The Virgin Gardener [Hardcover]

'aspires to do for gardening what Jamie Oliver's Naked Chef did for cookery...a must-have aspirational lifestyle bible'
--Bookseller

'Laetitia Maklouf's is a delightfully fresh new voice in the horticultural world that is completely authentic and convincing. Jill Mead's photographs are superb.' Monty Don

'A delicious book that taps into an overlap of two consuming, evergreen domestic passions: cooking and gardening'

'Laetitia Maklouf's is a delightfully fresh new voice in the horticultural world that is completely authentic and convincing. Jill Mead's photographs are superb'

'The Virgin Gardener aspires to do for gardening what Jamie Oliver's The Naked Chef did for cookery. Maklouf changes the focus of the gardening book, moving away from instruction manual towards a must-have aspirational lifestyle-bible'

Eighty per cent of young people live in concrete cities where space is at a premium. Fewer and fewer of us get the chance to flex our green fingers, but gardening is not just for the Titchmarshes and the Dimmocks. If you fancy a flat full of greenery, homegrown fruit and veg, a window box that's the envy of the street, or you've just acquired your first, much coveted Outside Space but don't have a clue what to grow, this is the book for you. THE VIRGIN GARDENER is a jargon-free plant recipe book divided into five sections: Grow, Decorate, Eat, Drink and Luxuriate. Would you like to sip homemade elderflower bubbly, grow your own garlic, or distil your own rosewater? With simple, step-by-step advice, Laetitia explains how. For the busy and stressed, find quick ideas for turning garage flowers into the perfect posy and tips on which herbs to harvest all year from your windowsill. For the more adventurous, learn how to grow chillies, pineapples and jungle greens. For the perfectionist, discover the secrets to ageing terracotta pots and having bulbs in flower on Christmas Day. And whose flat wouldn't be transformed by mossy pots, a mini alpine meadow or a chocolate bower? Irresistibly sassy, stylish and beautifully illustrated throughout with full-colour photography, THE VIRGIN GARDENER will seduce you into a life of roots and shoots. As Laetitia says, 'Go forth and grow!'

Laetitia Maklouf is a single, sexy girl-about-town (30) and a self-confessed plant-murderer who fell in love with plants a few years ago and now wants to share her passion with other gardening virgins. A green-fingered Nigella, she proves effortlessly that a life full of plants is the only one worth living. She studied horticulture at the Chelsea Physic Garden, lives in a flat in West London with her dog, Mr Pug, and dreams of a garden of her own one day.