It could only have been improved by having more illustrations or photos of the various plants and animals mentioned, I found myself googling many as I read the book.

qualified in the last portion of the INTRODUCTION:🌱 ‘…This book is personal, selective, and based on my own particular interests rather than trying to be a reference book of any kind. Each chapter is a month and I had intended to read one chapter per month in 2021, but that goal got away from me midway through the year.The book is insightful, personal, educational, amusing, inspiring, entertaining (is that enough adjectectives? I’ve never read a book by Monty Don, but I do so love his gentle manner on television, and that coupled with my love of gardening for nature drew me to this book. This is not so much Monty the gardener and celebrity but more the naturalist and country man, in the manner of a latter day Jack Hargreaves.

I have used the calendar months because these fit in with the rhythm of my gardening year ~ I always begin each January with a sense of hope and optimism because the garden is starting to wake up after the slow descent down to the end of the year.

His previous books include the Sunday Times bestseller Nigel, The Jewel Garden, Paradise Gardens and Japanese Gardens with Derry Moore , which was shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Awards. I paid much more attention to their behaviour this year as I learnt what to expect on a monthly basis.