''Son of the Secret Gardener'', author Dr Trevor MIllum, Book Review

Dr Trevor Millum's grandfather, George Millum Snr, was the head gardener at Maytham Hall in Kent which was the home of Frances Hodgson. The very famous classic childresn story 'The Secret Garden' was written by Frances Hodgson in the early 1900s. The grumpy old gardener who tends the 'secret garden' in the book, Ben Weatherstaff, is modeled upon a younger George Millum.   George Millum's son, George Charles Millum, who like his father was born in the gardener's cottage at Maytham, also grew up to be a hard working country house gardener .

George Charles Millum kept diaries for many years of his working gardening life, also in his lifetime he was called away to war, married and had children...  his son, Trevor Millum has transcribed and sometimes interpreted two of his diaries , also giving details of  their family life throughout the book. There are family photographs and illustrations( byTwink Addison) throughout.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, amazed at the sheer amount of work involved in running and keeping a 'country house garden', not just the general upkeep but also having to grow the vegetables for the house and keeping flower displays for inside as well as organiseing, planning and providing stunning gardens.What a wonderful family heritage of personal diaries and photographs, shared by Trevor Millum.

This is an good relaxing, want to read and keep reading book. Perfect to sit reading  and relaxing with a cup of tea in the garden, I mostly sat in my little old greenhouse, as its not that warm outside just now!

I hope, as a keen gardener,  there might be a follow-up of the entire set of diaries transcribed ? please?  lol

books review

can you have too many gardening books? not till the shelves are full!! and I think there's just about enough space here to squeeze in these two books I've been asked to look at. they are from a new Royal Horticultural Society series Small Steps to Sucess, published by Dorling Kindersley. they contain a surprising amount of useful information and some inspirational photography. I really like them, a good read for a wet afternoon, we seem to be back to the cold wet yuck here.
the Easy-care Garden, Jenny Hendy. this book starts off with some beautiful pictures of garden types, such as 'wildlife', courtyard', 'formal' and others to inspire you. the chapters that follow give 'shopping lists' of which plants to buy to get the particular look you like; information on how and where to plant them and what to do to care for them. there's also useful information sections on soil types, pests and diseases and a further gallery of beautiful plants to think about planting.
these pages look at 'Right Plant, Right Place', full of 'I want that plant' photographs! following pages describe how to create raised beds, mixed borders and container gardening with all the information you'll need to care for them. an idea I particularly liked was for an 'Aromatic Herb Border', a great ides for a vegetable grower looking for inspiration.
Shrubs and Small Trees, Simon Akeroyd. more clear and bright photography to get those ideas going! this one also provides planting inspirations to get the look you're after. there is soil, pruning, feeding, clearing. planting, staking instruction throughout. there is also a good section on pruning and caring for fruting trees and bushes.
how about a 'Fruit Border', shopping list provided with planting, soil and care information to get the best results. another one to interest home vegetable growers! there are other planting ideas for which shrubs and trees to plant to carry the gardening interest through the seasons. very useful.