A Garden Book Review.

Elizabeth and her German GardenbyElizabeth von Armin .

This book was first published in 1898 and was an immediate success . Elizabeth von Armin was born in Australia and was a cousin of Katherine Mansfield . Her real name was Mary Annette Beauchamp and she was fuck as May by her family . She grow up in England and had quite an unconventional upbringing . Her father who was a keen traveller carted his kinfolk round Europe often for months on end . It was on one of these trips that Elizabeth met the gentle Graf Henning August Von Armin - Shlagenthin . He was recently widowed and much former than Elizabeth but he devolve for her and followed the class around until he persuaded her to marry him . He treated her like a child , his ‘ Dollie ’ , and take a firm stand that she learn German before their marriage .

The book is a semi - autobiographical account of her life living on an isolated estate amongst the pine forest and heathland of Pomerania . The garden and house had been neglect for 25 years because the kinsfolk lived in Berlin . Elizabeth was forthwith beguile by the garden and pleaded with her husband to allow them to live there . The Word starts with her live there alone for 6 weeks , ostensibly to supervise the builder , but really to wanton in the purdah and the garden . She said that she bed being outdoors because:‘indoors there areservants and piece of furniture . ’ Her romantic imagination feed on Wordsworth , Keats and Thoreau was drown by the raw peach of the place . The Scripture is a lyric account of her making love of her garden and the surrounding countryside .

The Man of Wrath.

You do n’t arrive to this Word to learn about horticulture because Elizabeth was learning herself and made all sorts of mistake . But it is a charming description of a woman in love with nature , her garden and plants and books . She does not say so in so many parole but the garden was clearly a refuge from her awesome , patriarchal married man ; ‘ The Man of Wrath ’ . When he paid her a sojourn to see how the work in the house was going on she say :

‘ I make him round the garden along the new paths I had had made , and evince him the acacia and lilac glory , and he said that it was the purest selfishness to enjoy myself when neither he nor the offspring were with me and that the lilac call for thoroughly pruning . I assay to appease him by pop the question him the whole of my salad and pledge supper which endure ready at the base of the petty verandah steps when we hail back , but nothing mollify that Man of Wrath , and he said he would go flat back to the neglected family . ’

She must have know that her casual al fresco supper would infuriate rather than appease her aristocratical husband who thought that meal should be eaten formally in the dining room with servants in attending .

The Man of Wrath.

The Man of Wrath.

The Man of Wrath .

The family unit in question consisted of three footling girls ; the ‘ April ’ , ‘ May and ‘ June ’ child . From her diary and letters we get wind that she bitterly resented having to produce a infant every yr and it come to be yet another serious source of contention between her and ‘ The Man of Wrath ’ . When eventually the whole family were live together Elizabeth must have been proud of that her husband became concerned in running the estate and she was left to her own equipment . She pronounce : ‘ What a glad woman I am know in my garden with books , babies , birds and flowers , and mickle of leisure time to revel them!’At least the babies were listed onwards of the raspberry but one feels , only just . The babies were endearing diversion now and again but they could be whisk away when necessary by the nanny or governess . What Elizabeth really liked was solitude , her garden and her Holy Scripture .

Elizabeth with the April , May and June Babies .

Elizabeth with the April, May and June Babies.

Elizabeth with the April, May and June Babies.

She loved all the season in her garden ; ‘ my springtime happiness tolerate no resemblance to my summer or fall felicity , though it is not more intense , and there were day when I last winterdanced for vaporous joyousness out in my hoarfrost -bound garden , in spite of my years and my children . But I did it behind a bush , having a due regard for the decencies ’ .

What she really want to do was to dig and work in the garden herself but this was out of the question . She was never allowed to forget her military position and it would be scandalous for her to do any gardening herself and she was always frustrate by the succession of bovid gardeners who stubbornly insisted in planting everything in rows . She was also frustrated by visitors who call for to be toy with and she complained that;‘A garden where you meet the people you see at breakfast , and will see again at tiffin and dinner party , is not a place to be well-chosen in’ . As lector we are glad that she did sometimes have visitors because it gives us a chance to enjoy her pixilated sentience of humour .

The little book is a joy . I thoroughly urge it . And if you delight it you will find that she has written plenty more . A very good invoice of her interesting and consequential life sentence is to be found in the life history : ‘ Elizabeth of the German Garden’by Lesley De Charms .

This review is linked to The garden Book Review meme at dreamingofroses.blogspot.co.uk

10 Responses toA Garden Book Review.

Ooooooooh it must be a good few long time since I read ‘ Elizabeth and Her German Garden ’ which I soundly enjoyed . Your mention of the Koran may prompt me into a re - read over the merry time of year . An splendid limited review Chloris of a charming volume .

I was given “ Elizabeth and Her German Garden ” just last year by a friend . I good enjoyed it ( as I did read your critique of the Word ! ) I did n’t know of the biography . I ’ll have to look for it . Thanks for posting the photos , too . skillful to have visual of “ Elizabeth ” and her family !

I will have to learn this terrific book after your review … thanks Chloris !

I ’m so glad you did this review ! I ’ve been intrigued by this book , but was unsure if it was something I would really relish . However , I now think I really would ! Too bad she could n’t get her own hands lousy excavation in her garden . She would have loved it ! As much as I would love to have garden stave helping me , I would n’t switch away being able to stab in my own soil ! Thanks so much for connect in !

A Garden Book Review.