Welcome to the first for of a new series I am launching called — The Happy Gardener’s Book Club. My intent is to share wonderful gardening books I come across, as well as garden and nature-themed fiction books, films and documentaries. And to kick off this series, I chose a book that is near and dear to my heart.

My first memories of gardening are with my grandmother, Ina, in her little garden in Puerto Rico. Memories of a mint green picket fence, tropical flowers, mud cakes decorated with leaves, and other flowers, always come to mind when I think of her. To me, gardening is a synonym for her. But my interest in actually gardening came from someone I have never met—a woman named Mrs. Emily Whaley from Charleston, SC. 

Certain books change you or inspire a dream. For me, “Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden” is one such book. This book that inspired my adult love of gardening. I read it almost 16 years ago and still re-read it from time to time. The book is beautiful, and it explores one of Charleston’s best-known “hidden gardens.”  

The book details the design of Mrs. Whaley’s Charleston garden, which started in 1942. I love the story behind why the project started. Mrs. Whaley had taken to bed and her husband, to do something special for her, asked if there was anything he could do. Her answer? Have Mr. Loutrel Briggs make a design for her garden. A woman after my own heart. And so it began on a 30 x 110 ft. plot behind their Pre-Revolutionary home on Church Street. Mrs. Whaley’s garden took shape. And the journey of how it came to be is the basis for the book.

As a gardener, I love that she was one of the first gardeners in the city “to plant for year-round blooms in a city whose signature azaleas and camellias lose their blossoms in the torrid Charleston summer. Mrs. Whaley helped establish a trend of planting perennials like roses, gerbera daisies, and hydrangeas, in front of the towering azalea and camellia shrubs”(credit). So, yes— a gardener’s delight of a book. But the book is so much more.

As much as I loved learning about garden design, my favorite aspect was learning about Mrs. Emily Whaley herself. She sounds like quite a force. This book is a memoir of an energetic and enthusiastic woman who possessed a profound wit and conviction. My favorite description of her is in the opening lines of the introduction. I remember thinking, “Oh, I would love to meet her” when I read this:

“On the outside Emily Whaley is eight-five years old and moves with the imperial bearing of a Southern matron. But on the inside she’s a knobby-knee fourteen year-old country girl bouncing across a homemade tennis court.”

This memoir is pretty humorous, too, as you get to see what happens when designer and client personalities and ideas collide. In the book's pages, you find lovely advice about gardening through the seasons, but you will also learn about her life in Charleston and her philosophy about living, which she effectively shares through a series of vignettes about her life. And what a beautiful life it was. 

Her life philosophy extended into how she entertained at her home. Last year I posted something on Instagram about how the book inspired my love of gardening, and her daughter responded with the kindest comment. She also recommended a follow-up book that I was not aware that came out, titled “Mrs. Whaley Entertains: Advice, Opinions, and 100 Recipes from a Charleston Kitchen.”

A woman of many talents, Mrs. Whaley loved to cook and entertain. And she collaborated with Mr. Baldwin (from the previous book) to create a book of recipes and family stories, that I just adore. In this book she is her spunky self (Gosh, I wish I had met her!) and dishing out opinions about everything and with good humor. You realize that her philosophy for entertaining was relaxed and informal, but still very Southern. And I love it! This book is a great addition to any cookbook collection.

If you love down-to-earth people with big personalities, then I invite you to explore the world of Emily Whaley. Believe me, you will be glad you did. She is just a joy to read.

You may find me joining some of these fun link-ups: Heart & Soul, Inspire Me Monday In a Vase on Monday, Mosaic Monday, Pink Saturday, Nature Notes, Grace at Home, Encouraging Hearts & Home, Wonderful Wednesday Blog-Hop, Farmhouse Friday, Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, Garden Affair, Saturdays Sparks Link Party, Love Your Creativity Link-Party, Farmhouse Friday, Thursday Favorite Things.