Another book me and Miss 4 and 3/4s have on the go is Peter Brown’s “The Curious Garden”.
This book is about a little boy who lives in a very drab, industrial city. On a walk he discovers a neglected lonely garden on an abandoned railway line. He decides to help the plants along and in doing so creates this magnificent garden which has a life of its own and inspires others to join in.
It’s a gorgeous book and it speaks of hope, potential, determination and the power of one person to achieve amazing things. As you can see above, the illustrations are truly wonderful.
What makes this extra spesh though is that this story is inspired by an actual garden in a real abandoned railway, called the High Line, in Manhattan. Left decaying in 1980, 2 neighbours took it upon themselves in 1999 to do a spot of guerilla gardening, starting what has turned out to be a magnificent collective of community spirit in “Friends of the High Line”.
My fabulous Out-Laws are in NYC at the moment and visiting this amazing place is on the top of their itinerary – I can’t wait to hear all about it. This place is truly magical and has become a place of true community spirit, co-opting, collective vision and energy, partnership, design, public art and performance. You can check it out here: http://www.thehighline.org/ or by watching this awesome video (wait for the ad to pass, it’s well worth it):
My family and I are gardeners to the core, so this book is totally for us. But if you aren’t the gardening sort or have had a couple of past tragedies, I hope this inspires you to go get a packet of seeds to sprinkle in your garden or plant a herb in a pot. Give it a go – with the right amount of attention and love anyone can achieve anything.
Meg x
A Little Bit of This & That 