A GOOD READ

Young blood is always welcome in the horticultural world and Arthur Parkinson’s youthful enthusiasm is a tonic. He writes engagingly – I found The Pottery Gardener (£25; thehistorypress. co.uk) hard to put down, as he lyrically describes his beloved hens and time with Sarah Raven. This is the story of his work tending the garden of the Emma Bridgewater factory in Stoke-on-trent. Much of the floor is concrete, so he has created a garden upwards rather than downwards in raised beds and containers. A treat.