How to Garden : The Only Gardening Book You Will Ever Need - Softcover

John Cushnie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1856264386 ISBN 13: 9781856264389

Publisher: Kyle Cathie, 2002

Synopsis

How do you plant your plants? How much water should they have? Why do gardeners make such a fuss about soil? How do you recognise a weed when you see one? Questions like these often baffle the beginner and are left unanswered by many gardening books. Assuming no prior knowledge on the part of his reader, John Cushnie explains such basics as planting, watering, staking and pruning. He provides inspirational ideas on adapting a garden to suit your needs, whether you have inherited an overgrown, neglected site or a brand new plot, and on creating different styles, from a scented garden to a patch of woodland. Lists of his favourite plants take the guesswork out of a visit to the garden centre.

About this title

About the Author:

John Cushnie runs his own landscape design and contracting company in County Down. He writes regularly for the Daily Telegraph, is gardening editor of Irish Homes, Interior and Living magazine and has contributed to BBC Gardeners' Corner since 1968. He also writes for Gardeners' World magazine, hosted the BBC/RTE television series Greenfingers and is a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time. He lectures all over the British Isles. His first book, Ground Cover, was published by Kyle Cathie in 1999 and Trees for the Garden in due in autumn 2002.

Review:

It seems everyone is going back to basics - Delia Smith and cookery, Alan Titchmarsh and gardening. But long before that John Cushnie, regular contributor to Radio 4's "Gardener's Question Time", has been taking listeners back to basics, giving solid, easy to understand advice to those daunted by something horticultural. While Alan Titchmarsh gives advice in a sexy way on TV, John Cushnie uses his gentle Irish charm to attract attention and this is carried over into this, his second book, now available in paperback. Aimed at novice gardeners who have just found themselves with a garden they do not know what to do with, he leads them through the basics of soil preparation, planting and the minimum of aftercare necessary to ensure a plant's survival but at the same time not taking up all of the new gardener's free time. He offers advice on container planting for those with little or no garden, shrub and tree planting for larger gardens and design tips for developing the kind of garden you want - cottage garden, wildflower, Mediterranean, woodland. The use of ornamentation and water features are covered and the whole is lavishly illustrated with the photographs of Steven Wooster. These alone should encourage even the most apathetic of gardeners outdoors to transform their own plot into a place of relaxation and enjoyment. Ending with John's top ten plants, together with an A-Z list of all the plants mentioned within the book, this gives the reader a starting point amidst the myriad of plants currently available from a garden centre. An excellent present - to oneself or another, this is a book that covers all the basics as well as a few more advanced techniques for the beginner or still-learning gardener. Accompanied by John's wit and soft Irish humour, it is an enjoyable but educational read.

About this edition

• Publisher: Kyle Cathie
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1856264386
• ISBN 13: 9781856264389
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192