Diary of a Keen Gardener

Join Mary Keen and Anna Pavord for a conversation about the habits, observations and accumulated knowledge that shape a life spent working with plants.

“Mary Keen is the Annie Ernaux of the herbaceous border. She has vast reserves of knowledge, an exemplary eye and best of all a roving curiosity and rare openness to experiment and change. A gorgeous, constantly thought-provoking book, beguiling for gardeners and readers alike” – Olivia Laing

“In her diary of a year in her Somerset garden, Mary Keen is an utterly beguiling mixture of the expert, the enthusiast and the evangelist” – Richard Eyre

Join Mary Keen and Anna Pavord for a conversation about the habits, observations and accumulated knowledge that shape a life spent working with plants.

In her new book, ‘Diary of a Keen Gardener’, Mary turns her attention to the places she knows best – her own garden and a nearby allotment. Her diary follows the year’s work with precision and humour, tracing the routines, decisions and small revelations that come from looking closely at one patch of ground over time. It also offers a portrait of the people and daily encounters that make up her village and her gardening community.

In discussion with the legendary garden writer Anna Pavord, Mary reflects on what decades of gardening have taught her about plants, ecology and the value of attending to the ordinary.

Clear-eyed and quietly revealing, this is a rare meeting between two writers who have helped define how we think and write about gardens today.