Books

Im due to move to another house soon and it has a large garden with lots of shrubs, etc. Im not that great at identifying everything and especially not too great at latin names.
Is there an easy to follow id book on all types of plants, basically one that goes by pictures rather than names and can give a care guide to each plant.
Is there a gardening *bible* out there that fits the bill.
I was looking at the DK encyclopedia of plants and flowers. Has anyone got this book and was it comprehensive?
Thanks

 

I think this is the same one I've got, Dorling Kindersley, RHS. If so it is comprehensive. It should suit what you want because of the way it's arranged. I use it to help with identification, as long as you can tell a shrub from a climber, etc, it narrows the field quite well.
I would think this was the most useful for your purposes. It can be expensive; don't pay �£30 for it, look for older editions or second hand copies. I have got the 1989 edition and still use it. Have you looked on Amazon, lots of options with good descriptions of contents, and often reviews.

 

If you have a digi camera or can convert film to digi then you can always post pictures on the forum - somebody will know somebody that knows what it is :D

Whilst there is a lot of excellent info on the web, including care and propagation, much of it is American based and a good UK reference book is a huge asset. Liz's suggestion is great, look for used copies of well known 'bibles'. I use an older copy of the RHS A-Z Encyclopedia but it is arraged round Latin names. Great if you know what you are looking for but not so good if you don't. I've also a few other specific subject books picked up from charity shops and boot sales.

 

same as frogesque got alot of my books from charity shops.
then if you get stuck you have got gc to come back to for more infor someone always willing to help.

 

sandy have you tried looking on ebay there's lots of books on gardening and related issues.

 

there's always the library!

 

Thanks everyone for all those ideas. it is the RHS book I was looking at for �£22, but will scour amazon and ebay now as well,thanks.
I will post pics of the garden once we get moved in. With everything being dormant I wont get any great pics until spring and summer but I know there are a couple of fruit trees and soft fruits such as strawbs and rasps so will be asking here for advice in the not too distant future

 

don't forget Amazon's USED books as well. You'll pay postage but the books may be cheaper.