This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Last week was the Chelsea Flower Show, the Royal Horticultural Society's annual garden extravaganza.
If you have been inspired – perhaps by the TV coverage or even an in-person visit – but the thought of all that work is a bit much, maybe these books can give you that extra bit of motivation to get gardening. At the very least, you can read them in your garden with a glass of something cool and delicious.
1. Wild Designs by Katie Fforde – A perfect book to start us off, Wild Designs is about Althea, who seems to be muddling through life comfortably enough. She has three children, an ex-husband, a bossy sister and a mortgage she's only slightly worried about. When she loses her job, however, Althea turns to gardening. And soon she wins a chance to design a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. Helped, unexpectedly, by a gorgeous architect.
2. Ivy Lane by Cathy Bramley – Published in four parts, Spring is out now with Summer out in July. Ivy Lane follows the story of Tilly Parker, who is in desperate need of a fresh, new start. She moves to a new town and, in the process of getting to know her new locale, a leaflet for Ivy Lane Allotments catches her eye. This, she thinks, could be the perfect way of gaining some quiet and solitude. She signs up and discovers just how wrong she was.
3. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen – In Bascom, North Carolina, a house with a garden that blooms all year round has been in the Waverley family for generations. Claire tends to the magical garden, which she uses for her enchanting recipes.
4. The Perfume Garden by Kate Lord Brown – A house, high in the hills of Valencia, has secrets contained within its crumbled whitewashed walls and wild garden, laden with orange blossom. Emma, guided by letters, is going to restore the house to its former glory, but the past won't let go.
5. The Summer Season by Julia Williams – Joel is a widower and he's struggling. The thought of refurbishing the house and garden, both of which are desperate, is just too much of a burden. Then the enthusiastic Kezzie, a guerrilla gardener, bursts into his life.
6. Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella – A high powered lawyer walks out of her job after she makes a mistake and finds herself in the middle of nowhere, working as a housekeeper. This novel features a sexy scene with the hero, Nathan the gardener, in an orchard, which just happens to be a particular favourite scene of many members of Team Novelicious.
7. Gardens of Delight by Erica James – The Gardens of Delight brochure is tempting for many. It offers the chance to visit some of the most beautiful gardens in Lake Como, Italy. And Lucy, Helen and Conrad are all signed up on the tour…
8. Memory Garden by Rachel Hore – Heartbroken, Mel rents a cottage in the grounds of a hall in Cornwall – offering to help the owner, Patrick, restore the garden. Could the discovery of some old paintings, however, destroy the idyll that Mel has found?
9. The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley – When Eva loses her sister, she travels back to Cornwall to scatter her ashes. In doing so, she certainly doesn't expect to find herself divided between the present and life back in the 18th century, but that's exactly what happens.
10. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett – Pale and spoilt, Mary is sent to live with her uncle in a rural manor house. Spoilt she may be, but she's also terribly lonely. Then she discovers a garden that has been locked and hidden for years and years…
Do you have a favourite garden read for the spring and summer?