BOOK REVIEWS
WILD ABOUT WEEDS by Jack Wallington
Laurence King Publishing, £19.99 ISBN 978-1786275301
Jack Wallington wants us all to embrace weeds. They’re easy, wildlife-friendly and they fit with the modern enthusiasm for ecological planting. But what is a weed? The word, he suggests, is ‘merely a broad and negative term associated with any plant that pops up where we weren’t expecting it’ and divides weeds into the ‘good, the bad and the unappreciated.’ His lively text urges us to be more imaginative in our gardens, even to plant daisies in hanging baskets.
Reviewed by Ambra Edwards in the November 2019 issue.
VEG IN ONE BED by Huw Richards
DK, £14.99
ISBN 978-0241376522
For beginner growers, knowing where to start can be daunting. Huw Richards knows his onions and provides a fool-proof plan of how to produce 19 different vegetable crops from a 3m x 1.2m bed in one season. There is a real sense that Richards is a hands-on gardener with tried-and-tested methods. This is not a book for the coffee table, but a blueprint to follow as the months unfold. Richards has done the hard part so you can enjoy the growing.
Reviewed by Anna Greenland in the April 2019 issue.
FOREST: WALKING AMONG TREES by Matt Collins, photography by Roo Lewis Pavilion Books, £25
ISBN 978-1911595267
Ten types of common tree – pine, juniper, oak, hornbeam, cherry, beech, birch, chestnut, Douglas fir and poplar – make up the ten chapters, and Roo Lewis’s photographs capture the otherworldly feel of these trees. For those of the forest-bathing generation who long to get lost in nature, this is a book in which you can lose your way in the wilderness and come out more clued up on tree species.
Reviewed by Rosanna Morris in the February 2019 issue.
THE GALANTHOPHILES by Jane Kilpatrick and Jennifer Harmer
Orphons Publishing, £45 ISBN 978-1903360286
This extraordinary book chronicles the development of ‘snowdrop mania’ from 1854 to the present day. It tells of the unlikely friendship between James Atkins and his neighbour the exuberant ex-Guardsman and big-game hunter Henry
Elwes (of G. elwesii fame), and more latterly the rival ‘snowdrop lunches’ of Richard Nutt and Primrose Warburg. A first-class piece of research, well written and immaculately edited.
Reviewed by Tim Richardson in the February 2019 issue.
RHS DESIGN OUTDOORS by Matt Keightley, photography by Marianne Majerus
Mitchell Beazley, £25
ISBN 978-1784724801
Thirty-five gardens are featured, some designed by Matt Keightley, the rest by a collection of more than 20 other designers. Each case study includes a ‘design checklist’ describing specific features, along with a focus on ‘garden details’, either a planting combination or a particular material. A garden plan supports each design, enabling the reader to interpret the garden. Ideal for anyone wanting inspirational ideas for a contemporary garden.
Reviewed by Annie Guilfoyle in the May 2019 issue.
ROOT, NURTURE, GROW by Caro Langton and Rose Ray Quadrille Publishing, £18
ISBN 978-1787132184
A book that takes an inspirational, practical approach, emphasising vegetative propagation methods with chapters on stem and leaf cuttings, grafting, division, runners and offsets plus a useful indoor plant propagation table for over 70 genera. Growing houseplants is often cited as the gateway to ‘proper’ horticulture for new gardeners, and perhaps it is. I’m not sure it particularly matters, as both enthusiasts and fledgling horticulturists will enjoy this fun and insightful book.
Reviewed by Lucy Bellamy in the January 2019 issue.
A BEAUTIFUL OBSESSION by Jimi Blake and Noel Kingsbury Filbert Press, £25
ISBN 978-1999734527
Most horticultural books fall into one of two categories: those full of technical information and those that capture the personal experiences individuals have with plants and gardens. This book does a little of both. Cowritten by Noel Kingsbury, this book about Jimi Blake’s garden is like listening to the musings of two gardeners as they take a stroll, never quite knowing which direction the text will take. What is clear is Blake’s unique personality and his appetite to experiment.
Reviewed by Benjamin William Pope in the October 2019 issue.
A MODERN HERBAL by Alys Fowler
Michael Joseph, £20 ISBN 978-0241368336
For millennia, people have used herbs to support health – a connection many of us have lost. In this book Alys Fowler redresses the void and shares simple ways in which she uses herbs for wellbeing. This modern herbal arms readers of today with the wherewithal to reclaim this practice. For anyone delving into herbs for the first time or those who want to broaden their herbal repertoire in the garden and home, this book is much needed.
Reviewed by Anna Greenland in the August 2019 issue.