Garden in the Hills, A

’A well-loved account of a year in the life of a Highland garden…. A love of living things shines through.’--The Scots Magazine

When Katharine Stewart’s first books were originally published, they were completely ahead of their time, promoting an environmentally sustainable lifestyle in a era before most people realised that modern food production and man’s disconnection from nature were serious issues. They tell of the strength to be found in communities with a common purpose and how the people of the Highlands survived the worst that Scottish winters could throw at them.

A Garden in the Hills celebrates one of mankind’s oldest pleasures. Month by month, the circle of the seasons is luminously evoked as we are told of the practicalities of gardening, cooking, bee-keeping and wine-making. It is peppered with warm, personal insights and good humour. A love of living things shines through A Garden in the Hills,
making it a delightfully engaging and rewarding read.

Says Katharine: ‘Days of stress, sadness or disappointment can be smoothed out as you look at the perfect structure of a flower. You stop and remember that root, stem and leaf have survived frost, snow, gale, every kind of storm or weather. You walk on, gather a sun-warmed strawberry, and realise that growing things give and give.’

Katharine Stewart lived on a croft at Abriachan, near Loch Ness, for many years. She has since helped to set up a crofting museum in Abriachan. In 2005 she was awarded the Saltire Society Award for Contribution to the understanding of Highland Culture. Now living in Inverness, she recently celebrated her 90th birthday. Almost half a century after the publication of her first book, she is still writing. She maintains her keen interest in local and rural affairs and is a popular speaker.