The Garden Awakening

This is a fantastic book... I absolutely love the way that [it] captures the spirituality of the land and the magic of nature. * Jane Goodall, anthropologist and primatologist *
The Garden Awakening re-awakens sweet memories of my childhood and a love for nature. Mary Reynolds book is like an inspirational ‘clarion call’ to all of us humans to reconnect again with nature, where many of us are caught and suffocate in a pressurized, exploitative, dysfunctional concrete jungle. * Duncan Stewart, eco-architect, environmentalist & TV presenter *
A new manifesto for working with nature, The Garden Awakening seeks to re-establish our vital link with the world they live in. Mary Reynolds knows there is more, much more, to the outdoors than pretty gardens and her new book sets to show how you can unlock nature’s secrets by immersion in what’s around you. * Jim Carroll, journalist, writer and broadcaster *
Gifted with the Irish heritage of great story-telling, Mary weaves a fine tapestry of stories instilled with ancient druidic wisdom, which she offers helpful practical ways of applying in the modern world. The Garden Awakening is a truly wonderful and highly inspiring read. * Markéta Irglová, Grammy and Oscar winning singer songwriter/actor *
Mary Reynolds weaves a wonderful tapestry in which the garden is not only a resilient, productive and healthy space that provides food, it is also a magical place of beauty, peace and inner nurture. * Maddy Harland, Permanent Publications *
Mary Reynolds has been appointed a guide, something she possibly didn’t ask for, but that’s been bestowed upon her capable shoulders.... She connects back to a deep past, to a timeless growth and regrowth, to the natural, to the voices moving in the land, to a church not made by hands. * Glen Hansard, Grammy and Oscar winning singer songwriter and actor *
Mary Reynolds is not really a garden designer: at least not in the same way that the rest of us are garden designers. She is a custodian of the earth, a creature of the forest and, above all, a creative spirit whose work is so deeply anchored to the earth that her gardens are always a partnership rather than an imposition. In this book she explains her philosophy, her life and her dreams. You need to listen to her voice as what she says makes perfect sense. * James Alexander-Sinclair – RHS judge and television presenter *
The Garden Awakening has woken me up. Beautifully written with a message that will open your eyes to a whole new outside world. A revelation. Mary Reynolds preaches harmony. You will be a convert. * Eoin Colfer, writer of the Artemis Fowl series *
The Garden Awakening offers a treasury of insight and advice for anyone who feels that our culture’s relationship to land has profoundly lost its way and is seeking new inspiration. Her skilful drawing together of history and beauty, her acute appreciation of place, and her belief in taking nature as the model for how we design, together offer us something that feels deeply right and utterly timely. * Rob Hopkins, author of The Power of Just Doing Stuff *
Garnering insight from permaculture, biodynamics, and her own wonderful weird, [Mary] shows how to deepen the conversation until it becomes both profound and ecstatic. The Garden Awakening reminds us that the natural but hidden connections between soil and soul are at once familiar, comfortable, and sovereign. -- Peter Bane – Author ‘The Permaculture Handbook: Garden Farming for Town and Country’ www.permaculturehandbook.com
Brims with poetry and mythology and psychology and algebra and geometry and ancient symbols and dream-like parables and other unexpected things. In [Mary's] hands the wounded earth becomes a living, breathing creature: it sighs and moans and remembers. We really should sit up and take notice she tells us – the earth won’t forget. * Billy Roche, playwright and actor *
The Garden Awakening performs the miracle of waking up and engaging someone like me with no prior interest in gardens; in fact, showing me an idea of the garden quite unlike anything I had ever imagined. This book is not only strikingly original, but lucid, inspiring and soundly practical. * Gillies MacKinnon, film director, writer and artist *
The Garden Awakening by Mary Reynolds has put into words what gardeners feel they should be doing and know to be true but society doesn’t encourage this way of thinking. Mary has tuned into nature and articulated it better than I have ever read before. Every gardener needs to read this book to empowered themselves to do what their heart desires. * Fergal Smith, pro-surfer turned organic farmer *
Marvellous... I loved this book and feel that with each passing year it will become more important... a remarkable, inspirational and admirable woman has written a book that should be essential reading for everyone interested in the real meaning of wellbeing in its widest sense. * Sir Tim Smit, co-founder of the Eden Project *