The Garden According to Charlotte Mendelson – Illustrated by Clara Dupré
Each fortnight Charlotte Mendelson’s gardening column in The Observer is accompanied by an illustration by Clara Dupré, whose satirical illustrations give visual life to Charlotte’s witty botanical miseries and triumphs.
Reading Charlotte Mendelson’s column, you kinda realise she does not write of her gardening adventures like a typical guide. She writes these small plays, where the plants are the cast.
Roses are proud old dames, tomatoes are tricky flings, and birds? Birds scare her — until they don’t.
It seems like she steps into the garden like a comic steps up to the mic: a bit shy, a bit amused, but all in for our entertainment.
See below for recent articles…
I love plants, but didn’t want to spend the night in a garden centre
Charlotte Mendelson recounts her accidental entrapment at a garden centre after-hours: the doors and exits shut unexpectedly, trapping her inside with empty baskets, fallen secateurs, and no staff in sight.
As she panics, she calls for help until two strangers—Olly and Anna—alert the fire brigade.
Eventually, firefighters break her out using a ladder under the locked gate. She emerges shaken but safe, harbors gratitude for her rescuers, and reflects on the absurdity and mild embarrassment of her ordeal
I always thought roses were the absolute worst – until…
Charlotte confesses a long‑standing disdain for roses, only to find herself seduced after research into English‑rose breeding and scents.
Her grudging affection blossoms—and she orders catalogues and possibly a rose named Desdemona. The Observer
I was lifted, distracted and full of brave ideas at Kew
Charlotte Mendelson visits Kew Gardens with mixed reluctance. Once there, the grandeur of palm houses, rare plant collections and art installations transforms her skepticism into awe—and she buys a membership.
Have you seen my hair? Nothing pecky with claws flies near me
Charlotte reflects on her avian aversion—from childhood RSPB membership to a chance kestrel encounter on a manure‑laden allotment. A trip to Australia and kookaburras changes her tune; she now finds feathers thrilling though still avoids birds themselves. The Observer
Tomatoes are sexy, difficult plants. But I love them
Her love affair with tomatoes is dramatic: colours, scents and names seduce her, but plant blight and flop‑ridden seedlings teach her heartbreak. Still, she persists with six blight‑resistant Cocktail Crush plants.
Clara Dupré’s illustrations bring a sly visual punctuation to Charlotte’s prose—delicately funny, slightly wild, always botanical. Together they root the absurd in the verdant.
