John Grimshaw's Garden Diary

[Martin Baxendale]

I discovered John Grimshaw's Garden Diary blog just after the Gala and, although many of you will know of it already, some may not, so here's a link to what is a very interesting gardening blog, heavy on the snowdrop interest as of course you'd expect with John. The fact that John has just very kindly reviewed my novel, The Snowdrop Garden, on his blog has of course absolutely nothing to do with my deciding to recommend it to you at this point. 

[Martin Baxendale]

Whoops! Forgot the link:

http://johngrimshawsgardendiary.blogspot.com/2010/02/addition-to-snowdrop-literature.html?showComment=1267305027438_AIe9_BGudmi_EauptRXfCWPbddWfTcOWKLibVarsEaapO2IvQ9ZuIf4vnKahe4G0ZDgnTyZ0EHugN_YcP3o5dfAuloKdtrcCYG7dIdU10s0gCmjymZpO2gC0E9Ly3YPYSvZlva8_T4i56LxdobfMJW9pz8WioPKP5RyH-bGyLlz3xKiPAuMl0VG6SrptK8XlAvrq8DDh51AuBtd590-QxykJ9UNqmufdDS6k6ifHFjSOdzUIZ8Vd3_dD6lA4VleT546LJApzjTVb#c5848180246086756162

[Martin Baxendale]

A lot of people have asked me (including quite a few at the book signing at the Gala) just how autobiographical my novel is, some saying that they suspect it must be very autobiographical. John Grimshaw asked much the same thing in his review. I commented on this on his blog as follows:

Thanks for the review, John. Yes, the novel is indeed very heavily autobiographical, Ben being loosely based on me and Katka on my Slovak botanist/environmentalist wife.

What the Amazon blurb doesn't, unfortunately, mention is that, in addition to being a humour writer and cartoonist, I have also been collecting and growing snowdrops for over 30 years, and my parents for more than 50 years. I have also been breeding snowdrops for the last 15 years.

In writing the novel, I decided to combine some of my favourite things; humour, snowdrops, food and drink, and the highs and lows of (have to watch what I say here) a challenging marital relationship.

The book may not be everyone's cup of tea, and with its rather specialised subject matter it certainly won't make my fortune, but if it makes even a few fellow galanthophiles chuckle or smile, then I'll feel it was well worth the time and effort it's taken.

Martin Baxendale

[KentGardener]

Thanks Martin

I found John's BlogSpot when he started putting a web link to it at the bottom of his emails.  I try and pop in and have a glance when I can.  He had a rather nice picture of the Galanthus 'angelsea orange tips' that seems on SRGC to be a 'marmite' plant (love it or hate it).

As Martin says it is well worth having a glance at JG's blog.