Gauche, plain Gwen Davis leaves wartime London, and her obscure research into diseased parsnips for the RHS, to take charge of a trooop of land Army girls on a negelected country estate. Their task is to dig for victory. Unhappy as a leader, she leaves much day-to-day management to the capable Jane, whose concern for her fiancé, missing in action, dominates her life. Gwen finds solace in a hidden garden, whose secrets, mysteries and plants are in many ways the heroes of this book. She learns to understand the Land Girls, to love Jane, and to love Rayley, the young Canadian officer charged with leading the Canadian troops temporarily billeted in the house. Till now, aside from gardens, Viginia Woolf's writing has been her love. The unravelling of the garden's mystery, the development of Gwen as a woman, the gradual emergence of the stories of Jane and Rayley form the themes of this beautifully written book. It's quickly read, but I think it will remain with me for quite a while. ( )

Thirty-something horticulturalist Gwen Davis leaves the ravages of war torn London to volunteer to lead a group of Land Girls in Devon during the 'Dig for Britain' campaign, where she is based on an old estate with dilapidated gardens that she attempts to bring life back to.

A novel of loss and reinvigoration, friendship and hope.

It's a while since I read a short novel in half a day, one sitting. ( )

Another lovely, short novel by Humphreys where every word counts. This one takes place during WWII, in a country estate where a group of women has been sent to grow potatoes for the war effort. Up the hill, there is a small regiment of men preparing to depart for the war. Humphreys does a deep dive into her characters, and I really enjoyed it. There are also tons of references to [[Virginia Woolf]]'s [To the Lighthouse], which I'm now ready to reread! ( )

A lovely, poignant story of a horticulturalist assigned to oversee a group of Land Girls in clearing ground and raising produce on an English manor during WWII.
Read in 2016 ( )

Gwen Davis has left her job with the Royal Horticultural Society for the Devon countryside, where she will lead a group of young women in planting vegetables to contribute to the war effort. Stationed on an estate, the rural landscape is a welcome respite from London’s streets and the constant fear of air raids. A Canadian regiment is also billeted there, in training while awaiting deployment.

Gwen has led a solitary life and finds it difficult to form relationships. She builds an alliance with Raley, the Commanding Officer; they organize dances for their younger charges and provide moral support for one another. But Gwen is an unreliable narrator, unwilling to admit to the reader the deeper feelings obviously stirring within. When she discovers a hidden garden left unattended since the first world war, Gwen finds new purpose in restoring the plots and trying to learn more about the gardeners who created them.

Helen Humphreys gives readers so much more than just Gwen’s story. This book is layered with poetry and literature, gardening, love, and loss. It’s a book to be read slowly and savored. ( )