In the Garden with Jane Austen, by Kim Wilson

Book Recommendation by Brenda S. Cox

Do you find a garden refreshing for your soul? So do I. And so did Jane Austen and some of her characters. 

My favorite is Fanny Price’s comment in the grounds of Sotherton:

“To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure [greenery], is the most perfect refreshment.”

Jane Austen wrote, while staying with her brother in London:

“The Garden is quite a Love . . . I go and refresh myself every now & then, and then come back to Solitary Coolness.” (Aug. 23, 1814) In other letters, she described flowers and trees in their gardens and walks.

Mr. Collins’s garden “was large and well laid out . . . To work in this garden was one of his most respectable pleasures.”

Even lazy Lady Bertram “likes to get out into a shrubbery in fine weather.”

Kim Wilson’s book, In the Garden with Jane Austen, describes all these types of gardens and much more. She gives many tidbits about gardens of the time and gardens in Austen’s novels. The beautiful photos are worth the price of the book. And for those who want to recreate a Regency garden, detailed instructions are included at the end. 

If you want to know more, please read my extensive review at Jane Austen’s World. This book will bring you into a cool refreshing garden, whatever time of year you read it!

Where do you find spiritual refreshment? Is there a garden, however small, that gives you a place to meditate? Do you have flowers or plants in or near your home? Or a fountain of running water? Any kind of beauty can give us moments of peace.