In this straightforward guide to making your garden – whatever its size – into a safe haven for birds, Hazel and Pamela Johnson explain how to plan a garden and what to grow to provide food, shelter, observation and singing posts, and nesting sites. They also deal with feeding birds, providing a directory of different species’ requirements; and ‘man-made provisions’ such as bird tables, nesting boxes and bird baths.

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.

Using recycled pots and homemade watering cans to grow anything from herbs to pumpkins and blueberries, this guide mixes practical advice – the best soils to use and which plants to try – with inspirational ideas from existing small city vegetable gardens.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This journey through the history of the English garden features twelve of the most important, original and beautiful parks in the country. Garden design changed radically during the 18th century, when French symmetry was replaced by a new landscaped naturalism, and gardeners at Chiswick House, Castle Howard, Studley, Rousham, Stowe, Petworth and elsewhere redefined our ideas of beauty. The erudite narrative is accompanied by contemporary illustrations. No jacket.

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.

In over 30 years, Sir Roy Strong and his wife Julia Trevelyan Oman created a stunning historical garden at their home, The Laskett in Herefordshire. After his wife's death in 2003, Sir Roy decided to remodel the garden, which had become overgrown and closed in on itself. In a book to inspire fellow gardeners, he records the remaking of The Laskett garden in his own words, accompanied by the before-and-after and action photographs of Clive Boursnell.

How has our landscape been shaped by the concept of Arcadia – the pastoral paradise nostalgically evoked in the classical poetry of Theocritus and Virgil? Landscape architect Allan Ruff traces the Arcadian tradition in the management of land and in its artistic depictions, from the ancient world, through Renaissance Italy, to modern England, America and the Netherlands. Ruff ends by considering how Arcadian ecology is now influencing sustainable urban design in the regeneration of sites such as London’s Olympic Park.

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.

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.

Since the end of the Second World War, the cartoon gardener Mr Digwell has been dispensing horticultural advice to Daily Mirror readers, and he remains as popular as ever. This collection offers a comprehensive, month-by-month guide to a gardener’s tasks, from winter pruning through spring seed sowing and planting out to autumn lawn care. Clear, simple strip cartoons present up-to-date information on growing flowers, shrubs and vegetables in a reassuringly traditional manner.

The British have always been a nation of gardeners, and their distinctive creations have been admired and emulated across the globe. This book traces the history of British gardening over 450 years through the stories of 26 key figures, from early plant hunters such as the Tradescants, though the celebrated 18th-century landscape gardeners Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and Humphry Repton to 20th-century pioneers such as Gertrude Jekyll and Vita Sackville-West. A 32-page section of colour plates showcases their achievements.

Originally an Alpine perennial with medicinal uses, auricula flowers were so colourful and fragrant that people began cultivating the plant purely for pleasure. Easy to propagate and maintain, over the centuries increasing numbers of varieties were produced, 200 of which are listed here with many accompanying photographs. Including advice on exhibiting, dealing with pests and diseases and a fascinating history of the plant, this is a useful reference for casual readers and enthusiasts alike.

Ian Hamilton Finlay moved to Stonypath in 1966 and spent the next 40 years designing and nurturing his garden. Regarded by many as one of the most significant gardens in Britain, this guide tells its story and describes many of the 300 sculptures that form part of its design.

Along with a compost carousel – showing what you can and can’t compost – a ‘worms and ladders’ game, compost bingo and a worm identification chart, this guide includes all the practical information you need to start composting at home, as well as three sheets of colourful stickers, a press-out Worm Lovers’ Society card and interesting facts (and jokes) about soil and worms. Age 7+

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.

From an article published in 1900 on Gregor Mendel’s work on peas by William Bateson, the man who coined the term ‘genetics’, to Toby Musgrave on growing heritage fruit and vegetables in 2012, this anthology brings together the best and most important writing from The Garden, the journal of the Royal Horticultural Society. The selections are in chapters ranging from seasons and the weather to the RHS itself, and are interspersed with vibrant illustrations by Jenny Bowers.

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).

Few subjects have attracted as much received wisdom as gardening. In this collection of articles, Daily Telegraph gardening columnist Ken Thompson sorts the genuine from the hokum, the essential tasks from those that aren’t worth doing. This entertaining and informative miscellany contains advice on how to attract more wildlife to the garden, the ideal temperature for a compost heap, and how bees can improve a strawberry crop.

The Daily Telegraph has long been popular reading among gardeners, and its pages have featured some of the nation's finest horticultural writers. Compiled by the newspaper's gardening columnist, this lively and varied anthology includes articles by Fred Whitsey, Rosemary Verey and Bunny Guinness, along with the more esoteric musings of Bill Deedes, Germaine Greer and Roy Strong. The subjects range from Vita Sackville West's garden at Sissinghurst to how to grow prize-winning pumpkins. Book club edition.

There is an enormous variety of sun-loving plants, with endless potential for stunning planting schemes. Graham Clarke shows how to select sun-loving varieties and plant with confidence, whatever your experience and abilities.

Behind the high walls of the Vatican, beautifully kept gardens offer the Pope a tranquil refuge, fragrant with sweet herbs and cooled by shade trees and fountains. Linda Kooluris Dobbs's photographs give us access to these normally hidden lawns and avenues, grottoes and parterres, with their fine statuary and fountains, and their imposing backdrop – the buildings of the Vatican and the dome of St Peter's. Kildare Dobbs's introductory essay accompanies this collection of over 140 photographs.

In this lavish volume we are treated to a private view of 30 of the most exciting gardens in London. They are as varied as they are beautiful, on rooftops, afloat on the Thames, within palaces, around churches and behind walls. Some are grand and traditional, such as the homes of the Prince of Wales (Clarence House) or the US ambassador (Winfield House), while others are more modest, such as the garden squares.

For thousands of years, people around the world have adopted belief systems that give a key role to the natural world and the trees, fruits and flowers found there. This book explores this complex subject, pointing to similarities and differences, and showing how belief systems often transfer their ideas to the real world, such as the Pure Land gardens of Buddhist Japan. It is richly illustrated with a mix of historical images and photography of contemporary gardens.

In this pocket guide, Gardeners' Question Time expert Bob Flowerdew sets out his methods for controlling pests and diseases without resorting to chemical poisons. Employing such techniques as companion planting, encouraging natural predators and erecting physical barriers, his approach is to use wit and cunning to outmanoeuvre garden pests rather than seeking to eradicate them completely – gently shifting the natural balance in the gardener's favour. No jacket.

It was the taste of a ripe mulberry that gave Mark Diacono the inspiration for Otter Farm, the Devon smallholding where he runs courses to share his love of fresh, seasonal food. In this beautiful book, illustrated with his own superb colour photography, he charts the story of the farm, and shares its seasonal recipes: Warm Salad of Padron Peppers, Cherries and Halloumi; Chicken, Pork and Borlotti Bean Casserole; and a refreshing Cucumber Ice-Cream.

For around 40 years, up to the 1980s, Mr Digwell dispensed his vegetable-growing wisdom via a cartoon strip in the Daily Mirror. Now his straightforward, illustrated instruction and advice on growing your own, which was invaluable during post-war austerity, is as relevant as ever. Based on the original strips, but updated for today’s gardeners, the book has advice on growing vegetables, fruit and herbs; combatting pests; growing in a greenhouse; and storing, preserving and cooking your produce.

This comprehensive guide by Australia’s bestselling author of gardening books has been updated to include 300 new roses. In total, 1,500 species are photographed and listed, with anecdotal descriptions. Species are divided into four sections, with additional information on cultivation and breeders.

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.

Presenting works ranging from Leonard Knyff’s panoramic View of Hampton Court (c.1703) to Fabergé’s enamelled and jewelled flowers (c.1900), this volume draws on the Royal Collection to trace the changing design and function of gardens through the art they have inspired. After a short chapter on early Islamic gardens, the history traces royal and aristocratic garden style from medieval sacred gardens to the 19th-century ‘horticultural garden’, with a final chapter on ceramics and ornament. Foreword by Sir Roy Strong.

During the successful Dig for Victory campaign, which aimed to make wartime Britain self-sufficient, gardeners everywhere dug up their lawns to grow not only fruit and vegetables, but flowers too, inspiring ‘faith, hope, cheerfulness and courage’. From composting to harvesting, this playful history of the campaign features all aspects of wartime gardening, and is vividly illustrated by original pamphlets, recoloured photographs and instructional cartoons.

With their long vistas, cascading terraces and mysterious grottoes, the gardens of Italian villas seem like paradise on earth; but who created them, and why? Using reproductions of contemporary paintings and prints as well as colour photographs, Helena Attlee traces the history of Italian gardens from the Middle Ages, through the classically inspired plans of the Renaissance, the quirky inventions of the Mannerists and the formal elegance of the 18th century to the eclectic creations of today.

Part of the Reader's Digest Garden Basics series of straightforward, illustrated guides, this handy, ring-bound book is in two main parts: a seasonal guide to keeping the garden healthy and a directory of over 200 pests and diseases arranged by symptom, with special features on roses, slugs and snails, winter pruning and lawn care. The introductory section includes information on beneficial creatures and using organic treatments.

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.

From medieval physic gardens to the revival of allotment gardening in the wake of the 2008 credit crunch, the garden historian Twigs Way surveys the progress of Britain’s love affair with its gardens. Illustrated with photographs and reproductions of prints and advertisements from the collections of the Garden Museum, the book explores topics including gardening for children; women in the garden; wartime digging for victory and the gnome phenomenon of 1950s and 1960s suburbia.

Throughout history, monarchs around the world have created magnificent gardens both for relaxation and to advertise their wealth and power. Illustrated with 150 colour photographs, this book explores 20 of the finest, including Louis XIV’s Versailles, Frederick the Great’s Sanssouci, the royal palaces of Fez and Edo Castle in Tokyo. Each entry charts the history of the garden, profiles its creators, describes its style, planning and principles, and includes interviews with the present owners.

Providing practical advice and information for would-be mole catchers, this illustrated handbook includes a history of the trade, descriptions of trap types, useful tips, answers to frequently asked questions, and guidance on the most humane modern methods of capture.