Gardener, writer and TV presenter Rachel de Thame talks about her new book and the books on her shelves, how to attract wildlife to our gardens, and how her gardening style has evolved
Tell us about A FLOWER GARDEN FOR POLLINATORS and why you wrote it My priorities as a gardener have evolved over time, and I hope with this new book to encourage others to explore another perspective and recalibrate what feels most important about our gardens. I believe having a beautiful garden can go hand in hand with creating a space that delivers equally for the pollinators and other beneficial insects so vital to a healthy and vibrant ecosystem.
What did you learn from writing it? For this book, I became completely absorbed in the entomological aspects of the subject, poring over academic papers reporting the results of trials examining insect numbers. Learning exactly where, how and when they find forage was compelling and enlightening.
If there’s one piece of advice you’d like to share from the book, what would it be? Ideally a couple of things: that we should adjust our perspective as gardeners, accepting that the creatures with which we share our gardens have needs that outweigh our own. Also, the importance of providing plants that not only produce forage in every season, but shelter and places to lay eggs. By adopting a holistic, year-round approach, one can really make a difference.
I’ll read anything about/by… So many writers. But Beth Chatto, Dr Oliver Rackham, Sue Stuart-Smith and Sarah Raven spring to mind because you really hear their unique voices. I also love an opinionated seed or nursery catalogue, such as Bob Brown’s for Cotswold Garden Flowers.
The books I’m currently reading
I’m wallowing in Jekka McVicar’s wealth of herby knowledge in her latest offering, 100 Herbs to Grow, and enjoying the new title by Polly Nicholson, The Tulip Garden. And I recently bought a copy of The Floricultural Cabinet (published in 1837) at an auction. It’s filled with fascinating and strangely unchanged gardening advice, and the colours overlaying the engravings remain as richly saturated as the day they were painted.
What sparked your interest in gardening? My father was, and my mother still is, potty about plants. Visiting gardens, nurseries and garden centres together and simply being in the garden while my father planted and pruned was the basis of my rather nerdy but happy childhood and la
