Book about gardening

[Scoffin]

Hi, I'm just starting to get into gardening following a recent house move. I have a couple of very factual gardening books and look things up on line as well. However I'd enjoy reading a gardening book that's not fixated on the details and is more about enjoying gardening but also imparts a bit of information as it goes. I'm not sure if this makes sense but grateful for any suggestions!

Christopher Lloyd writes wittily about all aspects of gardening, from design to plant selection and care. Old but still brilliant ( plants don’t change that much). He made the garden at Great Dixter in Kent ( look at it online).

Great books to read in the bath or in bed!

It doesn’t exist! I tried for this one too.

What you need is the RHS app which is free and tells you in clear terms what plants do what and how to love them.

Couple of basics no one told me but really matter:

• worK where your garden faces on the compass and buy plants accordingly - eg north west, need slightly shade-loving’ plants etc
• get a comfy plastic chair set so you sit in garden when it’s hot - use it
• work out what your soil is eg clay or loam, ditto

Start cheap!

Last but very much not least, Gardening is insanely relaxing so potter every day with a glass of wine after work or a ☕️ beforehand. Or both.

Helen Yemm Gardening in Pyjamas. It's quite a small book but has loads of general information and is written in an amusing highly readable style.

Basically I get my copy out every year at around this time and re-read it, although I also refer to it throughout the year too.

Sarah Raven is a bit marmite, but I also enjoy her Year Full of Flowers book and have just got the one on pots. There's a veg one too I think.

Thanks all! I will look up the books mentioned. I've also downloaded the RHS gardening app.

The Morville Hours and the Morville Year are two of my favourites.

The writer rents her home from the National Trust and persuades them to let her create a garden which honours the history of the house. She lives in Shropshire and the books are so evocative of rural life past and present.

Morville Hours is a bit more history, whereas Morville Year goes through her gardening year in column form.

I was given "A year in a small garden" by Frances Tophill (Gardener's World presenter) for Christmas this year and it might fit this a bit?

It's about her first year in her first home and how she made her garden and you can really feel her joy and excitement about it!