Gardening

The British passion for gardens stretches back hundreds of years and has produced an array of horticultural masterpieces from landscaped parks to hidden gems. This practical guidebook, organized by county, describes gardens open to the public and provides maps, directions and contact details. Beautiful photographs show some of these wonderful gardens, including the Lost Gardens of Heligan, Stourhead, Hatfield House, Beth Chatto Gardens, Castle Howard and Drummond Castle Gardens.

Written for the reluctant gardener, this is a guide to what not to do in the garden. Rather than letting your plot revert to wilderness, Wareham (the gardener of Veddw House, near Tintern) encourages finding easier ways to do the jobs you dislike and suggests effective alternatives. The book is arranged by season, from what not to do in spring (grow roses – if you don’t grow them they won’t need pruning), to winter (washing empty pots – madness).

Some of the finest gardens in the UK, among them Polesden Lacey, Hidcote, Sissinghurst and Stourhead, are cared for by the National Trust and its teams of expert gardeners. In this well-illustrated volume, those experts guide the inexperienced gardener through the whole process of planning, preparing, planting and maintaining a garden, whether large or small, employing the same techniques and the same principles of greener, forward-looking gardening that are used in the historic gardens of National Trust properties.

This beginners guide for mature gardeners offers advice on clothing, tools, soil preparation, containers and planting techniques, explains how to grow and maintain flowers, fruit and vegetables, and provides a user-friendly plant directory and glossary.

Aimed at the time-poor gardener who wants to achieve maximum yield with minimum effort, this book explains how to grow apples, pears, plums, cherries, soft fruit and nuts in even the smallest space. Illustrated with photographs of the author’s own garden, it offers practical, easy-to-follow advice on planning and design, what to grow, planting, pruning, mulches, compost, watering, weeding and dealing with pests and diseases.

Drawing on the expertise of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, this practical guide selects the best plants for a variety of purposes in and around the home. The varieties are arranged in order of character – structural or edible, for example – and Katherine Price selects those compatible with domestic spaces, from window boxes to bedrooms and bathrooms, and outlines the care that each requires.

In this volume, garden photographer Andrea Jones offers four approaches to garden design: ‘Connect’ provides ideas for paths, lawns and bridges linking spaces together; ‘Divide’ examines how hedges, walls, screens and borders can create rooms within a garden; ‘Space’ explores ways to fill a garden, whatever the size; and ‘Style’ covers every type of garden from formal to oriental. Including directories of designers, festivals, garden centres and public gardens, this is a comprehensive sourcebook for anyone seeking modern garden ideas.

Covering large swathes of the Earth, grasses have been vital to humans for millennia as a building material and source of nutrition. With their diversity of species, colour and size, today they are integral to year-round garden design. This book describes and illustrates many types of grasses, offering practical advice on purchase and care as well as ways to create much more striking effects than a simple well-mown lawn.

Helena Attlee's magnificently illustrated book traces the history of Italian gardens from the Middle Ages, through the classically inspired designs of the Renaissance to the eclectic creations of today.

The five-acre garden designed by Gertrude Jekyll at Upton Grey in Hampshire had fallen into neglect when Rosamund Wallinger and her husband bought the house in 1984. This volume charts her meticulous recreation of this horticultural masterpiece, and the painstaking research that informed it. Illustrated with Jekyll’s original plans alongside stunning colour photographs of the restored plantings throughout the year, the book will inspire gardeners and captivate all who admire the work of one of Britain’s foremost horticultural designers.

Inspired by the earlier book of the same title by the American author Bill Adler, the gardening expert Anne Wareham shares her own practical tips on how to outsmart garden pests large and small as well as offering advice on dealing with the horticultural challenges posed by weeds and the weather.

As Chris Packham writes in his foreword, gardening need not be a battle for dominance over nature. Val Bourne recounts her own conversion to natural gardening and explains how, by choosing the right plants and allowing natural predators to deal with pests, rather than reaching for chemicals, we can create gardens that are both beautiful and animal friendly. The final chapter suggests 100 plants for an eco-friendly garden that supports and complements its unseen wildlife.

This innovative guide to incorporating wild plants into the garden is packed with ideas and excellent photographs. It is organized by habitat, with plants for the rockery, the mixed border, ponds and meadows. Almost 200 different plants are included, with expert growing advice for each one and planting plans showing how to combine them creatively for maximum effect.

BBC Radio 4's long-running Gardeners’ Question Time is much respected by horticulturalists for its mixture of hands-on practical advice and up-to-date information on gardening matters. With contributions from four of the presenters, this volume distils their wisdom on twelve basic topics including planning a garden, soil, weed control, lawns, planting and combatting pests; and it is illustrated with both how-to-do-it photographs of the gardeners at work and inspirational pictures of what you might achieve.

Published in the popular Kew Growing series and sponsored by the Orchid Specialist Group, this guide is written for amateurs and professionals without access to sophisticated apparatus and chemicals. With straightforward text and diagrams, it explains the whole process of growing orchids, from selecting or making equipment, through pollinating flowers, obtaining and storing seed, sowing and germination, to transplanting and growing on seedlings.

Looking back to the period before the rise of the English landscape garden, Margaret Willes argues that a revolution had taken place between 1560 and 1660, driven by the arrival of exotic species such as tulips and sunflowers as trade and exploration progressed and by the increase and accessibility of botanical and horticultural books.

Award-winning designer Stephen Woodhams views the garden as an extension of the home, to be enjoyed all year round. In this guide, he offers expert advice on finding inspiration, planning, balancing designs, creating a theme or focal point, and planting.

Covering an extraordinary diversity of gardens across the world – classical Chinese aesthetics in Suzhou, cactus terraces in Lanzarote, a Persian oasis in Iran and Gertrude Jekyll’s Arts and Crafts garden at Upton Grey Manor in Hampshire – this is a survey to inspire gardeners and designers. The book looks at 100 exceptional gardens, describing, illustrating and explaining in detail the key elements of each one from a design perspective.

First published in 1770, Thomas Whately’s comprehensive study of the English landscape garden became the standard text on the subject both in Britain and abroad. This first modern edition is accompanied by an introduction and commentary, alongside contemporary illustrations of the gardens and places discussed. It makes available to the modern reader a crucial primary source on what is often regarded as this country’s greatest original contribution to the arts.

Taking the wide range of National Trust garden styles as its inspiration, this illustrated design sourcebook demonstrates how even a small outdoor space can benefit from the details that are found in much larger gardens. There are planting ideas for all seasons, covering colour co-ordination, flower, vegetable, herb and container gardens, and imaginative suggestions for using steps, seats, paths, paving and topiary, with plenty of valuable advice from the Trust’s head gardeners.

This 1990 study of André Le Nôtre (1643–1700), the creator of the French 'formal' garden, sets his work within the contexts of French traditions of land management, advances in cartography and engineering, and the social and architectural development of the château. Translated by Graham Larkin. Foreword by John Dixon Hunt.

Water lilies have had symbolic, decorative and practical significance among humans for millennia, but it wasn’t until the 19th century that Bory Latour-Marliac introduced colourful, hardy water lilies to Europe by creating new hybrids. Latour-Marliac’s nurseries supplied Monet’s garden, subsequently inspiring 200 now world-famous paintings. In this sumptuous volume, garden historian Caroline Holmes tells the story of Latour-Marliac’s work, including a chapter on Monet’s garden, a short history of water lilies and their legacy, and advice on how to grow them.

Norah Lindsay was a major influence on English garden design between the wars. Having developed her skills in her own Oxfordshire garden, she turned professional in 1924 when the collapse of her marriage left her penniless. This magnificent book, lavishly illustrated with historic and modern photographs, celebrates her life and work creating gardens for Nancy Astor, the Prince of Wales and royalty across Europe. It includes a directory of all her clients and the work she undertook for them.

Offering creativity, calm and pleasure, an allotment can also provide all the exercise you’ll need, with fresh, pesticide-free vegetables to boot. Starting with advice on tools and planning, this manual includes suggestions for making and using compost and how to plan your produce, together with an A–Z of vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers that provides details on cultivation and ideas for ways to consume the end product.