how to Garden books

200 or so books is a fair collection, to say the least, Scrungee. I've only collected gardening books by accident and impulse really when ambling through second hand book shops, charity shops, and the odd auction sale room. Watching the programs dealing with the old Big House gardens and gardeners stirred an interest in their way of life and how they did things in the garden. I don't specialize on any subject. If I pick up a book on gardening, new or old, I can tell within a couple of pages whether I want it or not. I've turned down many a old book just because of the way it was written. The old books do sometimes tell you tales about how they lived and what they had to put up with, their thoughts on insects, birds and animals. One book, about 125 years old, mentioned that there was a lack of bees at that time, which was entirely the opposite to what I expected because you always assume that then the countryside and gardens were full of bees etc! Anyway, I haven't deliberately set out to acquire a large number of gardening books, it just happened because when I pick up a book I like I get it. Unfortunately, I'm the same with plants and although I tell myself, when going into a Plant Nursery, I am not going to buy any plants, I always come out with something!:D