Sunday book review – Planting with Nature by Kirsty Wilson

Any book which starts with a quote from Audrey Hepburn is off to a good start with me. She said that to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow. No wonder there are now so many areas of artificial turf and gravel. But this book is an antidote to that as a ‘practical and…

Sunday book review – Avocado Anxiety by Louise Gray

Louise Gray’s previous book, The Ethical Carnivore was 5th in my books of the year for 2016 (see review here), and this follow-up, also on food, is a contender for a top-10 listing this year, I reckon. Eating fruit and vegetables doesn’t quite have the moral jeopardy attached to it  that surrounds eating an animal…

Sunday book review – Shaping the Wild by David Elias

This is David Elias’s first book and it is a cracker. The name might ring a bell with readers of this blog as he wrote a guest blog here almost five years ago (Dead from the neck down). This is a thoughtful, knowledgeable and loving account of upland Wales, its wildlife and its land use….

Sunday book review – Ten Birds that Changed the World by Stephen Moss

I have reviewed several of Stephen Moss’s books here (Tweet of the Day (with Brett Westwood) 2014; Natural Histories (with Brett Westwood) 2015; Wild Kingdom, 2016; The Twelve Birds of Christmas, 2019; The Accidental Countryside, 2020; The Swallow, 2021; Skylarks with Rosie, 2021) and enjoyed them all. They vary in depth and scope but are…

Book review – Natures Wonder’s by Jane V. Adams

This book will sit snugly in many National Trust shops. It takes you through the seasons and points you towards things you should see, hear, smell and feel. Almost the first thing to look for is your first Brimstone butterfly – I’ve seen a few in the last 10 days so it must be early…