Gardening Books > J Gardening Books

Advantages: Practical advice
Disadvantages: Too basic for experienced allotmenteers

...Perrone has been recording the progress of her allotment for several years on her Horticultural blog, and it's nice to finally see her expertise combined into one volume in her book, the Allotment Keeper's handbook. This is a practical book, containing all the information you need to start cultivating your own allotment and growing your own healthy fruit and vegetables. Find out how to test your soil, clear weeds and understand crop rotation. There's ... Read review

Advantages: Great pictures, lots of information on individual plants, rare exoctics and old favourites all in one book
Disadvantages: Not for someone who wants general information on houseplants

...the plant world, John Evans’s 100 Great Houseplants is a definite must for anyone starting or adding to a collection of greenery to brighten the home. The book illustrates the hundred most popular plants on sale at today’s nurseries, garden centres and supermarkets, which include those most people know of and a few newer less widely appreciated varieties (my personal favourites) that anyone could try growing at home. Although the book ...
...your local discount book store at a more acceptable price – that’s where I got mine from. The book is of very high quality and divides the plants into four different sections Foliage Plants, Bromeliads, Ferns and Flowering plants. When you look at the sections you may feel that it may have been a waste of time using the Bromeliads and Fern sections as there are only four plants described in each section. I would have lumped them into ... Read review

Advantages: Small, concise and inspiring.
Disadvantages: Those photographs are so beautiful they would look lovely when enlarged!

Gardening with WILD PLANTS by Julian Slatcher - published by the Guild of Master Craftsman Publications. The ideal Christmas present for anyone interested in gardening, British wild plants, or just glorious photographs. What comes to your mind when a 'Coffee Table Book' is talked about? I always picture a large, expensive book which is profusely illustrated in full colour and with a limited amount of text. This book would prove an ideal 'Coffee ...
...criteria! It is NOT LARGE and it is NOT EXPENSIVE, but boy does it make up for lack of size with profuse numbers of glorious full colour photographs (almost entirely taken by the author himself), and illustrations. The text is short, to the point and totally inspiring. It is a book to be enjoyed on many levels, practical and aesthetic - just look for it in any good bookshop, and admire the cover (the pictures inside are just as beautiful). Resist ... Read review

Advantages: Lessons in the art of modern household management
Disadvantages: Too perfect...

...a perfect housewife is knowing how to cook at least one decent dish from every major international culture...thats what i have been told AND Keep a Clean and tidy home AND Be an expert at finance management AND be calm and collected all the time...Tall order i must say!!.....Is it possible to do so many things at the same time without loosing your cool?Not me.... But Anthea turner says YES.. with a few tips from her on her book'How to be the perfect ...
...good, the one about decluttering the Wardrobe for instance...it seems very sensible and i did try it out and felt really good after that...according to her(rightly so) we use 20% of the clothes 80% of the time and never use the 80% of the clothes which are just sitting in our wardrobes occupying precious space.Anthea advises you to do a 'clothes audit' and put aside all the clothes aside,that one has not used since the past one year , and more than ... Read review

Advantages: you put all your waste to use and grow a healthy garden
Disadvantages: none that i can think of...

...garden waste is the best compost for the plants.....personally i use up all kitchen wastes, vegetable peel, fruit peel,dry leaves to make compost...I layer them with soil and leave the whole thing to nicely turn into compost over a period of time, normally 2-3 months, all i do is sprinkle some water regularly over it...there are very useful tips given in the book to go organic and grow a healthy garden...i love the cover of the book...and the claim ...
...waste can be turned into compost including used tea leaves, fish bones and any other waste like rotten food etc;It need to be layered with soil and some wood chip or wood waste, dry leaves found in your garden ... i think a book worth reading by all garden lovers ... Read review