A Love of Flowers.

London: Michael Joseph, 1971 (June). Illustrations by Pauline Ellison.

Bearing abundant and beautiful ink drawings, this book returns to Bates's lifelong passion for gardening. He cites his garden as key to his recovery in 1966 from two heart attacks and pneumonia and speaks of individual flowers as good friends, meticulously referring to their characteristics and needs, in the process demonstrating his thoughts on garden design, the seasons of a garden, hybridization, the use of greenhouses, the expertise of nurserymen, and other topics. He also includes practical advice on a variety of topics related to gardening and plant selection. He revives discussion of Mr. Pimpkins, an exasperating hired man with a zeal for pruning, from the 1943 O More Than Happy Countryman and the 1952 Country of White Clover.

Reviews:
Times Literary Supplement (July 30, 1971, p. 924, attached)

ID: 
a112
Title: 
A Love of Flowers
Genre: 
Essay Collection
Page Count: 
160
Word Count: 
ca. 40000
Publisher: 
Michael Joseph
Year of Publication: 
1971
Topic: 
Gardening
Document Type: 
Autobiographical
AttachmentSize
a112 TLS.pdf596.58 KB