Garden Open Today

When Beverley Nichols first published Garden Open Today in 1963, he was already well known for his "garden adventure" books such as Down the Garden Path and Merry Hall, whose unforgettable characters still live in the imaginations of present-day gardeners. In Garden Open Today, however, Nichols attempted a departure from his previous gardening books; he sought to distill 30 years of practical gardening experience in an entertaining fashion, and perhaps to strike back at critics who whispered that he was not a "real gardener." Our new facsimile edition includes a foreword and plant-name index by Roy C. Dicks.

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Media reviews of this book:

"Beverly Nichols makes an unequivocal case for water in the garden."

—Valerie Easton, Seattle Times, August 31, 2004

"In this entertaining volume, [Nichols] weaves literature, music, art and travel into his anecdotes, peppering them with memorable characters and droll humor."

—Moira Sheridan, People Places Plants, Summer 2003

"No one has ever traveled down the garden path with quite the same flair as Beverley Nichols. The latest Timber Press reprints are here, ready to bolster the case."

—Bob Cowden, Pacific Horticulture, Winter 2003

"Filled with unforgettable characters as well as nuggets of practical gardening advice."

—Maggie Oster, National Gardener, February 2003

"No one has ever traveled down the garden path with quite the same flair as Beverley Nichols."

—Bob Cowden, Pacific Horticulture, Winter 2003

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Customer reviews of this book:

"I love it, and I love Beverley Nichols!"

—Susan W. from West Burke, Vermont, February 19, 2007

"It is informative, amusing, and nostalgic."

—C. A. from Manhattan Beach, California, May 8, 2003

"I couldn't put it down. This book is very entertaining."

—R. H. from Astoria, New York, May 8, 2003

"Delightful reading for the long days of winter."

—E. A. from Franconia, New Hampshire, February 10, 2003

An excerpt from this book:

As you will have gathered, if you have accompanied me this far in our journey down the garden path, I am very fond of arranging flowers and I have no great admiration for most of the professional ladies who arrange them. But there was one woman whose way with flowers was so unique, whose whole approach to this enchanting domestic art was so fresh and creative, that she stands far apart from her tiresome imitators, and far, far above them. Her name, as you may have guessed, was Constance Spry, and this might be a fitting place in which to pay her tribute. A hundred years hence the name of Constance Spry may well have the same sort of lustre as the names of Gertrude Jekyll and Mrs ...

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