A Year in a Cottage Garden, by Cirencester-based professional gardener Joff Elphick, and Sue O’Neil, chronicles a year in the life of Field Cottage, a Gloucestershire garden owned by Sue O’Neil, who also runs Genus Gardenwear.
The book brings together practical gardening advice, personal anecdotes and reflections on seasonal change, offering a close-up view of the challenges and delights of tending to a classic English country garden.
Mr Elphick said: “The seasonal rhythm you’ll discover through this book comes to life year after year – sowing seeds in spring, planting out in May, choosing bulbs in autumn and winter.
“I love those changes and the contrast they bring.”
With experience in some of the country’s most prestigious gardens, including Barnsley House and Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Mr Elphick now cares for multiple gardens across the Cotswolds.
The book is a collaboration between Mr Elphick and Ms O’Neil, who said the project grew out of a long-standing creative partnership.
Ms O’Neil said: “When Joff joined almost ten years ago, it soon became apparent that his immense skills in horticulture were matched by the ability to write witty, insightful observations of work and life in the garden, and to illustrate them with near-professional photography.
“A weekly blog of Joff’s writings, under the title In The Genus Garden began to be published on the Genus Gardenwear website.
“This book selects from those blogs to share with you the joy, excitement and sheer wonder of creating, growing and looking after a garden.”
A Year in a Cottage Garden features Mr Elphick’s weekly reflections over 12 months, covering everything from planting and harvesting to plant folklore.
The garden itself includes herbaceous borders, raised vegetable beds, fruit cages, greenhouses, an orchard and a woodland garden.
The book also explores subjects such as the benefits of ivy, expanding a flower bed, discovering toad spawn in the pond for the first time and the traditional stories behind native plants.
A Year in a Cottage Garden is available to purchase from the Genus Gardenwear website.
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