The French Gardener--Oh, to Have This Garden!

I just finished reading The French Gardener by Santa Montefiore.  A friend I work with recommended it, and I'm delighted to say it's a treat to read.  The main character in this story is the garden surrounding an English country estate owned by Miranda and David, transplanted Londoners.  Miranda is left alone with her two children while her husband works in London all week.  She hates the country life, and is tired of everyone in the nearby village telling her how beautiful the gardens of her estate were years ago, when Ava and her husband Phillip lived there.  The story moves between Miranda's life, and back to 1980 and Ava's life.

Miranda decides to hire a gardener to bring her grounds into some order, and along comes a handsome, mysterious Frenchman named Jean-Paul who agrees to bring  the gardens back into a glorious vision.  Of course, there is more to him, and more to the story.  If you love gardening or just like to dream about it, this is the book for you.  It combines beautiful gardens, an illicit love story, and the lives of people both past and present who are searching for happiness and contentment.  The village characters are fun background players to the main story, and you can see how Miranda slowly thaws and realizes the utter contentment living in the countryside can bring to a soul.

Give it a try--I bet you won't be able to stop yourself from buying a bouquet of flowers, or deciding this year to plant some color into your world.  And since this is a family blog, I will say no more about plants, gardens, and gorgeous Frenchmen.  Enjoy!

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The French Gardener--Oh, to Have This Garden!