Gardener's Year, The

Description:
It is seldom that a practical guide to gardening attains the level of a literary masterpiece, still more seldom that a book on gardening can amuse and instruct even those who have no garden to plant, nor the faintest interest in acquiring one The Gardener's Year is a characteristic product of Karel Capek's genius: amusing, informative, and full of a quizzical interest in people, animals and plants. In this new version Geoffrey Newsome - the highly acclaimed translator of Capek's witty Letters from England - has captured the grace and irony of the original Czech, to produce a volume that will be treasured equally by those who love gardening as a relaxation, by those who loathe it as a chore, and by those who have no interest in it whatsoever. This edition includes the original illustrations by the painter Josef Capek, the author's brother, who collaborated with Karel on many artistic projects.

Review:
''They don't make writers like that any more' Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph 'His thoughts and descriptions remain fresh and provocative' Ken Worpole, New Statesman'

Table of Contents:
How gardens are laid out; How a Gardener comes into being; The gardener's January; Seeds; the Gardener' February; On the art of gardening; The Gardener's March; Buds; The Gardener's April; Festival; The Gardener's May; Blessed rain; The gardener's June; On Vegetable growers; the Gardener's July; A botanical garden; the Gardener's August; On cactus growers; The Gardener's September; Soil; The Gardener's October; On the beauties of Autumn; The Gardener's November; Preparation; The Gardener's December; On the gardening life. Afterword; A chronology of Karel Capek; A brief chonology of Josef Capek.

Author Biography:
Karel Capek was a Czech novelist and playwright of international and enduring fame. Among his other works are The Life of Insects, Hordubal, and Nine Fairy Tales. Geoffrey Newsome is the author of the Czech textbook Correct Those Mistakes.