Inspiring, honest and gives hope...
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I was very sorry to hear of Monty Don's recent stroke and it was reading a newspaper article which gave some brief history of his life that led me to buy this book.
This book is essentially divided into two parts or themes. One is the story of how Monty and Sarah Don met and built a life together, which included building up a successful business - and how that business went wrong and it's impact on their lives, and the second theme is their love of gardening and the garden they built in their home.
The book will appeal to anyone who wants to know more about Monty Don as a person, and it will also appeal to those who have an interest in gardening. I would not describe it as an instructional gardening book, but more about a personal journey that encompasses the pleasures of gardening.
Having suffered from life events myself which have led to depression, I found reading about Monty's own personal experiences of depression and how he sought recovery, inspiring and hope fulfilling. No doubt much of his ability to fight though the difficult times was through the support and love of his wife Sarah, which becomes very apparent in the book. They do appear to be 'soulmates' if such exist, and I found the cover photo of the book very much a picture into their personalities and relationship. After reading the book, have closer look at the photo, and you will know what I mean.
Highly recommended to anyone who is a Monty Don fan.
(P.S. Monty, if you read this review, I wish you well and know you are a fighter, and I hope you will be back on our TV screens very soon.)
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The Jewel Garden by Monty & Sarah Don
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I belong to The National Women's Register and we had been asked to review a Biography of our choice for our next meeting so I chose this book. I am not in the least depressed and chose this book because of my love for gardening. I have been where these two have, 'in the depths of depression' and like animals, gardens cannot answer back but repay us with their beauty just like animals do. They have told their story so graphically and with sheer determination have won through. I loved every page of it as it was so like me when my business went downhill with the depression,as like them my craft was not an a necessity and money was sparce. An excellent read.Well done I have bought two more of their books.
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Inspirational and optimistic
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Most people will know of Monty Don as the presenter of Gardener's World but in this small volume he tells us how he came to be a gardener. It is not primarily a book about gardening although obviously he discusses his gardens and particularly his current garden. It is however primarily a book about how he overcame depression and the collapse of his first business, gardening just happened to be the method by which he did that.
An ideal book for anyone who feels at a low ebb and thinks things could be going better.
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engaging and enchanting
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I came across this by chance and bought it on impulse and glad I did! All credit to the open and moving descriptions of depression together with an inspirational message.
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A fabulous garden book containing some extra insights
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This is not just a beautiful book about plants and and gardens, it is also, I felt, quite an intimate portrait of Monty and his wife and a fascinating revelation on depression. The book is written in such a way as to inspire understanding and empathy for anyone who might suffer from this type of depression. It is also full of the most wonderful colour photographs; I found it illuminating on many levels.
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