Grounding: Finding Home in a Garden - Lulah Elender

Lulah Elender writes like an angel. This is a personal and intimate book but with a theme that will appeal to anyone to whom the security of a home and garden are important.

Lulah and her husband and four children are at risk of eviction from their Sussex home when it becomes the subject of a probate battle. This happens shortly after her mother dies. Lulah’s first reaction is to hibernate and to neglect the plants that she has been tending so carefully over the years but gradually her interest in the garden is reignited and in fact becomes the passion that sees her through months of uncertainly and grief. The location of the family’s rented home is never specified but it doesn’t take much detective work to deduce that it is Lewes. There are frequent mentions of Vita Sackville West and Virginia Woolf and their gardens including of course Charleston and Sissinghurst. She also enjoys writing about other celebrated gardens like Great Dixter.

Two delightful aspects are the fact that the book cover is a painting of Lulah’s garden and as she talks about various corners you can look at the cover and see what she is referring to. The other are the notes included from her gardening journal comparing nature year by year as it is affected by climate change and the vagaries of nature.

Her mother and the gardening practices that she has passed on are a constant presence as is the life of a lively family. But what this book is all about is this gifted author and her instinct for nature and plants, her broad knowledge of her subject and her sensitivity to the natural world. We celebrate with her gradual emergence from a period of darkness. Grounding was much enjoyed by the group and comes highly recommended.