This is an utterly charming book about what it's like to be a gardener, all the little pleasures, annoyances, frustrations, quirks, habits and obsessions that don't make any sense to non-gardeners, but that any gardener will read and nod in recognition at, regardless of experience or lack of it. It's also nice to know that the cult of gardening is the same the world over; whether you're English like me, or Czech like writer Karel Capek or his illustrator brother Josef, we all have the same anxieties and dreams; 'it ought to rain, the garden needs it' 'I have no space at all in my garden for new plants but I must have this one; I will find room somehow'. It is comforting to know that the mentality of a gardener has not really changed since Capek wrote this book in 1929 either. This book is warm, witty and comforting; I read it during a very distressing time in my life and it was a salve to a grieving heart. And there are words of pure poetry in here, worthy of an epitaph: 'I tell you, there is no death; not even sleep. We only pass from one season to another. We must be patient with life, for it is eternal.'

I also recommend that you read about the life of Karel Capek and his brother Josef, because they are quite fascinating people; Josef invented the word 'robot' which was then introduced to literature by his brother Karel, and they wanted by the Nazis for being outspoken against fascism. Karel died of pneumonia before the Nazis could get to him but his brother didn't manage to evade them. Their story is both tragic and uplifting; for they packed a lot into their lives.