Jane Gardam’s Garden

I asked my Nene (Granny) about her best friend’s garden. As a child I used to visit Jane Gardam’s garden with her a lot and I remember it being big and beautiful.

“I was lucky enough to live in the same small town as the writer, Jane Gardam, and become a friend.

Her house was beautiful but her garden was packed full with history and wonder. It was walled- and what a wall. It was walled , part old brick, part napped flint and part stone stolen in the past from an old Roman castle. There was a lawn, entered by a stone arch and surrounded by shrubs and espaliered fruit trees. A rose garden contained by clipped box hedges and a paved area by the house where you could sit, and drink a coffee or a glass of wine, listening to hundreds of sparrows tweeting in the branches of a weeping, ornamental pear tree. Jane adored her garden and could be found on hand and knees weeding, cutting back unwanted growth or planting bulbs. If she wasn’t there she was probably in her shed tucked away in a corner of the garden writing.” - Jane May

About Jane Gardam
Jane Gardam was born in in Redcar, England. Her novel God on the Rocks was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 1978

The author of nine novels and over a dozen children’s books, Jane Gardam was awarded the Heywood Hill Literary Prize for a lifetime’s contribution to the enjoyment of literature and twice won a Whitbread Award. She died on 29 April 2025 at the age of 96.