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A bestseller in the “bulb and flower gardening” section, Sean Pritchard’s book, Outside In, is a colorful antidote to a dull afternoon. These past few days I’ve kept two books within reach at all times. One is Alias Grace, a novel by Margaret Atwood, the other is Outside In, by Sean Pritchard. One is dark and disturbing and dives deep into the most hidden recesses of the human heart, the other is light and inspiring, and celebrates a life of color and flowers through the lens of a consummate gardener. I’ve been enjoying both reads, for very different reasons. Whenever I need to come up for air from spending too much time in the company of Grace Marks, I rinse my heart and fill my mind with the beautiful images and sensible advice that Pritchard passionately shares in his book.
Outside In – A year of growing and displaying, by Sean Pritchard
Outside In is both a romantic tale and an educational journey. It offers an escape from our day to day existence, often marked by deadlines, constraints and requests, to a magical world where we have the power to beautify our lives through gardening and growing flowers.
Sean Pritchard lays out a sensible plan to create a hard working cut flower garden that will allow anyone who owns a patch of dirt to feel connected to the outdoors yearlong. And if you are drawn to old houses with meandering floor plans and blousy cottage gardens, then Pritchard’s book will be additionally enticing with its stunning photography. A former farm laborer’s cottage in Somerset, Sean Pritchard’s home is one I’d happily move into without changing a thing. Charming, layered and architecturally interesting, the tiny rooms with low ceilings are the ideal backdrop for collections: books, photography, art, textiles and yes, lots and lots of flowers.
There are many books out there that promise the holy grail of flower gardening: a bountiful garden with armloads of blooms to bring indoors. And while the promise is grand, few authors can enchant both the gardener and the lover of colorful cottage interiors as well as Sean Pritchard and his first book, Outside In. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I have!
A landscape designer based in London and Somerset, Sean Pritchard has a widely popular Instagram account that’s a favorite stop on my daily scrolls. If you aren’t following him already, his Instagram handle is @sean_anthony_pritchard.
