How did you learn how to garden? Like many people, I absorbed knowledge watching my parents, always flowers and only once a disastrous attempt at veg – I think my dad had been put off by enforced allotment chores as a child. We still laugh at the ‘Norfolk lace cabbages’.
Yet not everyone has parents or other relatives who garden, either through lack of interest or space, and gardening can seem daunting to those who have not grown up with it – all those horticultural terms, ‘rules’ about what to do when, and sheer range of plants to grow.
The recently updated How to Garden When You’re New to Gardening, jointly published by the Royal Horticultural Society and Dorling Kindsley, aims to offer some guidance to those who are just starting out.
( I was given a copy of the book in return for a fair review.)
It’s subtitled ‘The Basics for Absolute Beginners’ and that’s what it provides from working out which way your garden faces and what sort of soil you have through to making compost and dealing with pests.
There are practical tasks, such as making a raised bed and laying a lawn, and suggestions of what to grow be it plants for a spring container or climbers with summer interest.
Lots of photographs make the different steps easy to follow whether they be dividing grasses or pruning a wisteria.
‘Projects’, such as planting sunflowers or growing root crops, are clearly explained with a list of equipment needed, easy to follow instructions and tips.
The language is clear and there’s no assumption that the reader will understand horticultural terms – many pages have a ‘jargon buster’ – or even know anything about growing. As such, it’s the perfect starting point for someone who wants to grow but has no idea where to begin.
How to Garden When You’re New to Gardening is published by the RHS and DK with an RRP of £20. You can buy it here for £15.99. (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.
Photos for Dorling Kindersley by Peter Anderson
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Sounds useful, especially as we head into spring.
It’s one of the only books I’ve come across that assumes the reader knows nothing and takes it from there.