Errol Reuben Fernandes

Errol is head of horticulture at the Horniman Museum and Gardens. PLANTING IN A POST-WILD WORLD: DESIGNING PLANT COMMUNITIES FOR RESILIENT LANDSCAPES by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West

Workman, £25, ISBN 978-1604695533

A truly innovative guide to horticulture and garden design. It speaks to the zeitgeist of contemporary gardening practice, being guided by observations in nature, our understanding of the soil, sustainable approaches and climate change – all under the veil of good design. Thomas Rainer is a landscape architect and Claudia West a wholesale perennial grower, so they know their subject inside out. Their advice is applicable to larger landscapes as well as smaller ones – even planters. Their fundamental message is to think in terms of ‘vegetations’ – plant communities that thrive alongside each other. It’s not a new message, but it’s from a design perspective. The ideas not only take aspect into account but also soil, topography and the local climate in summer and winter: dry, wet, mild etc. They also state that ‘plant stress’ (growing plants ‘hard’ with no coddling) is an asset – an idea championed by Great Dixter and Beth Chatto and an increasing number of growers. Everyone should read this book.

THE WELL-TEMPERED GARDEN by Christoper Lloyd

Orion Publishing, £16.99, ISBN 978-1780227825

I return to this book again and again, sometimes for knowledge and advice but more often than not for the late Christopher Lloyd’s dry sense of humour and entertainment. Lloyd writes so beautifully of his experience of gardening at his home, Great Dixter, effortlessly conveying his colour, personality and opinion within the pages. Lloyd was a character who was larger than life, often sporting a colourful shirt, a hand-knitted waistcoat and an avant-garde approach to gardening. Clashing colours, playful juxtaposition, vastly knowledgeable, yet never taking the subject of gardening too seriously and always displaying the confidence to rip up the rule book. This is a wonderfully conversational read that leaves you feeling as though you have wandered the paths up to his Peacock Garden, discussing the best time to go about your pruning with great man himself. The best time according to Lloyd, of course, is when one has the time and inclination, and the tool in the hand.