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The Sunday Times Bestseller
Shortlisted for the Book of the Year - British Book Awards 2025
Find solace in your outdoor space in this delightful horticultural journey with actress Caroline Quentin, as she draws on her life-long passion for gardening.
Through the pages of this gift book, Caroline shows how much joy she gets from spending time in her garden, whether it be grappling with the best way to grow plants and vegetables, or raising seeds in her potting shed. Though she now has a large following on her Instagram account, @CQGardens, her attitude to gardening is the same as it has always been - expertise helps but is not essential. Gardening should be fun and enjoyable, filled with the simple pleasures of planning, planting, harvesting and cooking. It is also a meditative and restorative pastime, and a great way to lift your spirits.
Written in a warm and engaging way that reflects her personality, Caroline tells stories of growing chillies from seed in her greenhouse, berating the thieving blackbirds in her fruit cage, and swimming in her pond singing to dragon flies and flag irises. Over the years, she has come to realise that gardening, just like life, is a series of happy accidents, unplanned successes, and baffling and frustrating failures.
Illustrated by Caroline herself, this gorgeous book mixes personal stories of her life and experiences in the garden, with practical tips, recipes for food and drink, and even the occasional favourite poem. As she likes to misquote Dorothy Parker: 'Take to horticulture, it's cheaper than a shrink'.
List of contents
Preface
A growing passion
Seeds
Memories
Salad
Wellbeing
Veg & a bit of fruit
My favourite recipes
Pets & pests
Childhood
Herbs
Fluttery, prickly &
wriggly chums
Water
Scent
Epilogue
Index
About the author
Caroline Quentin is a renowned figure in British comedy, well known for her lead roles in the award-winning British sitcom
Men Behaving Badly and crime drama
Jonathan Creek. Aside from her career as an actress, she has been a passionate gardener for many years. She grew up in Reigate, Surrey, but now lives in a country farmhouse in Devon, where she grows her own vegetables, and has a large orchard. Her dedicated Instagram account, @cqgardens, shows her love for gardening in pictures, and is wildly popular in its own right. From rhubarb to kale sprouts, she shows off her cultivation skills in all their leafy green goodness.
Summary
Actress Caroline Quentin (Men Behaving Badly, Jonathan Creek) shares the joys and rewards of gardening in her first book, Drawn to the Garden.
