'A love letter to English horticulture written by a passionate gardener. A must-read for anyone who has dreamt of cultivating their own patch of land' Jane Perrone 'Skymeadow is a fascinating book . . . Every flower, every passing bud, every change in the season is described with rapture' Jilly Cooper When Charlie Hart first visited Peverels, a small farmhouse that sits lazily on the lip of a hill running down into the Peb Valley, he was at breaking point, grieving the loss of his father and anxious about the impending death of his mother. He and his wife Sybilla felt that their London life had been steadily growing in noise: the noise of grief, the noise of busyness, the noise that comes from the expectations of others and, for Charlie, the constant clamour of dissatisfaction at work. At Peverels, Charlie found an expanse of untouched meadowland, the perfect setting for an audacious garden. Charlie felt an unquenchable urge to dig, to create something. The days he spent wrestling with the soil in the rose garden were the days in which he mourned the loss of his parents. Gardening has taught him that you can dig for victory, but you can also dig for mental health. As the garden formed around Charlie, he buried his fears and anxieties within it. A garden that is now known as Skymeadow and grows with a lusty, almost biblical vigour. In Skymeadow, Charlie seamlessly weaves together his own memoir with that of his garden. The result is a lyrical and incisive story of mental health at an all-time low, the healing powers of digging and, ultimately, a celebration of nature.

Desperate to use this time to get out into your garden but don't know where to start? This is the book you need! 'An easy read with no gardening know-how required . . . Hart's enthusiasm flows from the page . . . Up-to-date thinking on wildlife, wellbeing and no-dig cultivation pop up too, which are applicable to gardens big and small, making this a perfect introduction to gardening without the fear of doing something wrong' Gardens Illustrated Are you frightened of your garden? Terrified of accidentally bringing death to a sap-filled friend? Put off by the overwhelming number of species of plants and their baffling Latin names? Whether your garden is a sprawling country plot or a kitchen windowsill, gardening is good for the mind, body and soul. Yet just the thought of picking up a pair of secateurs can strike fear into even the bravest of hearts, meaning we often don't make the most of our personal Edens. Charlie's 'no fear' approach to gardening will help you find the easy path to beautiful borders and jampacked vegetable beds. A reassuring, simple-to-use handbook, No Fear Gardening is aimed at all budding gardeners and anyone who might be missing out simply because they don't know how and where to start. Whatever the reason, this book will answer all your questions. From digestible lists of what seeds to plant where, guides to pruning and how to cope with difficult spots to Charlie's favourite vegetables to grow (and, more importantly, eat) and essential pieces of kit, Charlie has condensed a wealth of gardening know-how into easy-to-follow and practical tips. With its unique, liberating approach, No Fear Gardening will inspire you to dust the cobwebs off your watering can and get your garden blooming, whatever the weather or season.