A Secret Garden in Paris

Several days exploring Paris, including a number of the large public parks and gardens, in 2011 proved to us that Paris is a special place. A Secret Garden in Paris, by Sophie Beaumont has captured the beauty and significance of the gardens and parks, including some of the smaller, often hidden public and private gardens in the city, as the novel reveals the interweaving stories of three women as they resolve relationship issues. 

Emma Taylor has come to Paris from Sydney to visit her grandmother, Mattie. Emma believes that her mother, Corrine, was going to tell Emma about her father but Corinne died before the story could be revealed. All Emma has is a photograph of her mother in a field which she hopes may lead to the discovery of the identity of her father.

Charlotte Marigny has made the journey to Paris from London where she works as a garden designer. French born Charlotte seeks solace in Paris as she takes time to consider complications that have arisen in her marriage.

Arielle Lunel lives in Paris and enjoys working in the flower market. Her husband died several years earlier and she is now rebuilding her life and looking after her twins. Then her parents-in-law arrive with a proposal to take and educate her children.

As Emma's grandfather's garden had been neglected since his death three years earlier, Emma decides to make this secret garden her project while she is visiting Paris. In the process she meets Charlotte and Arielle who provide assistance and encouragement as she restores the garden. A mutual friendship develops through their love of flowers and also as they help Emma with her family history search.

In A Secret Garden in Paris, Sophie Beaumont has shown gardens not only to be places of beauty and tranquility for all to enjoy but uses them as the setting for the characters to come to terms with problems and situations they are facing. Their involvement with gardens and flowers helps each of the women to find peace and solutions to the challenges of life and also makes it an enjoyable book to read.

Many thanks to Better Reading and Ultimo Press for a preview copy of this book.

The fair botanists

During the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century there was a fascination with plants discovered in other countries of the world with examples brought back to Europe. The novel, Josephine's Garden, by Stephanie Parkyn is the story of the botanical collection of the Empress Josephine in France. In The Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan the setting for the novel is the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh during 1822. Plants in these gardens were primarily investigated for medicinal properties as well their value as different plant species. During 1822 items in the collection, including large trees, were being relocated to a new location - a mammoth task. There is also interest in a plant that flowers every thirty years and now its time has come.

The story in the novel revolves around the lives of two women - Elizabeth Rocheid, a widow who has recently moved to Edinburgh from London and enjoys making botanical drawings and Belle Brodie who is endeavoring to make a living by creating new perfumes. The two women become friends until Elizabeth discovers that Belle also makes a living from being a courtesan, though this profession is restricted to two clients.

In The Fair Botanists, Sara Sheridan creates a world including real and fictional characters living in Edinburgh. She paints a vivid picture of what it was like living in Edinburgh in 1822 and some of the attitudes prevalent at the time. In a section at the end of the book the author provides informative notes about people and events referred to in the novel.

Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening Society

Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening Society by Sophie Green is a book about friendship, hope, community and the love of gardening. It is set in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, a settlement by the sea and the national park and with a warm climate throughout the year - a great place for people to live and relax and enjoy the world around them. It is also a place where people can reflect on past events and determine their future.

The story, set in 1987, is about Cynthia, Lorraine, Elizabeth and Kathy as they work together with Barb and Shirl to help bring gardens back to life. The garden club, first established in the 1950s, was once a thriving group of women who enjoyed time in the garden, but now only Barb and Shirl remain. However when they are asked to help Elizabeth with her garden the membership of the group is revitalised.

We gradually learn of the stories of the four younger women, the challenges to be faced and decisions to be made. As they begin to enjoy the experience of gardening, friendships form and they all benefit from the support offered by new friends and the chance for a break from daily concerns.  

Each chapter of the book features a month as the narrative progresses and the name of a plant grown in the area.

Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens

When the Cinnamon Gardens Nursing Home was established in a suburb in western Sydney it was to be a place where older people from all backgrounds and religions could live together during their final days. The owners of the nursing home relocated to Australia after the turmoil of the civil war in Sri Lanka, especially the persecution of Tamils. Although many of the residents were from Sri Lanka and followed the Hindu religion people from other countries and religions also lived at Cinnamon Gardens. It was a place of peace until the nursing home and staff were targeted because, in the views of some people, they were 'un-Australian'.

Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran is about family and memory, community and race. Much of the novel describes the atrocities that occur in a civil war largely based on race and religion. It also emphasises the importance of history in truly understanding the past and the dangers of reinventing the past to prove current actions and beliefs. 

The novel is particularly relevant in Australia (and other countries) today as some groups try to assert their beliefs, especially in regard to religion and ethnicity, to prove their superiority over others who may appear to be different.

In this novel the story is set in Sri Lanka during the war and in present day Sydney. As we learn about the past history we also learn about the present and come to know the main people portrayed in the book. We also learn about Sri Lankan food.

Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandranis the winner of the 2023 Miles Franklin Award awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases".

Josephine's Garden

When Rose de Beauharnais is released from prison at the end of the French Revolution in 1794 she little suspects that she will one day be Empress of France and known as Josephine. In the novel Josephine's Garden, Sephanie Parkyn continues her exploration of French history from the end of the eighteenth century to early nineteenth century by interweaving the story of Josephine Bonaparte with that of Anne, wife of the botanist Felix Lahaie, and Marthe, wife of savant Jacques de Labillardiere. 

When Josephine marries the soldier, Napoleon Boneparte, she discovers a dilapidated house by a lake with the sad name of Malmaison and decides there and then that the house should be restored and that the gardens will be her project. The plan is to make them the best gardens in France and include examples of the variety of exotic plants brought back to France by French explorers. She needs assistance to fulfill her plan so enlists the skills of Felix Lahaie who had recently returned from a four year voyage to New Holland and nearby islands. 

There are a number of themes in this book. One is the rivalry between the botanists and Josephine to be able to propagate plants from the other side of the world in France. Another theme is the quest for political power and also the need for political stability. The French Revolution did not remove the the political tensions in the country which increase as Napoleon rises to power and sets out to expand French territory in Europe and also makes himself Emperor. A third theme looks at the lives of women who have difficulty becoming pregnant for a variety of reasons.

Stephanie Parkyn has created another novel bringing to life the lives of individuals trying to survive firstly during the French Revolution and then the Napoleonic Wars. Her first novel was Into the World and the third novel is the recently published The Freedom of Birds.

Sunday's Garden: growing Heide

Lesley Harding and Kendrah Morgan have created a beautiful book about the gardens created by Sunday Reed and her family and friends at Heide. Sunday and John Reed moved to their new home, Heide, a former dairy farm in 1934 and during the following 47 years lived at and developed the property, particularly the gardens. The area near the Yarra River was near the location of sites painted by Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin and Arthur Streeton, members of the impressionist movement in Australia from the 1880s - the Heidelberg School. 

It is only fitting therefore that the area maintained its associations with art when the Reeds with their interest in modern art invited artists including Sidney Nolan, Arthur Tucker and Joy Hester to visit them and Heide and also help form the gardens first at Heide I and then at Heide II. Neil Douglas from Bayswater spent many years helping establish the original Heide gardens. Initially English plants were tried but later especially from the 70s, more and more Australian plants were introduced. 

A later chapter looks at the development of Heide as a focus for the arts in context with other arts based settlements including Monsalvat, Open Country at Murrumbeena and Stonygrad at Warrandyte. In the 1980s Heide II was sold to the Victorian government and now forms the Heide Museum of Modern Art at Bulleen.  

A timeline at the end of the book is followed by short biographies of most of the people mentioned. Richly illustrated with photographs this book will appeal to a reader interested in the development of gardens as well as anyone interested in the influence of the Sunday and John Reed on Australian art in the twentieth century.

The Lawn: a social history

he lawn has traditionally been an important feature of garden in Australia although the recent drought may have changed our attitude to and expectations of the perfect lawn, especially in the summer where brown lawns are now the norm in Victoria.

Peter Macinnis examines the history and importance of lawns in many parts of the world but particularly in the United Kingdom, USA and Australia. 

Prior to the invention of the lawnmower in the early 1800s shortening patches of grass was possible by grazing animals in the required area or by using scythes. The lawnmower made it possible to have a more even surface of grass coverage. Lawns originally signified status and wealth but eventually as the design of lawnmowers improved and the machines became affordable lawns were available in the gardens of the general populace. 

The development of lawns also contributed to the development of many sports, athletics, tennis, lawn bowls, croquet and of course, cricket. The rise of public gardens contribute to the environment of our cities. Allusions to lawns in literature are also provided in this illustrated treatise on the lawn.