53. Why Women Grow | Alice Vincent
Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival
Friends,
I’ve been following Alice on Substack for a while now, but this is the first of her books I’ve read. She has two other books which I’ve recently added to my TBR pile, How to Grow Stuff, and Rootbound, Rewilding a Life, which has been translated into several languages and was longlisted for the Wainwright Prize 2020.
For as long as I can remember I’ve had absolutely zero interest in gardening, or having a garden for that matter. I love to experience a good garden1 and am fascinated by the patience and love that goes into nurturing one, but as yet I’ve had no desire to tend to one myself.
That said, I do manage to keep all of my house plants alive and thriving and secretly wonder if I will turn into an avid gardener once I retire! Why Women Grow fell into my inspirational ‘one day maybe’ reads category.
The idea of the book came to Alice in lockdown, a loneliness and longing for human contact, she writes “I was desperate for a connection I’d never known I needed because before, I’d always been fortunate enough to have it.”
She took out a notepad and listed all the women she wanted to speak to - most of them strangers - about their gardens and their lives, what encouraged them to work the soil, plant seeds and nurture them.
Through the book we meet the gardens of Marchelle in Somerset, Louise in Dulwich, Carole in Blackfriars and close to where I currently live, Caroline in the South Downs. Each with their own stories and reasons for turning to gardening and what it means to them.
Louise, who bought a doer-upper in Dulwich completely entangled by one 25-year-old buddleia, shares:
‘As someone who has decided not to have children, I think it’s imperative to have a more expansive and inclusive view of how women bring value using our inherent human skills redirected to other places.’
Recent reads & other media
“In this novel, she is quite actively digging into London’s history, trying to understand how a person like her, with European and Jamaican ancestry, came to exist here in the first place.”
I’m a few chapters in on Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweatgrass so it was extra special to hear her voice and have her speak about it in this podcast.
“Any kind of important book should immediately be read twice, partly because one grasps the matter in its entirety the second time, and only really understands the beginning when the end is known; and partly because in reading it the second time one’s temper and mood are different so that one gets another impression; it may be that one sees the matter in another light.” – Arthur Schopenhauer - Books worth reading twice.
Delighted to have come across this architecture magazine that aims to celebrate the work of architects, makers, photographers, producers, chefs and writers whose common connection is their love of rural Scotland.
A few of my favourite gardens to wander and wonder in: Marrakech; Cape Town; London and Versailles.