Jackie Bennett – författare

Konstnärens trädgård tar dig till ett 20-tal trädgårdar som inte bara inspirerat konstnärer utan också ofta utgjort förstahandsvalet när de letat efter motiv. Och vad passar då bättre än att man har en egen trädgård? Under deras livstid skänkte trädgården inspiration till skapande arbete i dag vittnar den om drivkrafterna bakom deras verk och privatliv, alltifrån Paul Cézannes hus i södra Frankrike till Skagenmålarna, Frida Kahlo i Mexico och impressionisterna i New England. Claude Monets trädgård i Giverny visar till exempel hur en trädgård kan vara den utlösande katalysatorn bakom hundratals storslagna målningar. Ibland blir en hel by till brännpunkt för en konstnärskoloni, som i Murnau bland de bayerska bergen i södra Tyskland och Skagen på Danmarks nordspets. Bland de konstnärer och platser som behandlas finns: Paul Cézanne, Frida Kahlo, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Salvador Dalí, Leonardo da Vinci, Peter Paul Rubens, Emil Nolde, Skagenmålarna Anna Ancher och P. S. Krøyer, Vasilij Kandinskij och Gabriele Münter i Münter-Haus i Murnau, William och May Morris på Kelmscott Manor i Oxfordshire, Duncan Grant och Vanessa Bell på Charleston i Sussex samt Claude Monet och andra i Giverny och Argenteuil.

See inside the gardens where literary giants from Tolstoy to Agatha Christie created some of their finest works in this visually stunning and fascinating book.Discover the flower gardens, vegetable plots, landscapes and writing hideaways of 30 great authors – from Louisa May Alcott’s ‘Orchard House’ where she wrote Little Women and Agatha Christie at Greenway, to Virginia Woolf at Monk’s House and the Massachusetts home of Edith Wharton.Fully illustrated with specially commissioned photography plus archive images, and spanning centuries and continents, this book visits the homes and gardens that inspired novelists, poets and playwrights. It shows how outdoor spaces were important to writers in many different ways and offers insight into the lives and creative processes of beloved authors.Writers featured include: Jane Austen in Kent and Hampshire, Agatha Christie in Devon, Beatrix Potter in the Lake District, Thomas Hardy in Dorset, Walter Scott and Robert Burns in Scotland, William Wordsworth in Cumbria, Virginia Woolf and Rudyard Kipling in Sussex, Frances Hodgson Burnett in Kent, Jack London in California, Edward James in Mexico, Jean Cocteau and George Sand in France and Goethe in Germany.This deeply insightful book sheds new light on some of literature's greatest works, offers rare glimpses into the lives of these brilliant minds, and showcases in stunning full colour the gardens in which these writers spent their time.

Shakespeare's Gardens is a highly illustrated, informative book about the gardens that William Shakespeare knew as a boy and tended as a man, published to coincide with the 400th anniversary of his death in April 2016. This anniversary will be the focus of literary celebration of the life and work throughout the English speaking world and beyond. The book will focus on the gardens that Shakespeare knew, including the five gardens in Stratford upon Avon in which he gardened and explored.  From his birthplace in Henley Street, to his childhood playground at Mary Arden’s Farm, to his courting days at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and his final home at New Place – where he created a garden to reflect his fame and wealth. Cared for by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, these gardens are continually evolving to reflect our ongoing knowledge of his life.The book will also explore the plants that Shakespeare knew and wrote about: their use in his work and the meanings that his audiences would have picked up on – including mulberries, roses, daffodils, pansies, herbs and a host of other flowers. More than four centuries after the playwright lived, whenever we think of thyme, violets or roses, we are reminded of a line from his work.Shakespeare’s Gardens brings together specially commissioned photography of the gardens with beautiful archive images of flowers, old herbals, and 16th century illustrations. It tells the story of Shakespeare’s journey – from glove maker’s son to national bard – and how he came to know so much about plants, flowers and gardens of the Elizabethan era.

The ultimate guide to encouraging wildlife into the garden all year round. Taking a month-by-month approach, The Wildlife Gardener's Almanac is packed with ideas, advice, tips and checklists, to give gardeners the best chance to make their contribution to conserving our native flora and fauna, no matter what size their garden.Each chapter of this beautifully illustrated book presents an introduction to the wild plants and creatures to expect at that time of the year, lists of seasonal tasks with straightforward instructions on how to carry them out, detailed profiles of plants in bloom, and a practical project aimed at encouraging more wildlife into the garden, including making a wildlife pond, building a nest box, planning a herb bed, planting a wildflower meadow and more.With appendices covering wildlife gardening in containers and suggested garden layouts, this guide offers a wealth of gardening information in an accessible format, allowing gardeners to find the advice they need, exactly when they need it.

The Artist’s Garden offers an intriguing study into 20 gardens that have inspired and been home to some of the greatest painters from history.This sumptuously illustrated and fascinating book delves into the stories behind the gardens which inspired some of the most beautiful and important works of art. These gardens not only supplied the inspiration for creative works but also illuminate the professional motivation and private life of the artists themselves – from Cezanne’s house in the south of France to Childe Hassam at Celia Thaxter’s garden off the coast off Maine.Flowers and gardens have often been the first choice for artists looking for a subject. A garden close to the artist’s studio is not only convenient for daily material and ideas, but also has the advantage of changing through the seasons and over time. Claude Monet’s Giverny was the catalyst for hundreds of great paintings (by Monet and other artists), each one different from the one before. Sometimes a whole village becomes the focus for a colony of artists as at Gerberoy in Picardy and Skagen on the northernmost tip of Denmark.This book is about the real homes and gardens that inspired these great artists – gardens that can still be visited today. The relationship between artist and garden is a complex one. A few artists, including Pierre Bonnard and his neighbour Monet were keen gardeners, as much in love with their plants as their work, while for others like Sorolla in Madrid, his courtyard home was both a sanctuary and a source of ideas.This book is as unmissable for art lovers as it is for anyone who knows the joy of time spent in gardens, offering an intriguing insight into the lives of these great painters and the gardens which inspired them to their creative heights. Now available in paperback.

** 'I think one of the reasons why I was never properly domesticated is because I was actually socialised by a gang of mad women in flapping black habits' Germaine Greer** 'If you have ever stood on a chair in front of 200 girls with your green knickers showing, reading out loud from a holy book - nothing truly daunts you after that' Anne Robinson** 'It was rather wonderful as a convent girl always to be with adults who knew a little less than you did. We were innocent, we were children but however poorly equipped we were, the nuns always had a little less information about life' Clare BoylanThe mere mention of 'convent girls' is enough to elicit a welter of responses & stories abound, from the hilarious to the sombre. In this brave, witty, often scathing collection of personal accounts, these women talk about what most affected their early lives: from spirituality to sexuality, this truly revealing collaboration both devastates and affirms the myth of the convent girl.Contributors include Maeve Binchy, Claire Boylan, Polly Devlin, Germaine Greer, Anne Robinson and Marina Warner.