Spring Rain: A Life Lived in Gardens

"Marc Hamer knows how to live--simply, sparely, reverently, abundantly. Spring Rain is a tonic for the soul."--Sy Montgomery, author of How to Be A Good Creature

From the beloved author of How to Catch a Mole and Seed to Dust comes a highly original memoir of childhood, old age, and the restorative power of gardens.

Best enjoyed in a single sitting under the shade of a tree, this inventive and curative book captures the moment when an adventurous young boy who traveled the world in his mind meets the old man he becomes. Together, they build a new garden from a neglected plot behind his house on the edge of town.

Retired professional gardener Marc Hamer has always found the answers to life's questions in the natural world, whether as a child watching ants, as a young man living homeless in the countryside, or as a professional gardener creating places of calm and restoration for others. Now in his sixties, he is finally creating a garden for himself, at his home in Cardiff, Wales. This moving memoir follows his process as he shares what he's learned, from the spring of youth to his autumn years, and reflects on how we reconcile our childhoods with where we end up.

In Hamer's own words, "Spring Rain is about the joy of your own back garden. It is a story about the joy of small things, the world in a grain of sand, a universe in a small garden, with love for all the insects and slugs and flowers and weeds and seeds and roots and boundaries and shade and weather that the garden contains."

Author: Marc Hamer
Publisher: Greystone Books
Published: 04/14/2026
Pages: 216
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 7.40h x 5.20w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9781778402760

About the Author

Marc Hamer was born in the North of England and moved to Wales over thirty years ago. After spending a period homeless, then working on the railway, he returned to education and studied fine art. He has worked in art galleries, marketing, graphic design and taught creative writing in a prison before becoming a gardener. His first book, How to Catch a Mole, was an Indie Next Pick and shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize. His second book, Seed to Dust, was also shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize.