The Accidental Garden

The godfather of British nature writing reflects on the conflict between cultivation and autonomous nature



SHORTLISTED FOR THE RICHARD JEFFRIES AWARD A WATERSTONES BEST NATURE WRITING BOOK OF 2024 PICK A BBC WILDLIFE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 'Delightful ... Mabey is the doyen of UK nature writing' New Statesman 'Both instructive and exciting, often ecstatic... Mabey is a great, pioneering nature writer' Irish Times 'Our greatest nature writer' New Scientist We regard gardens as our personal dominions, where we can create whatever worlds we desire. But they are also occupied by myriads of other organisms, all with their own lives to lead. The conflict between these two power bases, Richard Mabey suggests, is a microcosm of what is happening in the larger world. Rooted in the daily dramas of his own Norfolk garden, Mabey offers a different scenario, where nature becomes an equal partner, a 'gardener' itself. Against a background of disordered seasons he watches his 'accidental' garden reorganising itself. Ants sow cowslip seeds in the parched grass. Moorhens take to nesting in trees. A spectacular self-seeded rose springs up in the gravel. The garden becomes a place of cultural and ecological fusion, and perhaps a metaphor for the troubled planet. This is vintage Mabey - maverick, intensely observed, and written with an unquenchable sense of wonder.