Tony Hall
Kew Publishing. Hardback. £25
ISBN : 978 1 84246 658 2
One of the pleasures of writing a blog is sharing a love of gardening with like-minded people. Books are also a passion of mine, particularly anything with a horticultural theme. So I was happy to be invited to write a review of The Immortal Yew, written by Kew Gardens manager Tony Hall. Stories of myths and legends surrounding yews dating back 2,000 years had me glued to the pages from start to finish. I was drawn in by the sight of the “lion’s paw” yews flanking the doors at St Edward’s Church, Stow-on-the-wold, a sight said to have inspired JRR Tolkien when he was writing about the gateway to Moria in Lord of the Rings. A photo of these strange, ancient yews provides the cover picture for the book. The publishers, Kew Publishing, very generously offered three copies for a prize draw on the blog. The winners, randomly selected, are Sharon Moncur, Philippa Burrough and Alison Levey. Thanks to everyone who left comments on the blog. If you didn’t win, please keep reading as there are many more books to follow over the next few weeks, including The Wild Remedy by Emma Mitchell, Island Gardens by Jackie Bennett, the English Country House Garden, George Plumptre, Oxford College Gardens, Tim Richardson, and The Christmas Tree by Barbara Segall. Winter is a great time to catch up with reading, before tasks in the garden entice us outdoors again.
To read my review, please click here : https://bramblegarden.com/2019/01/25/the-immortal-yew-book-review/
What books would you recommend to gardening friends? What are your favourite books?
Links : Immortal Yew https://www.amazon.co.uk/Immortal-Yew-Tony-Hall/dp/1842466585/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1548966993&sr=1-1
Kew Gardens https://www.kew.org/
Kew Publishing https://www.kew.org/files/kew-publishingjpg
Sharon Moncur https://renaissancegardener.org/
Philippa Burrough http://www.ultingwickgarden.co.uk/
Alison Levey https://www.blackberrygarden.co.uk/
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Bramble Garden 
Karen congratulations to the winner! The last book I have read is “Sensibility and intelligence in the plant world” by Stefano Mancuso and Alessandra Viola; and before “Permaculture, A Guide for Beginners” by Graham Burnett. At the same time I read-deciphering “The Almanac, A Seasonal Guide to 2019” by Lia Leendertz. And now I am reading “The Marriage” by Emilia Pardo Bazan, a Spanish realist writer of the late nineteenth century, critical of the subjugation of woman to man in marriage supported by the Church, and whose protagonist of the novel, Lucia, rebels on several occasions before her husband, but after asking for advice from her spiritual director and lifelong priest before getting married, he tells her to obey her husband in everything and to do nothing without asking permission beforehand. She is a great writer. Forgive Karen who has told you about this book that has nothing to do with gardening, but with the rights of the woman I defend. Love, strength, rest and good health for your Mother, your family and for you. Take care. Very loving greetings from Margarita. 🙂
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Thank you Margarita. I’ve looked up The Marriage book you mention. It sounds very heartbreaking to read. I too defend the rights of women and I’m always on the look out ready to protect and help anyone in trouble. It seems too many people look the other way nowadays, whereas I, although being small and not strong, am very brave when needs be. love strength and good health for you and your family Margarita. Much love – karen xx
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Not only am I thrilled to be a winner, Karen, thanks SO much, but I’m also delighted to see that I’m in such good company with the other winners. I can’t wait to see the book and revel in its contents!
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Thank you. Enjoy!
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