A Compost Kind of Girl

Bryony Hill, the wife of BBC football pundit, became a serious gardener twenty years ago when she moved to Sussex and became hooked after she walked out into the garden for the first time in her wellies and night gown.

Bryony says the garden at the time was little more than a lawn and a few beds and she wanted to expand on it a bit more, something that Jimmy was not too keen on. Jimmy was away working so much so Bryony stealthily remove the lawn bit by bit and created borders and planted new shrubs.

Turning to the small ads for help Bryony took on a a gardener but soon realised, after the asparagus ended up on the bonfire that it was probably better to go it alone.

Just like most of us, Bryony became a Gardeners World addict and fell head over heels with Geoff Hamilton (I can't say I fell head over heels though, I'm not that way inclined) and so began a long affair between Bryony and horticulture.

In her book, Bryony tells of how the garden, despite not being short of a bob or two, has been created on a shoestring with many of the plants coming from Woolworths or B&Q, taking the weedy waifs from a cheap buy to a flourishing plant by potting them on and letting them develop.

Bryony goes on to tell how infatuated with composting she has become and how dishy Des Lynam inspired the book title by calling her 'A Compost Kind of Girl'and how she believes in gardening by the cycles of the moon (something I aim to cover myself here on Landscape Juice).

A compost Kind of girl is available from Amazon with all of the illustrations in watercolour from Bryony herself.