I always think gardeners are easy to buy for – seeds, plants, tools, twine, the choice of possible presents is vast. Gardening books are always near the top of my list and there have been some great new titles this year. These are a few that have landed on my desk recently. (All books given free in return for a review.)
A Garden A Day by Ruth Chivers
I love gardening books that you can dip into and A Garden A Day is perfect for that. A year-long journey around the world’s gardens, it offers a snapshot of somewhere new for every day.
Author Ruth Chivers was keen to include not just the famous – Great Dixter, Versailles and the Taj Mahal all feature – but also places that have inspired artists and writers, fictional gardens and those that were the setting for important events.
Gardens are, we’re told, “healing spaces that inspire mental well-being” and the book showcases places that allow you to connect with the natural world.
The bite-sized entries full of anecdotes and interesting facts, along with colourful and varied illustrations make it the perfect bedside book.
A Garden A Day by Ruth Chivers is published by Batsford with an RRP of £20. You can buy it here for £17.85. (If you buy via this link, I receive a small commission. The price you pay is not affected.) Alternatively, you may wish to buy from an independent bookseller here. All prices correct at time of publication of this post.
The Gardening Book by Monty Don
When you’ve gardened for a long time, it’s easy to forget that to some the word herbaceous or the term pricking out can be baffling. In The Gardening Book, Monty Don sets out to explain gardening to those who are new to it.
It starts with the basics: types of gardens, including those to grow veg and growing in pots; different soils; what tools you need.
There are suggestions of what to grow and how to go about it covering not only the obvious flowers and food, but also plants that offer interesting leaves or berries.
Woven through is basic practical advice ranging from taking cuttings of pelargoniums and how to cut back grasses to planting marginals in a pond and pruning a climbing rose. There’s a section on propagation and a more in-depth look at growing key crops.
This is not a gardening book for an experienced gardener but ideal for someone starting out on their gardening journey.
The Garden Book by Monty Don is publised by BBC Books with an RRP of £28. You can buy it here for £14. (If you buy via this link, I receive a small commission. The price you pay is not affected.) Alternatively, you may wish to buy from an independent bookseller here. All prices correct at time of publication of this post.
Images extracted from The Gardening Book by Monty Don. Photography by Marsha Arnold.
Houseplant Gardener in a Box by Jane Perrone
Houseplant Gardener in a Box doesn’t strictly fall into gardening books but it’s a novel addition to the world of growing plants indoors.
Author Jane Perrone has been growing houseplants since childhood and she’s distilled those decades of experience into handy cards to help you choose the right plant for your home – and then not kill it!
Sixty of the most popular – and easiest to find – houseplants are profiled with each card giving the plants’ latin and common names, eventual size and growing requirements along with possible problems. All are beautifully illustrated by Cody Bond.
Divided into six categories – cacti and succulents, climbing and trailing plants, flowering, statement, leafy and unusual plants – the collection includes the familiar, such as variegated snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata), and the more unusual, including the corkscrew albuca (Albuca spiralis).
The accompanying booklet covers everything else you might need to know including where to buy – “if you read an ad for a plant that sounds too good to be true, steer clear” – and how to check a plant is healthy before purchasing, a magnifying glass is recommended. There’s also information on compost, propagation and suggestions for plants for different conditions in a house.
Packed with reassuring advice – “Don’t be put off if you still lose some plants along the way: this is completely normal.” – it’s suitable for anyone beginning to grow houseplants or for those, like me, who still struggle with them.
Houseplant Gardener in a Box by Jane Perrone is produced by Skittledog Books. It has an RRP of £19.99. You can buy it here for £16.46. (If you buy via this link, I receive a small commission. The price you pay is not affected.) Alternatively, you may wish to buy from an independent bookseller here. All prices correct at time of publication of this post.
RHS The Winter Garden by Naomi Slade
I’ve always thought that winter is the season that sorts out the good from the bad in gardens. It’s easy to plant just for summer sunshine but doing so does miss out on what can be a sparkling time of year.
In RHS The Winter Garden, Naomi Slade shows how with a little planning you can have a garden that looks good in what are often dark and dreary months.
The book begins by considering what makes a good winter garden be it carefully considered structure or early flowering plants. There are ideas for enjoying the outside from having a garden room or even an arbour to creating a beautiful view from the house.
Focal points, well-planted containers, and working with the available light or in shade are among the practical advice along with using conifers, grasses and bulbs.
Throughout the book, beautiful images give yet more inspiration for creating something that will tempt you outside.
Winter, we’re told, needs a different approach but get it right and it is a season “that is brilliant, exciting and rewarding”.
RHS The Winter Garden by Naomi Slade is published by DK with an RRP of £25. You can buy it here for £19.13. (If you buy via this link, I receive a small commission. The price you pay is not affected.) Alternatively, you may wish to buy from an independent bookseller here. All prices correct at time of publication of this post.
Want to know more about garden books? You can read more of my gardening and garden-related book reviews here.
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I love gardening and garden books, but at a quick glimpse at my bookshelf where I appear to have around 20 such books I probably shouldn’t buy any more! In fact one of the best books I have is a Reader’s Digest ‘A Garden for all Seasons’ from 1991 which is a comprehensive guide to plants of all types throughout the year and accompanied by loads of photos. I still enjoy dipping into it.
I fear I’ve got rather more than twenty! My collection also has a few ‘favourites’.