Down the Garden Path

Author: John Beverley Nichols (Sept. 9, 1898 Bristol, England – Sept. 15, 1983, London, England),

Beverly Nichols was an author, playwright, journalist, composer, and public speaker. Nichols wrote more than 60 books and plays, but he is now best remembered for his gardening books, the first of which was Down the Garden Path.

Down the Garden Path has stood the test of time. With 32 editions, it has been in print almost continuously since it was first published in 1932. This book is a semiautobiographical story of Nichols’ first bumbling efforts at transforming a neglected property into a garden. This was the first book of his trilogy about “Allways”, his Tudor thatched cottage in Glatton, Cambridgeshire. Nichols writes about his gardening obsessions, his failures, his successes, and his love of flowers. In among his gardening experiences is a cast of family, friends, and neighbors creating delightful memorable characters throughout the book. Nichol’s writing is very poetic, rich with creative language and wickedly humorous with a touch of irony. Down the Garden Path reminds us of why we garden!