How well do you know Brit Garden Lit?

– Posted in: Recommended Links
15 comments

Test your knowledge of books set in, or inspired by, gardens. All the books are listed on the EnCompass database, so you could do a bit of clever searching to find the answers!” I only knew one answer without searching the database. I hadn’t even heard of most of the authors or titles. How about you?

About the Author

Kathy Purdy is a colchicum evangelist, converting unsuspecting gardeners into colchicophiles. She gardens in rural upstate NY, which used to be USDA Hardiness Zone 4 but is now Zone 5. Kathy’s been writing since 4th grade, gardening since high school, and blogging since 2002. Find her on Instagram as kopurdy.

What differentiates a bulb from a perennial plant is that the nourishment for the flower is stored within the bulb itself.…There is something miraculous about the way that a little grenade of dried up tissue can explode into a complete flower.

~Monty Don in The Complete Gardener pp. 142

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Soilman January 17, 2008, 2:00 pm

I knew only half of them, and I AM a Brit!
Tell you what, though: if you’re only going to read one of these books, make it The Go Between. Wonderful book – and the movie’s not bad either.

Kathy Purdy January 16, 2008, 7:06 pm

Jodi, I stand corrected. I found the quiz on a British site, so I assumed they were all British authors. But I freely admitted I didn’t do too well myself, so I hope my ignorance can be forgiven.

jodi January 16, 2008, 2:17 pm

I got seven out of ten…but I haven’t read them all. And to clarify, Carol Sheilds (author of Larry’s Party) is Canadian; it might be more accurate to call this Commonwealth literature.
(okay, I confess….I have two degrees in English, mostly focused on CanLit. tee hee)

eliz January 13, 2008, 7:11 pm

I got five but I’d be hesitant to call a few of those literature, in the way I generally think of the term.

Don January 12, 2008, 1:08 pm

I got six; but I’ve always been a good guesser ( as my Mom always used to say; “You can be good or lucky, and lucky’s better.)
Don

kerri January 11, 2008, 8:45 pm

I only got 2 right..one being the Secret Garden author. Hadn’t heard of any of the others…the 2nd right answer was a good guess 🙂
This was a fun quiz.
Happy 2008 Kathy, and here’s to fun (and hard work) in the gardens!

Jessica January 7, 2008, 5:44 pm

oy, the only one I actually knew was about The Secret Garden!

CommonWeeder January 7, 2008, 3:26 pm

This was great fun. I only got four -but I got the titles for some new books to look at. Thanks.

CurtissAnn January 7, 2008, 12:42 pm

I had the answer to one– I have ‘The Secret Garden’ on my shelf. Frances Burnett. What I remember most is that Margaret O’Brien stared in the vintage film. It is wonderful.

Knew nothing else on that entire list.

mss @ Zanthan Gardens January 6, 2008, 8:58 pm

I answered 3 out of 10 and got 2 of them right. I’ve never heard of most of those books. Now I’m thinking…I bet I could come up with my own obscure book quiz. It also made me realize just how little fiction I read.

Mr. McGregor's Daughter January 5, 2008, 2:15 pm

I knew the answer to only the “Secret Garden” question. Hah! I’m not the Anglophile-gardening freak that DH keeps insisting I am. (I don’t usually feel this good about being ignorant.)

Jane January 4, 2008, 10:54 am

I got 7 out of 10, but some of it was dumb luck because I’d never heard of some of those books/authors. I think I knew about 4.

Very enjoyable – thanks!

Dee/reddirtramblings January 4, 2008, 9:15 am

I knew two. Just two. I guessed on the others and got one more. That was fun.

Carol January 4, 2008, 5:28 am

I knew two answers without looking. I guessed on the others and got four out of ten. Thanks, that was a fun quiz.