Best Gardening Books - your recommendations!

My apologies if this topic has been covered before...

I was wondering if you had to narrow down your collection of books on gardening, what would be your top 3 recommendations?

My mum has shelves heaving with the things... sometimes in duplicate and triplicate !... but if you had to chose, which would be your definitive or favourite publications?

 

Mine would be, The Complete Handbook of Garden Plants, by Michael Wright. The Complete Food Graden, by John Seymour and The Propagators Handbook, by Peter Thompson.

 

I have three being Med ...

1. My "bible" is the Pocket Gardening Encyclopedia (over 1000 pages of essential information) .... pocket :D

Published in 2002 by Silverdale Books. ISBM 1856057313, published price �£15.99, I picked it up for �£7.50.

2. Plants and Flowers of Madeira and Portugal, in five languages but limited info. ISBN 972-9177-20-1. Expensive.

3. Collins Complete Mediterranean Wildlife by Paul Sterry. ISBN-0-00-220-161-5, price �£16.99.

 

I tend to use the "RHS Encycopaedia of Plants and Flowers" and because I like plants that are a bit unusual in the UK I have "Conservatory and Indoor Plants" Vol 1&2, by Roger Phillips and Martin Rix.
Loads of others in the loft from pre internet days :D

 

I find Dr. Hessayon's books invaluable and the Reader's Digest do very good gardening books too. In no particular order:

1. Dr Hessayon: The Vegetable Expert
2. RD: A Guide to Creative Gardening
3. RD: Gardening for All Seasons

Very inspirational.

 

Thanks

My favourite books are:

1. Readers Digest Encyclopaedia of Garden Plants and Flowers.

2. Gardening in a Small Space by Lance Hattatt

3. Gardening in Colour by Lance Hattatt


The first book is great for general useful info and the other two are a pleasure to just sit down and read for inspiration on which plants will look good where.

I also treasure my...

1. Where to Watch Birds - Devon and Cornwall - Norman & Tucker

2. Complete British Wildlife - Paul Sterry

3. Complete British Birds - Paul Sterry


Plus I'm a sucker for any book about trees or flowering shrubs!

My mum has always sworn by "The Amateur Gardener" by A. G. L. HELLYER

[ 28. March 2008, 01:20 AM: Message edited by: Cookie Monster ]

 

My three favourites are;

The RHS A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants..

The RHS book of Propagating Plants...

Jekka Mc Vicar..Seeds..

Also have most of the plant Expert books

 

I absolutely love:

The Well-Tempered garden by Christopher Lloyd (or in fact, anything by Christopher Lloyd. He was a gifted writer as well as a great gardener)

What Plant Where by Roy Lancaster

and
The RHS A-Z of Garden Plants

I love Beth Chatto's Damp Garden as well. Great for my cold, claggy clay!

 

Mine would be Alan Titchmarsh's for a beginner anyway.

 

For 'edibles' - Dr D.G. Hessayon's "Vegetable & Herb Expert" and his "Fruit Expert" Lots of well illustrated practical advice.

For the 'non-edibles' - THe RHS "Gardeners' Encylopedia , Plants & Flowers"(1989), and Roy Hay and Patrick M. Synge's "The Dictionary of Garden Plants in Colour".(1969)

The "Readers Digest, Illustrated Guide to Gardening" (1976) is also a book I use often. Back in the days when we only had a postage stamp plot, I loved reading this as it covers all aspects of gardening and I could dream about what I would do if we had a big garden.

 

I only have two but they have been really good for me. they are:-

1. The complete Garden Flower book(editor Graham Strong) fantastic book for the beginner ISBN 1-90399-216 8

2. the tree and shrub expert by Dr D G Hessayon

 

As a fan of perennials and other flowering plants, The Well Tempered Garden by Christopher Lloyd is now quite dog-eared with constant use. For plant recognition I use the Phillips & Rix books on perennials and shrubs plus a very interesting Gardeners Question Time 'Plant Chooser' by a number of contributors/authors.....

 

Thanks for all your replies folks.

Re: The Well-Tempered garden by Christopher Lloyd - that's 2 nods for this book - I will try and hunt it out for my mum - sounds interesting and I am almost certain she hasn't already got it. I remember a long time ago seeing a Gardener's World special feauturing Christopher Lloyd - he seemed like a really great character - lots of personality and did some amazing things with colour schemes in his borders.

Thanks for the tip!

Kath