Garden House Book Week: Part 2
Posted:23 February 2015
Leading up to our special ‘book and stories’ day, Friday 27 February, we’ve asked members of the Garden House’s regular Friday gardening group to tell us about their favourite reading inspirations.
Today some suggestions to throw light on the more practical side of the art of gardening!
Book reviews:
Christine Walkdens No-nonsense Container Gardening (by Christine Walkden)
Using containers or pots as a base for your gardening is so versatile try making an eye-catching design feature by growing herbs in a zinc bucket, growing spring bulbs in a pretty olive oil can on your patio or growing a complete salad in some old tyres. Growing your own containers is both rewarding and fun. This book is packed with Christines tips and techniques, from planting to deter pests to choosing the right container for the right crop, along with handy advice on feeding and watering, knowing when to harvest and treating common diseases. All the projects included are perfect for beginners and provide inspiration for the more experienced gardener; there are even ideas to turn little fingers green.
Friday gardener Catherine says: “Christine Walkden talks about the secret of growing vegetables, herbs, fruit and flowers in small spaces. Its a beautifully crafted book, with stunning photography. Perfect for spontaneous inspiration & should be on every gardeners coffee table.”
RHS How to Garden: A Practical Introduction to Gardening
Friday gardener Julia loves this: “My go to ‘bible’ on anything garden related I need to know. Comprehensive and well illustrated it is my ‘desert island’ garden choice book. Practical yet inspiring build a rockery? No problem!”
RHS Plant Finder 2014 (by Janet Cubey and Dawn Edwards)
“This is my go to plant reference book. With enough information on each plant and useful photographs to inspire but not overwhelm if ‘smellathon’ was available it would be pretty perfect!”
Gardeners Question Time – Plant Chooser (by John Cushnie, Mathew Biggs, Bob Flowerdew)
Two million people tune in to Britains best-loved gardening programme on BBC Radio 4 every week of the year, to hear a panel of experts including Matthew Biggs, John Cushnie, Bob Flowerdew and Bunny Guinness solve their gardening problems. Inspired by the programmes popular Plant of the Week feature, Gardeners Question Time Plant Chooser is the ultimate reference guide to achieving your gardens all-time best, all year round. The authors have chosen some 700 species, and many more varieties, representing plants that will flourish in temperate gardens of the northern hemisphere flowers, fruits, vegetables, annuals, biennials, perennials, shrubs, trees and more in all their diverse glory.
Julia says she “loves the format, photography & size of this book. A very accessible book for all with good practical information on each plant & arranged monthly so I can sit in the midst of winter & dream & plan my perfect summer garden.”
Please note: book outlines and images are from Amazon.co.uk