• Home
  • Meet Mary
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Contact
  • Northern Gardener Book

My Northern Garden

February 4, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Book Review: Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life

Books/Writing

Beatrix potter bookWhen my children were young, an older relative gave us a petite set of books by the children’s author Beatrix Potter. With their warm water-color illustrations and sweetly droll humor, the books soon became a favorite of mine. I think the girls liked them, too. So I was thrilled to receive a review copy of Marta McDowell’s Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life: The Plants and Places that Inspired the Classic Children’s Tales (Timber Press, 2013).

Potter’s books are filled with illustrations and stories that gardeners can appreciate, from Peter Rabbit’s forays into Mr. McGregor’s garden (the longer I garden, the more I side with Mr. McGregor) to silly Jemima Puddleduck picking onions and sage for a dinner at which she is to be the guest of honor — and the main course — to country mouse Timmy Willy, who falls asleep in a peapod before he is shipped off to the city in a basket of garden produce. Potter loved nature and the country life and her stories and illustrations show it.

McDowell’s book is really three books in one, and each has its own merits. The first part is a biography of Potter, a shy and lonely girl, who took refuge in keeping rabbits and drawing plants and animals. She was a skilled botanical illustrator (mushrooms were a particular specialty) but achieved recognition when The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published in 1901. Her parents were the demanding Victorian type, and disapproved of her writing as well as her romance and engagement to her publisher, Frederick Warne. Sadly, Warne died in 1905 from leukemia.  Grieving and seeking independence, Potter bought Hill Top Farm in the Lake District of western England. There, she continued to produce books (23 in all) and garden. At 47, she married a local attorney and began to buy more property in the area. She published her last book in 1922, and spent the final 25 years of her life as a farmer and conservation activist in the Lake District.

The biography section of the book is entertaining, marked by vibrant prose and an abundance of  drawings and photographs. You get a genuine sense of how Potter’s books reflected her interest in nature and her life as a gardener.

The second section takes a reader through the year in Potter’s garden, from the dark winter to the blooming primroses in June to fall and the harvest season. It’s evocative and well-illustrated and gives a full picture of English country life. Through letters and other material, McDowell shows Potter dealing with many of the problems familiar to all gardeners — invasive plants, poor weather, more ideas and work than time. The last section is a short introduction to visiting Potter’s gardens and farms and the Lake District. Potter left most of her property to the National Trust, so there is a lot to see, if you are able to get to this somewhat out-of-the-way part of England. The book is rounded out with resources and suggestions for further reading as well as plant lists, including lists of all the plants that appear in each of her books as well as those she cultivated.

For Potter fans or lovers of English country life that is not of the Downton Abbey variety, this gardener’s biography is a great read.

Related posts:

  1. Book Review: The Way We Garden Now A Gardener’s Reading, 26 of 30 By Katherine Whiteside (Clarkson...
  2. Book Review: The Fruit Gardener’s Bible A Gardener’s Reading, 27 of 30 By Lewis Hill and...
  3. Book Review: Edible Gardening in the Midwest A Gardener’s Reading, 21 of 30 By Colleen Vanderlinden and...
« Book Review: The Wildlife-Friendly Vegetable Gardener
How to Create Beauty in the Vegetable Garden »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect

  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed for Posts

Grow it, Minnesota Podcast

Now Available!

My Northern Garden book

mynortherngarden_mary

New podcast episode and giveaway! Dill is one of t New podcast episode and giveaway! Dill is one of those plants that brings in all sorts of beneficial insects, creating a productive, healthy vegetable 🍅 garden. On this week’s Grow it, Minnesota podcast, I talked companion planting with local food advocate and gardener Michelle Bruhn from @forksinthedirt. 

We’re both fans of a new book by @jessicawalliser called Plant Partners that looks at the science behind companion planting. A lot of it boils down to creating healthy soil and a welcoming environment for bugs, bees and pollinators. My review of the book is over on the My Northern Garden blog (link in bio) and I’m giving away a copy of the book. To be eligible for the giveaway, just comment below — do you use companion planting methods? What combinations work in your garden? What flowers do you plant near your veg garden? The winner will be chosen March 10 (US and Canada only)
.
.
.

#companionplants #garden #mygarden #plantpartners #mynortherngarden #newgardenbook #gardeninspo
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort #dill #pollinators 
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b #growwhatyoueat #growyourown
#growyourownfood #vegetablegarden
#foodgarden #eatwhatyougrow
Obsessed with this water drop. . . . #houseplants Obsessed with this water drop. 
.
.
.
#houseplants #boredgardener #echeveria #wateringplants #plantcare #mngardener #whenisspringcoming
In normal times, we’d be in our first week in Fl In normal times, we’d be in our first week in Florida right now, which would mean a visit to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens on our first full day there. Always great art and gardens to see. Then some beach time and plans for our first preseason game. (Twins, Pirates, Orioles, it’s all great.) We were very lucky to get the trip in last year and hope to be in Sarasota again this time next year. Meanwhile I’m indulging in some Insta-nostalgia and feeling grateful for longer days and sunshine here in Minnesota. Which vacations are you remembering fondly these days? 
.
.
.
#gardentravel #florida #sarasota #publicgardens #marieselbybotanicalgardens #tbt #mngardener #longwinter
New issue of Northern Gardener and a cup of tea— New issue of Northern Gardener and a cup of tea—great way to pass a gloomy late afternoon. This issue is full of ideas for spring from @jenniferrensenbrink @monarchgardensbenjaminvogt @gbrownhudson @seedtofork and more. Stunning cover image from @riedelphoto.  Available March 1 on newsstands or subscribe through @mnhort! 
.
.
.
#northerngardener #mngardening #coldclimategardening #calibrachoa #gardenforfrogs #perennialgarden #gardentips #nativeplants #nativeplantgardening #growyourownfood #iceberglettuce #growasalad
Winter ❄️ sowing? Have you tried it? Today’s Winter ❄️ sowing? Have you tried it? Today’s guest on the Grow it, Minnesota podcast is Michelle Mero Riedel, who introduced me and readers of Northern Gardener to the concept more than a decade ago. It’s been one of  our most popular articles ever. 

In winter sowing, you create mini-greenhouses out of milk jugs and other recyclables. Perennial flowers 💐 can be planted in February and March, while annuals, vegetables and herbs can be set out in April. Mother Nature does most of the work. It’s a budget friendly way to grow lots of plants! 

For more info, check out the podcast or a new blog post over on mynortherngarden.com. Links to all in bio. 
.
.
.
#seedstarting #seeds #wintersowing #wintersown #gardeninspiration #howtogarden #garden #mygarden #growyourown #mynortherngarden #gardeninfo #mnpodcast #gardenpodcast 
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
What is this? Like day 10 or 12 with temps below z What is this? Like day 10 or 12 with temps below zero? Time to ramble back to June when the penstemon was covered in bees and the veronica looked so pretty. June is my second favorite month in the garden (believe it or not, September is number one for me). What’s your favorite month? P.S. only 14 weeks until June! 
.
.
.
#garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
Oh boy, check out the bucket hat and shades. I was Oh boy, check out the bucket hat and shades. I was digging through some old family photos and came across this one of me circa 1990s, I’d guess, weeding at our first house. I had a lot to learn (like A LOT) about gardening, and little did I know then that I’d be writing about gardening for a living someday. Lots of good thing happen in the garden. 
.
.
.
#tbt #mygardenstory #mynortherngarden #gardenwriter #weeding #oldphoto #buckethatsareback
Somebody brought me a bouquet! Thank you, @resawit Somebody brought me a bouquet! Thank you, @resawithoutherspoon 
.
.
.
#flowers #bouquet #flowersmakemehappy #plantsmakepeoplehappy
The latest episode of Grow it, Minnesota is all ab The latest episode of Grow it, Minnesota is all about plants with medicinal uses.  I interview author and herbalist Matthew Alfs about his new book on Edible and Medicinal Wild Plants of the Midwest. We talked about a few of my favorite plants such as wild geraniums and anise hyssop and also about what we call weeds that have other uses. 

It was a fascinating discussion with a real expert. Matthew recommends consulting multiple sources before using any plant medicinally and his book would be a good one to start with. 

Listen to the podcast at growitminnesota.com or wherever you get your podcasts. 
.
.
.
#gardenpodcast #anisehyssop #geranium #geraniummaculatum #dandelion #herbalist #plantsareamazing #minnesota #mnhspress #mnplants #mnpodcast
I love ❤️ that my local grocery store has plan I love ❤️ that my local grocery store has plants in the temptation spot near the 10-items or less lane. They’re better for you than chips and just as enticing. I resisted this time but plant impulse buys happen to all of us! 
.
.
.
#houseplants #babyplants #succulents #impulsebuy #mystpaul #stpaul #mngardener #minnesota #wintergardening #indoorgardening #toocute
Leaving plants up in winter gives you something to Leaving plants up in winter gives you something to look at, but helps pollinators and birds more. As the sun gets stronger in late January, these are a few of my favorites for winter interest. 
.
.
.
#winterinterest #mnwinter #boltonia #anisehyssop #littlebluestem #birdfriendly #pollinatorgarden
#garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
What’s a northern gardener to do all winter? In What’s a northern gardener to do all winter? In these pandemic times, I’ve been having fun making quilts. Small, easy, no stress quilts. And, these garden themed fabrics on discount through Etsy were irresistible. 

I’m a beginner quilter and learned the craft through YouTube! (My favorite tutorials are the scrap buster quilts from @justgetitdonequilts) This fabric bundle included 21 different half yard prints, so I’ll probably have fabric left over for next winter too. 

How are you keeping sane/busy this winter? 
.
.
.
#gardenlife #gardenfabric #modafabric #offseason #beginnerquilter #winter #minnesotawinter #minnesota
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • How to Pollinate a Meyer Lemon Tree
  • Plant Partners: Book Review and Giveaway
  • Mushrooms Growing in Straw Bales
  • Winter Sowing for Flowers and Vegetables
  • Big Changes in Minnesota Hardiness Zone Map
  • Squash Custard
  • How to Grow Lemons in the North (Plus a Recipe)
  • Weed of the Week: Stinging Nettle
  • What to Do with Not-Quite-Ripe Winter Squash? Recipes Included
  • The Northern Gardener: From Apples to Zinnias

Post Categories

  • Books/Writing
  • Climate
  • How to
  • Plants
  • Recipes
  • Uncategorized
  • Why We Garden

Copyright © 2021 · captivating theme by Restored 316