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List Price: £21.99
Our Price: £21.85
Author:
Interflora
By Hodder & Stoughton
 an excellent step by step guide that helped me immensely, 2000-09-06
Having a great interest in floristry and having worked in the business for a while, I thought this book was very imformative and easy to read and follow. It would be of great value to those who have an interest in floristry, though not necessarily working in the business, maybe just trying to impress their friends at a diner party or perhaps making a beautiful present for someone. I think it is an excellent refference book to have.
List Price: £14.99
Our Price: £7.54
Author:
Joy Larkcom
By Mitchell Beazley
 Inspiring, 2008-03-30
For a couple of years I've toyed with the idea of making a vegetable garden. Problem is I don't really like that much "proper" vegetable gardens because if they are not perfect they are not pleasant to the eye. Last year I gave it a try, planting some tomatoes and caulifowers here and there in my flowerbeds and decided to give it a try BUT do it my way. This book showed me that there is a way to planting whatever you want to and don't have to hide it at the bottom of your garden (incidentally, my garden has no bottom, neither is big enough). Now I am full of ideas and, most important, it is not going to be a case of trial and error like last year.
It doesn't explain everything though. There is no such thing as "the final book" about anything. It is a book about making beautiful vegetable gardens. Enough for me.
List Price: £35.00
Our Price: £21.75
Author:
Joan Morgan, Alison Richards
By Ebury Press
THE outstanding guide for UK apples, 2005-01-28
I have not found a better book for those interested in apples in the UK. There is an excellent potted history, plus details of many apples varieties local and foreign. A brief guide to growing apples at the back tells you most of what you know to start a small orchard.The descriptions of the apple varieties are what makes this book outstanding. They include details of history, appearance, flavour, shape and so on - enough not only to help identify and apple, but also to help you choose one to grow. For instance, the entry on Ashmead's Kernel gives a brief decription of its development by a Gloucester physician, describes its taste as "strong, sweet-sharp intese flavour reminiscent of fruit or acid drops", talks a bit about what it's grown for, comprehensive details of appearance, picking and storage dates. There is also a drawing to help in identification. The one downfall of the book is the shortage of apple pictures. There are only 32 plates, all of which show apples of great interest in this country - but a poor showing nonetheless. Obviously it would require a mammoth effort to provide pictures of over 2000 apples, but a more comprehensive photo directory would have been useful. Failing that, they might have mentioned that pictures of many apples are available on the Brogdale webiste (referenced in the back - but failing to mention the availability of descriptions and photos on the website). Although 2000+ seems a lot, there are a lot of UK apples missing. I would also have preferred that they concentrate on full coverage of the UK (for instance, they are missing several of our local cider apples), and omit some of the foreign apples. However, this is still a great book for what it does do, and well worth having if you have even a few trees.
List Price: £38.00
Our Price: £35.63
Author:
Peter Dawson
By Dawson (Peter)
A Handbook for Horticultural Students, 2008-08-31
I used this book for my RHS General Certificate Level 2, and found it to be invaluable. It is accurate, follows the syllabus, well written and all 24 members of my class had a copy. Just like any in depth course it is as well to have other books on specialised topics but I would not have been without this one. I bought mine off Amazon. It is the recommended book for this and the diploma course at almost all colleges, what more can I say.
List Price: £7.99
Our Price: £2.89
Author:
D.G. Hessayon
By Expert
Proper User Guide for a Veg Plot, 2008-05-31
Too many gardening authors take time out to wax lyrical about seasons and the joys of blackbirds and dew on your runner canes. Their books end up as a decent afternoon's read, but difficult to use when you're trying to work out what's going wrong with your kohlrabi.
This book is different. Veg are listed alphabetically with clear sections on selecting varieties, planting, looking after, harvesting and cooking, with a troubleshooting guide covering disease, pests, storage and the like.
No nonsense, everything you need and easy to find.
List Price: £6.99
Our Price: £2.42
Author:
Diana Galligan
By Collins & Brown Anova
Easy to read - a good introduction, 2007-11-07
This book reminds me of the kind of gardening book my Grannie would have used.
It's laid out in an easy-to-follow style and Diana Galligan's writing is chatty and inviting. She gives plenty of straightforward advice on everything from how to look after a vegetable plot to what to plant when and how to store it (very useful).
There are no photographs, but the centre fold-out pages have plenty of colour sketches of vegetables common vegetables, which are olde worlde and quite endearing.
I'd have loved a little more detailed information - for example what exactly is meant by "early autumn" vs "late autumn", but I'm sure I'd work it out.
Being quite a small book makes it easy to dip into to learn a bit at a time. I find larger books can be a bit overwhelming.
I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in creating a vegetable garden or running a small allotment - but you'll probably need more information, once you're past the basics.
If you're really looking to become a smallholder, as per the book title, you'd probably be better off checking out John Seymour's classic book: "New Complete Self-Sufficiency".
That aside, I did enjoy this book and am happy I bought it.
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