Old Herbaceous: A Novel of the Garden

Anglophiles and gardeners unite! IF you have read any of Beverly Nichols and/or Miss Read's works, then you will absolutely adore Reginal Arkell's fictional biography of a gardener in the Cotswolds, England. There is a perfect mix of "green thumb info.", country humor, and an array of memorable characters. IF you are planning to become stranded on a dessert island, make sure that you pack OLD HERBACEOUS!!!

I bought this book for my husband, the real gardner in the family, who has an penchant for doing things the "old fashioned way" or "old school" way. He loves the main character and has picked up some great ideas for the garden this spring. JS

Old Herbaceous was first published in about 1950. It is the fictional chronicle of the life of Old Herbaceous, the head gardener at an English manor house. He begins life as a foundling child, early develops a love for flowers which grow along an abandoned canal, and then becomes a gardener at the manor house after impressing the Lady of the Manor at a garden show. Gradually he rises through the ranks of gardeners to eventually become head gardener. This book is pleasing for several reasons. First, it helps us understand what a complex thing an English manor house must have been, with its ranks of servants and underlings. Secondly, it has beautiful descriptions of flowers, shrubs, trees, and other elements of the English countryside. Finally, its a great social history in microcosm of the changes England underwent from the 1870s through the World War II era. In many ways Old Herbaceous is another Goodbye Mr. Chips: a short quiet book about a seemingly unimportant individual who turns out to be much more than he appears.

Reginald Arkell's lovely book OLD HERBACEOUS is unusual as it is a novel about gardening with a gardener protagonist. Michael Pollen and company have added this book to their ever expanding collection of gardening gems-The Modern Library Garden Series. OH was first published in 1950. At the opening of the book, Pinnegar the protagonist has retired and is living in a cottage on the estate where he gardened for over 60 years. He reflects on how he began his gardening career when Mrs Charteris instructed her head gardener, a Mr. Addis, to hire him after he won a wild flower arrangment contest she judged. Sixty years later, Pinnegar has replaced Addis and acquired his nickname `Old Herbaceous' from the younger gardeners who view him as a relic of a bygone era. The book provides a different perspective on the "new" gardens promoted by the garden designers and owners such as Jeckell, Bowles, and Robinson who became prominent at the end of the 19th century and in the early 20th century. In their books and correspondence, these individuals often write "I did this" and "I did that" but in reality they mostly instructed head gardeners who supervised a crew of under gardeners and carried out their instructions. Frequently, these designers and their gardeners were at odds with each other. As anyone who has ever gardened knows, to really understand gardening you must get your hands dirty. Learning to garden is an acquired skill gained via trial and error and cannot be learned by observation alone. Furthermore, the "new" gardens designed by Jeckell, Bowles and others which superceded "bedding out" (the hallmark of Victoria's reign) and formal 19th century gardens drew their inspiration from the cottage gardens of the working class. Cottage gardens consisted of a mix of herbs and perennials growing informally side by side. Sometimes, the `new' gardens incorporated plants from exotic locales. The tender nature of these plants led to the invention and promotion of glass houses, cold frames, and bell jars. In OLD HERBACEOUS, Pinnegar acquires Ipomoea (morning glory) seeds and grows them in the main green house to please his mistress. The book covers a period from the end of Victoria's reign until just after WWII. While Arkell has a good deal to say about the business of gardening on a large estate, his book is also a study of the relationship between a family retainer his overseer. Pinnegar presents the workers view, or the view Arkin, himself a member of the middle class, believed a man like Pinnegar would hold. OH is a fascinating study.