The joy of gardening - Eileen Campbell

Whether you're an active, hands-on gardener, or someone who simply enjoys looking at gardens, The Joy of Gardening is a book to savour at any time of year, whether on a glorious summer's day with a cool drink in your hand, or sitting in a cosy armchair warming yourself by a winter fireside.

With its rich selection of inspirational quotations from gardeners past and present, as well as from poets, painters, novelists, diarists and spiritual teachers, it's a book for reflection and is designed to capture the joy of being alive that gardening evokes. Gardens can make us happy, heal us when sad or depressed, and help us understand profound truths about the relationship between ourselves and nature. As we journey through the seasons, the pattern of birth, bloom and decay sheds light on the mystery of being human.

Spring

While with an eye made quiet by the power,

Of harmony and the deep power of joy,

We see into the life of things.

William Wordsworth

Winter

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.

Albert Camus

Eileen Campbell has always been a keen gardener and is a member of the Royal Horticultural Society and the Hardy Plant Society. She is currently transforming a two-acre plot in Nottinghamshire. She is a published author, with a number of spiritual anthologies having appeared, including the very successful A Dancing Star (Thorsons - over 100,000 copies sold world-wide). Under the pseudonym of Violet Wood, she reached a different audience with her gift book, The Gardener's Little Instruction Book .