What are your favourite gardening books?

Hi all,
I really like gardening books which are a good read, rather than just pictures with bits of text. Some of my favourites are;
Real Gardens by Stephen Lacey,
The Garden - A Year at Home Farm by Dan Pearson,
Beth Chatto's Garden Notebook, (or anything by Beth Chatto)
Also Christopher Lloyd's books.

Looking forward to some recommendations...

 

The gardening Encyclopdea by percy thrower anything by Percy infact I also love old victorian gardening books.

 

One that I find unusual is Christopher Lloyd's Garden Flowers. It's really a dictionary of garden plants, but unlike most that just give cold facts, this one gives his opinions. Such as this is a really good plant and that one is rubbish. There are so many different plants that you need someone to weed them out for you.

 

The RHS A to Z encyclopedia of garden plants......a Godsend.
and Monty Don's The Complete Gardener.

 

Thanks, I have the RHS one, but will look out for the others.

 

Not a gardening book as such. But one I really like is "The history of the countryside" by Oliver Rackham A facinating unveiling of how our landscaped was formed and how some very ancient features are preserved.
Also "meetings with remarkable trees" by the same author

 

I have all Geoff Hamiltons Books, he was a lovely guy-my favourite of all time; and recently acquired a copy of Gertrude Jekyll`s Roses for English gardens. I haven`t started it yet-still reading CLloyds The Well Tempered Garden.

 

I really liked Geoff Hamilton. too. He had a great blend of down-to -earth practical sense, with a more spiritual side and connection with nature, particularly in his last book, Paradise Gardens. I'm due for a re-read of The Well Tempered Garden, and Gertrude Jekyll is a hero (heroine?) of mine - it's interesting how many gardeners are also artists, craftspeople and/or good cooks.

 

I have a small library in my car - just in case I come across a shrub or plant I'm not sure about in a client's garden and need to know how to treat it. The two I use most for this are:
Pruning and Training by Richard Bird
Essential Gardening Techniques - RHS
My bible for sourcing plants is Nichola Ferguson's Right Plant Right Place, a recommendation from the Urban Gardener, Matt James. It's clearly laid out, so you know what plant to put where and what it goes with.
At home I keep the 2 volume RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, as it's too big and too valuable to cart around in the car!

 

big fan of the RHS encyclopedia of gardening. seems to be tthe one i pull off the shelf most often..and i need lots of help from books!!