The Small Garden – an oldie but goldie!

The Small Garden by the late C E Lucas Phillips (or more properly by Brigadier Lucas Phillips) was published in 1952 and is still in print. There can’t be many other gardening books that compete with that almost 60 year record. I’m not surprised. The book was my Dad’s bible for all his adult  life (or more accurately his married life : as  a bachelor he showed neither interest in or aptidude for gardening).

I had assumed this little volume had gone out of print years ago and was amazed to find it is still a solid seller, having been reprinted in 1979 and 2006. This is quite incredible given the very quaint style, reminiscent of Brief Encounter, in which it written. On the other hand this is part of the book’s charm, as I discovered when I bought myself a copy, my Dad’s orignal having gone the way of old paperbacks.

The Brigadier, a hero of both World Wars,  was also the author of The Cockleshell Heroes and a holder of the Croix de Guerre. He lived in times when ‘gay’ still meant jolly, bright, happy, colourful and  innocent and makes use of the word with gay abandon!

His slightly archaic if disarmingly charming style is but a veneer over what is probably some of the best advice available in print for the novice gardener. Lucas-Phillips is like a wise old uncle dispensing good counsel in a friendly and supportive manner. He doesn’t rant or lecture, but he is opinionated and frank. I loved his dismissive reference to those who build rockeries that resemble dog’s graves accompanied by a drawing captioned “Here lies poor Fido”. Despite the odd barb like this his overall tone is gentle, if rather didactic.

The Brigadier takes us step by step through all the requisite knowldege of a would -be gardener. I have another book  called The Small Garden, a beautifully illustrated coffee table book. Before I really cared about gardening it was the kind of book I was drawn to, seduced by its lovely illustrations. Now that I have the real gardening bug, I find it rather empty and unhelpful. Instead Lucas Phillips, whose book has no colour plates  (although why does my childhood memory make me think the 1952 edition incorporated some?) sweeps one along with the power of his prose, and the wisdom of his very comprehensive gardening advice.

One of the other endearing qualities of the book is that it is written by a non-professional gardener – in his own words “by an amateur for amateurs”. He confesses his own early gardening “sins” and wins us over.

The biggest plus I feel for the book today, writing now in the 21st Century of a book written by someone born in the 19th, is its perennial relevance. It is ordered beautifully:  covering first the fundamentals such as soil, propagation and watering; moving on to flowers, with an extremely comprehensive guide to the  care and cultivation of everything from roses to spring bulbs; thence to growing fruit and veg; keeping “the enemy” at bay is an excellent section on pests and how to tackle them; and ending up with a very useful roundup of the gardening year’s activities, as well as some helpful summaries of plants and suppliers etc. The Brigadier explains how to dig a bastard trench, offers meticulous instructions on plant propagation and provides delightful descriptions of the merits of different plants. I loved this on the witch hazel:

it bears on its naked branches ingenious little twisted frills of spun gold – a merry bush that should be the haunt of elves

or here he is discussing garden layout (note the assumption that is writing for men only – understandable I suppose from a man of his times):

If you wish to acquire merit and praise, one small but important detail is to site your bed for herbs – parsely, mint, and so on – and perhaps some lettuces, as close as possible to the door of the kitchen,  so that the genius thereof can pop out quickly for a plucking

So if you want a little book that tells you all you need to know to become a competent and knowledgeable gardener and if you enjoy well-written prose, a conversational style, and a charming voice from another era, this book is highly recommended.

>> Buy The Small Garden

Add your own review of his book below or tell us which are your favourite gardening books