The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly

Sometimes an un-read book follows you — nay, stalks you. This was the case with The Last Garden In England. The publisher kindly sent me a digital advanced reading copy back in 2020 and I dipped into a few pages and said to myself, ‘why, yes, this is a book I will enjoy”... but put it aside. Then a gardening friend raved about the same book (now published) and said she would give me her copy, I thanked her but said I had already had copy from the publisher. I sat down and read the first chapter, but got busy with the holidays, and abandoned it once again. Then the beautiful physical copy –(just gaze upon that cover) — arrived as a Christmas gift from my sister with a note saying — “this looks like a perfect book for you”.

“Uncle, uncle – I give up”, I said to this book that had been nipping at my heels and opened it with the vow to read it straight through. Which I finally did

The Last Garden in England is historical fiction centering around a garden at the fictional Highbury House estate.

It’s 1907 when Venetia Smith is commissioned to design the estate’s garden. Then during the war in 1944, Highbury House is converted to a convalescent hospital. And, in the present day, Emma Lovett is hired to breath new life into the now long-neglected gardens.

We follow five different women who are connected by the lure and love of this garden garden.

I can hear you now, five women set in set in three different time periods, that sounds complicated. Trust me — it’s not, Ms. Kelly does a fine job in keeping all the characters and time lines not only clear, but compelling.

The gardens come to life and are resurrected through these women and we see how these gardens influenced and connected their lives in very different yet similar ways. The three different time periods each had their own distinctive restrictions and freedoms for each of the women.

I’ll tell you a bit more about the characters and the time periods just to get you hooked.

In 1907, Venetia Smith has made a name for herself as a garden designer to the affluent showing off their wealth with sumptuous country houses. When she is hired to design the gardens of Highbury House, she is determined to make them a triumph, but the gardens, and the people she meets do more – they change her life forever.

During WWII, in 1944, land girl Beth Pedley arrives to work on a farm on the outskirts of the village and she hopes this is a place she can settle. Stella Adderton, on the other hand, is desperate to leave her position as the estate cook to pursue other dreams. And perhaps my favorite character is the widow Diana Symonds, the mistress of the Highbury House who is anxiously trying to cling to her pre-war life even though her home has been transformed into a convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers. But as war threatens the treasured gardens, these three very different women are drawn together by circumstances and secrets.

And in the present day, Emma Lovett, is a landscape designer who specializes in bringing long-neglected gardens back to life. Emma has just been given the opportunity to restore the gardens of the famed Highbury House estate, designed back in 1907 by her hero Venetia Smith. But as Emma dives deeper into the gardens’ past, she begins to uncover long hidden secrets.

Yes, The Last Garden in England is centered on a garden, but this not just any garden. This is an remarkable garden with separate garden rooms — there’s a tea garden, a children’s garden, then a bride’s garden, and my favorite the winter garden. Ms. Kelly gives highly accurate descriptions of the garden itself and the plants within. There are lots of roses, some supposedly bred just for the garden. (I took note to see if any of them actually exist.)

If you go to the authors website HERE, you can see videos and read about the gardens that influenced the writing of the book. Venetia is based on the famous garden designer Gertrude Jekyll. Ms. Kelly even created a map of her imagined Highbury Estate garden.

I admit The Last Garden in England was indeed the perfect book for me. A grand English house, an engaging story, characters I cared about and all tied together with a believable connection through the decades. Ms. Kelly’s rich descriptions of the garden really enriched the story which made this a very appealing read.

I only regret it took me so long to read it, but now just having finished it I realize this was the perfect time with spring arriving and my garden crying for attention.

If you’re like me, and want to be delightfully transported to a country estate garden, I highly recommend this wonderful novel.

Be sure to read the Author’s Note at the end to learn about the people, historical facts and existing gardens that inspired author Julia Kelly.

A digital Advanced Readers Copy was provided by Gallery Books via Netgalley