Sunday book pick: ‘Old Herbaceous’ is a comforting novel about the endless pleasures of gardening
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“Gardening may be the most exasperating occupation under the sun, but it gives as much as it gets – no more no less. Lfe in a garden is one long war with the powers of Evil, but the victory is worth winning.”
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I wanted to hug a tree as soon as I finished reading Old Herbaceous.
Reginald Arkell’s 1950 “novel of the garden” is a charming little book about the steady joys of the garden and a life dedicated to the pursuit of perfection.
Arkell, a farmer’s son, was born in 1881. All his life, he was aware of earth’s plentitude and was an accomplished gardener himself. By way of a “career”, he was an editor, playwright, and writer. His garden poetry was especially well received.
Life in the garden
He was 78 when Old Herbaceous was published. The protagonist, Herbert (Bert) Pinnegar and he were born around the same time. The novel concludes with the Second World War in full swing, giving the reader a personal history of the end of the Victorian Era and the beginning of an uncertain future. Much of Arkell’s life must have resembled Bert’s.
This is not to say that the Victorian Era was perfect. If anything, it was a time of great unhappiness with the colonial...