Fresh blooms, foul play and Agatha Christie’s favorite flowers ...

Ever notice the connection between gardening and detective fiction? Agatha Christie’s beloved character Miss Marple often mulls over clues while pulling weeds in her garden. Nero Wolfe (a creation of author Rex Stout) grows orchids. The popular British TV series “Rosemary and Thyme” starred actresses Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris as flower-powered mystery-solvers.

Even if the sleuths' digging is all for clues, the English countryside, tranquil and idyllic, provides the perfect contrast for chilling crimes.
Am I on to something here? “Absolutely,” says award-winning mystery writer Rhys Bowen, rhysbowen.com, a native of Bath, England, who now lives in San Francisco. “The British love their gardens in a way Americans can’t understand. They are often the only ones doing the gardening – they don’t tend to hire gardeners. People in England like the wildness of their gardens. There’s often interesting shrubbery that could hide bodies.”

Bowen’s latest book, “A Royal Pain: A Royal Spyness Mystery,” will hit shelves in July. She is also the author of the Molly Murphy and Evan Evans series.

She points out that gardening is very similar to writing. “You’re trying to tame something and make sense out of it, to make it satisfying.”

Tree peony

If mysteries set in this green and pleasant land are your cup of tea, then in addition to Bowen’s new book, here are some stellar DVDs to add to your collection, available from Acorn Media, at 888-870-8047 or acornonline.com.

• “Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Classic Collection 2”
Actor David Suchet brings Hercule Poirot’s inimitable brilliance to the screen in this 10-disc collection of the popular British TV series. In addition to 9 feature-length films, the set has a wonderful bonus feature: “Agatha Christie’s Garden,” a look at the author’s life and happy times she spent at her glorious summer retreat Greenway, a 30-acre Georgian estate in Devon. Pam Ferris of “Rosemary & Thyme” appears along with esteemed author P.D. James and Christie's grandson. The collection is $99.99; other Poirot sets are also available, as are Miss Marple sets with Geraldine McEwan and Joan Hickson.

Though Christie didn’t garden herself, she was fond of spending time there and had definite opinions about what should be planted. Her favorite flowers were hydrangea, camellia, magnolia and rhododendron, and she enjoyed eating produce from the vegetable garden and fruit trees. Christie also had an eye for business and started a commercial nursery on the estate.

Greenway is now owned by the National Trust; parts of the estate (including the gardens) are open to the public.

• "Rosemary & Thyme: The Complete Collection"
It’s hard not to like ex-policewoman Laura Thyme and Rosemary Boxer, a former professor. Both characters share a passion for horticulture and a talent for cracking cases. Shot on location in England and Europe, this hit series ran from 2003 to 2007. The complete collection is 22 episodes on 9 DVDs, $99.99; series 1, 2 and 3 are available separately.

• “Midsomer Murders”
Based on characters created by highly acclaimed detective writer Caroline Graham, this long-running TV drama (it started in 1997) is a clever update on the English village mystery. John Nettles stars as sleuth Tom Barnaby. Sets 1-10, $39.99-59.99.

Flower Fact of the Day: The Memphis Garden Club hosts the 15th Memphis Flower Show this weekend at Dixon Gallery and Gardens. Read all about it and see some highlights at: commercialappeal.com/news/2008/apr/25/art-imitates-art.

Jacqueline - Editor

April 25, 2008

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Comments

Mike

Suchet was the best Poirot, though I also liked Peter Ustinov in the movies. And, in "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," didn't Poirot retire to grow vegetable marrows?

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