Books for gardeners and other nature loversChristmas is coming and many gardeners love a good gardening book to get them through the winter. This is my selection of the books which are currently available. Because the idea is to help people buy Christmas presents, the majority are available new. There are a few which I know are really good which you can only buy second-hand. Some of the older second-hand editions of the reference books are extremely good value. You may not want to give these as a present to someone else, but I often find that I have to buy myself one or two presents in the course of Christmas shopping!
I have tried to produce a reasonably comprehensive list of topics
Gloves & Gauntlets
Practical Gardening Garden Design Plants and Planting Fruit, Vegetables and Herbs Organic Gardening Water Gardening Wildlife and Wild Gardens Inspiration |
GLOVES & GAUNTLETS
Briers Medium Seed and Weed Glove - LavenderFabulous Second time I have bought these. GREAT for planting as your wrist is flexible and the fingers are protected but not too bulky.
Patmay 2015 You can also buy these in pink or with patterns, but they don't seem to have a range of sizes in this design. |
Bamboo Working Gloves for Women & Men. Ultimate Barehand Sensitivity Work GloveBreathable by Nature! These gloves are so comfy! Not at all what I expected out of gardening gloves. I'm used to bulky ill fitting gardening gloves, these gloves are anything but. I ordered a size small and they fit wonderfully, I have very small hands so I'm used to wearing gloves that are to big, I'm so glad these fit well, they make gardening so much easier. There is a polyurethane coating on the palm to guard against slippage which also acts as a moisture barrier which I find convenient when working with damp soil...
AsatruMom 2015 |
Town & Country Large Master Gardener Classic Gardening GlovesThe best gardening gloves I've owned I garden out of necessity rather than any great desire, but have still used a fair few different types of gloves...These gloves feel very comfortable and allow my fingers to move freely, and give a good feel of what you are grasping. I have been surprised at how well they protect against thorns - yesterday I put a lot of holly branches, full of prickly leaves, into the garden waste bin and was able to push them down hard with these gloves without any thorns getting through - except one or two on the back of the hand where the gloves are fabric rather than the rubber material.
Brotheroak 2014 |
Briers Lady Gardener Gloves - LilacThese are really excellent gloves. Surprisingly tough and hardwearing, you can also chuck them in the washing machine to get them clean. They fit closely and stretch well, so ... you almost forget you're wearing them. I do a lot of serious gardening ...and I wear them all the time...They do wear out eventually, of course ... the ends of the fingers eventually go ... but I'd had my first pair about two years before that happened - and I was grubbing weeds out of gravel - otherwise they'd probably have lasted longer. Highly recommended.
M K Briggs 2016 |
Rose Pruning Gloves for Men and Women. Thorn Proof Goatskin Leather Gardening Gloves with Long Cowhide Gauntlet to Protect Your Arms Until the Elbow (Medium, Brown)Premium quality & excellent protection These gauntlets are made to a very high standard. The seams are neat, double stitched and are very unlikely to unravel. Finally, I was so impressed with them that I bought another pair for my cat groomer. Yes, protection from cat claws, and I have submitted another review for that.
If you are looking for a beautifully made pair of gauntlets that give excellent protection without loss of sensitivity, I wholly recommend these. I love them. Emile Zola reader 2016 |
Hansons Garden GG101 Long Ladies GauntletExcellent if you are a beginner or first time home buyer Well they are not cheap but they are a whole lot better than your average gardening gloves....They are well designed in sturdy fabric with double stitched seams and reinforced fingers.
The awesome long sleeves are invincible and prevent cuts from rose thorns, holly and pyracantha as well as protecting you from worm phobia. They are pretty snazzy and look very professional. Hopefully the neighbours will be fooled into believing that I have a clue what I am doing. I am chuffed with my purchase. Mot Juste 2016 |
Hansons Garden GG105 Ladies Long Gauntlet
Best gardening gloves I have seen Perfect! I have big hands for a woman and was worried these would be too small but the are perfect. Adjustable cuffs, and long enough to protect the forearms. The only downside is that the palms are not totally thorn-proof, so if you want to be handling hawthorn or similar, you might want something even tougher.
sarah poet 2014 |
Town & Country Large Premium Heavy Duty Gauntlet Gardening GlovesComfortable & hardwaring I've been pulling up brambles and hawthorn with them for weeks now and they've protected my hands and lower arms completely. They're made of a super comfortable, fairly thick, but supple leather, and the sleeve part is a good length. This will be my go-to gardening glove from now on.
Amazon Customer 2014 |
PRACTICAL GARDENING
Briers Mens & Womens Garden Clogs Size 4-11, Various Colours & SizesA perfect product offering excellent value I have been a keen gardener for over 50 years, and I have used other makes of "rubber" footwear which have hardened, cracked and been virtually unwearable in cold weather. These Briers shoes are way better. Other reviewers have expressed reservations about the size, but I think this is misconceived. It is a real advantage to be able to slip into and out of these shoes at the back door, as some have said, and the generous sizing allows you to do this. ....So, if you are buying these shoes for gardening, I say to you, do not buy a size down; put your faith in the designers - they knew what they were about.
Chazzman 2016 |
New Briers Thermal Lined garden Clogs Unisex Navy UKExcellent starter kit for any gardener or designer Titchmarsh has a warmth and enthusiasm which is infectious, and which comes across in the book. It's a very well organised package, well written, illustrated throughout with photographs and diagrams to demonstrate techniques and explain concepts...Combining the two dimensions of gardening, the practical and the aesthetic, provides much intellectual stimulation - you can begin small, dream, plan, and build for the future...this is the ideal book for the beginner or the reluctant gardener. It's a book which will give years of service and which can be quite inspirational...
omnigadrum 2005 |
Briers Womens/Ladies Gardening Footwear Baroque Rubber Clogs, Various SizesA great offering from Carol K..This is a great book. The text and illustrations are very good. The perfect book to look through during a long,dark,wet UK winter. Good for inspiration at any time in fact. The fact that actual gardens are the source of the pictures and the case studies help a lot too.
Mr R Edwards 2015 This book is apparently virtually identical to Carol Klein's Grow you own Natural Garden: Taking Inspiration from Nature. I have no idea why. In any case, it has good reviews and would make an excellent present for anybody who enjoys watching Carol on Gardener's World. |
Stormafit Jackdaw Garden Clog Premium FootwearPositive review I have been given Toby Buckland's new book, Practical Gardening Handbook, and couldn't put it down. I found it very informative, comforting even, making me feel I too could grow vegetables, salad crops, anything in fact! I feel really enthusiastic and will keep this book handy to refer to as I go along. I would recommend it to anyone, especially those new to gardening, as nothing seems too complicated.
MacFamily 2010 |
Buczacki & Harris
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Royal Horticultural Society
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Royal Horticultural Society
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Royal Horticultural Society
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GARDEN DESIGN
Royal Horticultural Society
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Howcroft & Majerus
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Alan Titchmarsh
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Andrew Wilson
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Peter McHoy
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Rosemary Alexander
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Julia Fogg
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Linden Hawthorne
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PLANTS
Oudolf & Gerritsen
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Andy McIndoe
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Matt James
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Laetitia Maklouf
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Peter Jones
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Alan Titchmarsh
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Karen Junker
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Graham Rice
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Peter Beales
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Nick Bailey
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Dr D G Hessayon
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Sarah Raven
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Christine Walkden
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David Austen
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Robert Parer
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Robert Parsons
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Linda Beutler
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John Nicolass
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Richard Wilford
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Alan Titchmarsh
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Jane Sterndale-Bennett
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Sue Olsen & Richie Steffan
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Susan Sumner
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Jonas Reif & Christian Kress
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FRUIT, VEGETABLES and HERBS
Jo Wittingham
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DK (Simon Ackeroyd)
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Joy Larkcom
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Alys Fowler
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Kay Maguire
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John Harrison
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Dr D G Hessayon
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Alan Buckingham
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Tara Nolan
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Royal Horticultural Society
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Martin Crawford
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Royal Horticultural Society
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Gardener's World
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Dr D G Hessayon
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Alan Titchmarsh
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Alys Fowler
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Maureen Little
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Jekka McVicar
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Jessica Houdret
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Jeff Cox & Marie-Pierre Moine
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James Wong
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John Harrison
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Joyce Russell
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Klaus Leitenberger
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ORGANIC GARDENING
Monty Don
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Charles Dowding
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Ace McCloud
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Royal Horticultural Society
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M. Grande
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Patrick Whitefield
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Stella Cubison
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Joy Larkcom
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Jeff Lowenfells
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Bob Flowerdew
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Josie Jeffery
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Piers Warren
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WATER GARDENING
A & G Bridgewater
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Royal Horticultural Society
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Anthony Archer-Wills
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Alan Titchmarsh
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Peter Robinson
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Greg & Sue Speichert
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Ben Helm
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Art Ludwig
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WILDLIFE in the GARDEN
Chris Baines
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Adrian Thomas
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Holden & Abbott
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John Lewis-Stempel
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INDIVIDUAL GARDENS
A very human person By concentrating on the life, rather than the "work" of Gertrude Jekyll, she becomes a whole, rounded and very human person, not all that different from women of the next generation that I have known myself. This approach also includes more about the working parts of her own garden along with its development, rather than concentrating only on its ornamental and artistic aspects. It also provides wonderful insights into the client-architect relationship behind the house at Munstead Wood, and into the development of Lutyens as an architect.
nwl 2016 |
..The Creation of a Garden...I have just completed my review of Sarah Ravens latest book and I wanted to tell her that I think this is the best work ever done on Sissinghurst, by far. The black and white photographs are sublime, simply breath-taking, even leaving one emotional. To have access to such material and family knowledge makes me extremely envious. Sarah's love of the place is obvious to see. One of my most popular talks is on Sissinghurst and I foolishly thought I knew all there was to know about Vita and the garden, how wrong I was. I only had the review pdf to work from but I still could not put it down. The book really is wonderful, thank you Sarah for writing about it, I will recommend it to everyone at my talks.
Stephen Harmer 2014 |
Spare beauty found in a book....Derek Jarman, the filmmaker and sometime Artist, was a prolific creator of things rich and strange: a prime example of which is his garden. This was, arguably, his most important work. A thing that acted as a moving testament to both his æsthetic and human beliefs - a spare beauty is found in his garden, nestled in the single of Dungeness.
This book manages to capture the essential and luminous aspects of this garden through the poetry and prose of Jarman himself, and Howard Sooley's ravishing photographs. This is a definite "must" for anyone wishing to know more about Derek Jarman... A Customer 2001 |
Shakespeare and beautiful gardens, this book is a delight This book inspires garden dreams, as it shows us five of Shakespeare’s gardens... In the “wise woman’s garden” useful plants that Shakespeare wrote about are grown, including mullein, bugle, clary sage, sweet Cicely, valerian and chamomile. Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, where his wife grew up, now has the ideal English country gardens. . When he was 33 Shakespeare bought the run down New Place in 1597 as a home for him, his wife and their two daughters. There he created a home and gardens that reflected his status as a well known playwright and poet. He lived there until his death at 52. ...This book is a great treat for any gardener.
Terra Hangen 2016 |
Beautiful A beautiful book, loaded with information and illustrated with fabulous photos. I now wish to visit all the locations with literary connections. Would make an excellent Christmas gift (and treat yourself too!). Highly recommended.
SukiB 2014 |
A delightful book about a delightful garden If you're planning to visit Monet's house and garden in Giverny, this is an essential read before you travel. A very well-written and photographed account of one of my favourite gardens.
Regular Amazon Customer 2011 |