The Children's Book of Gardening — Background and Themes

A Child’s Garden, Not a Child’s Plaything

The preface introduces three children—Cyril, Betty, and Barbara—as examples of different abilities. Cyril can dig his own plot; Betty cannot dig for years but can have a gardener follow the book’s instructions; Barbara, a traveller, can only set daffodils. This classification shows the authors’ awareness that gardening tasks must match a child’s physical capacity. The book does not pretend every child can do everything. Instead, it offers tiered advice: some steps are for the child to perform, others for an adult helper. This practical distinction runs throughout the excerpts, as when the rose-planting instructions assume the child can dig a hole and tread earth, but also mention getting a gardener to do parts.

Roses: The Queen of Flowers and Her Demands

The rose section is the most detailed in the excerpts. The authors personify the rose as “the Queen of Flowers” who “will have light and air and some sun.” They give precise planting instructions: dip roots in water, spread fibrous roots left and right, set the collar one to three inches below the surface, tread firmly, and stake. They warn against manure as a winter mulch, recommending loose soil, soot, or basic slag instead. The child is told to wage war on aphides, mildew, and red-rust, and to use a syringe or spray—the Abol sprayer costs eight shillings. The tone is direct and authoritative, yet the instructions are broken into clear steps a child could follow with supervision.

Tools, Techniques, and the Gardener’s Ethos

The excerpts reveal a strong emphasis on proper tools and methods. The authors distinguish between syringeing (washing plants) and spraying (applying insecticide as a vapour). They recommend a syringe for two or three shillings or a proper sprayer like the Abol. For aphides, they suggest tepid water with soft soap, then a clear water rinse, or a quassia chip boil. They also advise cutting flowers with scissors or a sharp knife, not tearing, and cutting above a flowering shoot for continued blooms. The child is told to pick off dead flowers and watch for curled leaves with caterpillar fluff. This attention to technique—and the cost of tools—grounds the advice in the real world of an Edwardian child gardener.

The Arch and the Border: Designing with Plants

The authors suggest an arch over a path as a feature for a garden without a wall. They recommend a wooden arch made by a village carpenter over a wire one, which “fastidious friends” would call Philistine. The uprights must be set two feet deep. For planting, they propose Dorothy Perkins (pink cluster rose) with white Clematis Montana on one side, and Félicité Perpétué or Maids of the Village with purple Clematis Jackmanni on the other, promising flowers from May till September. This is the most creative passage in the excerpts, blending practical construction with aesthetic pairing. It shows the book’s willingness to guide children in making design choices, not just following rote instructions.

Reading the excerpts in order—from the preface’s child-specific framing, through the rose-planting details, to the arch design—reveals a book that treats children as capable gardeners who need clear, honest instruction. The authors never talk down; they explain why a method works and what it costs. A first-time reader should note the tiered advice: some tasks are for the child, others for an adult. This distinction, set out in the preface, is the key to using the book effectively.