Aberglasney launches first ever book of Nigel McCall’s photographs ‘Aberglasney Gardens, a Calendar Year’ 

Aberglasney is excited to announce the publication of Nigel McCall’s first ever book ‘Aberglasney Gardens, a Calendar Year’ which features his beautiful photographs of the Gardens through the seasons. 

The 168-page hardback book, printed and bound by Gomer Press, includes almost 250 colourful photographs of the Gardens throughout the seasons, with plant identification captions by Aberglasney’s Head Gardener, Joseph Atkin. 

The book’s foreword has been written by Chris Beardshaw. Many will know Chris from his long broadcasting career, which began in 1997 and includes BBC2 television hit series such as Gardeners’ World, Hidden Gardens and the hugely popular The Flying Gardener, amongst many others. Chris is heard by millions as a panelist on BBC Radio 4 Gardeners’ Question Time where he regularly faces a live audience of gardening enthusiasts. Chris can currently be seen as a regular presenter of BBC2’s Beechgrove Garden where he joins the team in the garden, takes part in plants trails and visits inspirational gardens. 

Peter Burgess, Chairman of Aberglasney’s Board of Trustees was keen to have a book published which brought all of Nigel’s images together for those who prefer looking at photographs as a hard copy rather than on social media. 

Peter said, “Unless you visit every single part of the 10 acres of Aberglasney, every single day of the year, you will not see all of the wonders the Gardens produce. There are many hundreds of beautiful photographs that Nigel has taken over the years which are stored electronically to document all the different plant types we have. 

“Having to close the Gardens to the public due to various lockdowns over the past couple of years made us realise that we should collate all of these beautiful photographs into a book for everyone to enjoy.”    

Nigel McCall has spent eight years documenting Aberglasney’s changing seasons through the lens of a camera which can be seen on the Gardens’ website and social media. He has taken almost 2,000 images of the Gardens and has won many awards for his photos over the years. 

Nigel said, “The photographs in the book are a selection of my personal favourites. This book has enabled me to share the true wonder and atmosphere of Aberglasney, as I see it, throughout the calendar year. From the snowdrops in the quiet depths of winter, to the carpet of bluebells in May and then beautiful shades of autumn in November. My job is to photograph the excellent work of the gardeners and present it in a way which inspires people to visit. I hope everyone will enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed taking the photographs that are included.” 

The book ‘Aberglasney Gardens’ a calendar year’ will be officially launched on Friday, 1 April 2022 and is available to purchase from the shop at the entrance to Aberglasney, priced £19.95.