Mr. Beverley Nichols & his gardens of prose

Writer, Gardener, Rundown estate repairs a specialty…

I’d have never guessed I would be so drawn in by Beverley Nichols… the amusing English writer who delved in gardens and small society. But I fell hook, line and sinker. I think one summer I read almost everything he wrote… and it was a lot.

It makes sense that Beverley Nichols was part of the original New Yorker writers back in the 1920’s… since he shares the same classic sense of wicked humor that it often employs.

But I admit, it’s a lot like eating potato chips… and possibly might not be the most solid edifying prose ever written. But then again… he books are still very much in print and people really like them. I know I do.

If you’ve ever wished you might have your own run down English garden estate to fix up… and hire on some redeeming odd characters to populate the pages… then Bev Nick is for you. Since I also rehabilitated a run down estate on a charming street in Seattle… I could really relate to every page. Beverley Nichols had a budget too… and worked minor miracles, despite it.

When I built my own backyard garden from a run down basketball court… I could relate to Bev Nick doing much the same. Only Mr. Nichols also had his manservant, Gaskin, to help. And the venerable Oldfield, the estate gardener he took on, who lives humbly and true.

Oldfield has years of deep knowledge on every aspect of gardening. He plants his lilies from seed and knows exactly how to water them on a hot summer’s day, careful to drench their roots, but keep the leaves dry. The many gardening asides in Merry Hall are priceless. Beverley Nichols drives his full grown treasures back to London to bring the world of Spring to his city neighbors. I share his passion for trumpet lilies.

Then there’s the many amusing scenes with eccentric, entitled neighbors who imagine Bev Nick will happily supply them with a harvest of veggies, when in fact he’s more concerned with raising flowers… meeting his writing deadlines, naming his cats and helping Oldfield keep the garden thriving.

And of course, Beverley Nichols adored cats… as do I.

He always made sure to have a full complement of cats on hand to inhabit the charms of Merry Hall. Bev Nick had so many cats, he just took to naming them by number. They still maintained their poise, while peering out from elegant Grecian urns, purchased at a thrift sale. I had a college friend who would have loved Beverley Nichols. He even had his same weakness for buying candelabras and garden items.

I see a publisher in Portland, OR has brought out new editions of Merry Hall… so it’s nice to see this charming book living on.

#kidlitart #gardening #beverley nichols #merryhall