In article , Rodger Whitlock
writes
On Sun, 11 Jan 2004 12:06:54 +0000, Janet Tweedy wrote:

In article , Sacha
writes

Makes me think of the Gertrude Jekyll 'joke' that gets recycled here every
so often: "no matter how small your garden, always set aside an acre for
woodland". ;-)


I've got 'The new Small Garden' by C.E. Lucas-Phillips, published in
1979.
He says no garden should 'omit fruit' and then says that the first thing
to plan when planning a small garden is to decided where you will put
"greenhouse and frames, the tool-shed, compost bins, bonfire and perhaps
chicken house"
He obviously never envisaged some of the gardens that people round here
find acceptable AND pay good money for!!

The original edition of "The Small Garden" in a Pan paperback was
my guiding star when I seriously took up gardening, so I resent
(just a little) your implication that C E L-P was an elito-
snobbist of some sort.

Really, he's absolutely right. Any garden worthy of the name
needs to have some kind of service area for the unsightlier parts
of the operation. I didn't think that through when I moved to my
present place, and in consequence the garden picture is
disfigured by visibilities of the kind he singles out.

I still consider The Small Garden an excellent starting point for
a beginner, right up there with "The Sunset Western Garden Book".

Absolutely. My wife and I bought a copy in the mid-60s when we had
acquired our first house and garden and needed something to guide us.
It was so well used that it literally fell to bits and was replaced by
'The New Small Garden' when that came out in 1979. I still refer to it
from time to time. It contains oodles of commonsense advice.

--
Malcolm Ogilvie