works. I enjoyed reading about how he solved problems with an oddly-shaped lot, about how he stumbled upon the idea of using an odd space for a 'fernery', etc. BUT a little voice in the back of my mind kept reminding me of how much money he was spending for his own self-centered pleasure. (If he talks about it in a charming way, does that make the expenditures more acceptable?!!?) I was even more disturbed when he mentioned in passing the fact that World War II was in progress while he was doing all of this gardening. It reminded me of Nero fiddling while Rome burned.
October 29, 2018
An entertaining read in Nichols’ usual confiding, almost conversational style about how he designed a very small urban garden. He does create a beautiful haven from an unpromising patch of land (no doubt at vast expense) as shown by the added pictures. His reduced space is reflected in the restricted number of martyred neighbours he must bear - only one this time, the stock character of the middle aged matron.
Nichols clearly loves his flowers and his garden but it is 1939 and the reader knows what is soon to come. In the background you can already hear the rumbling war machine slowly waking as the “European situation” grows more grave, which gives an ominous shiver down the spine in this otherwise joyous, chatty little book.
Nichols clearly loves his flowers and his garden but it is 1939 and the reader knows what is soon to come. In the background you can already hear the rumbling war machine slowly waking as the “European situation” grows more grave, which gives an ominous shiver down the spine in this otherwise joyous, chatty little book.
March 17, 2016
Fabulous book! Beverley Nichols continues his enjoyable gardening account as he moves to London and is as funny as ever. Really loved reading about his escapades in gardening and how he turned a small city garden into something big. Great book, would recommend it to gardeners as well as non-gardeners alike.
February 11, 2017
One of my favorite Beverley Nichols garden books. This one is the story of how he turned a more or less empty lot into a garden in his yard in London. This takes place after he had to sell the thatched cottage at "Allways." One great feature of this book is that there are a good many photographs, so you can get a good idea of how his projects take shape.
September 16, 2007
I'm a long-time Nichols fan. If you are a gardener, so should you be. He's hilarious, snarky, urbane, and bright. This particular book chronicles Nichols' triumph over a triangular yard in London, in the gathering shadow of WWII. Highly recommended.
December 9, 2016
An inspiration and a respite from the troubles of today, just as the garden was the same for the author in his time. Poetic, humorous, and thoughtful by turns, I enjoyed this lovely window into one small garden.
June 19, 2019
What a delight. This is fun, snarky, beautifully written, hilariously outrageous and contains many asides about the political situation in the late 30s, which mainly has BN poking fun at Hitler. The house itself is still there, clear on google maps.
January 19, 2008
I totally never expected to like a book about gardening this much, being the very black thumb that I am. However, totally enjoyable and funny and I so wanted to hang with Beverly Nichols.
July 10, 2014
I love practically everything Beverley Nichols has written - and if it is about a house or a garden it is 100%.
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January 31, 2016Some entertaining info. Kind of dated, but charming.
July 5, 2008
Charming book, originally published in 1939 in England.
July 18, 2013
Try to find this book.
February 4, 2015
A delight :)
August 5, 2019
This was my first Beverley Nichols book. At first I found him charming, humorous and a bit snarky, but then he just became irritating. I love gardening but I could only read so much about his triangular patch of land without becoming bored. I ended up skimming through to the end.
May 16, 2019
BN was a genius in the Garden.
September 13, 2020
If you're a gardener, delightful. If you're in love with England, doubly so!
August 29, 2022
Give your self a real treat and read this. Its witty its educational its funny!!That dread triangle!!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews