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Old 17-03-2010, 07:46 PM
beccabunga beccabunga is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Apr 2007
Posts: 543
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim View Post
Hi

My girlfriend works as a gardener for the National Trust. I'd like to get
her a book on gardening for her birthday (romance eh!) but there are so many
choices I'd like to run some ideas past you in case any of the options
aren't as good as they seem

Which of these do you think will be the most informative/useful choice - dry
and technical is fine - dry and not actually very useful will hit the bin
:-)

Wood and Garden: Notes and Thoughts, Practical and Critical, of a Working
Amateur by Gertrude Jekyll
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-lis...&condition=new

Botany for Gardeners by Brian Capron
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Botany-Garde...=pd_rhf_shvl_3

Science and the Garden: The Scientific Basis of Horticultural Practice by
David S. Ingram
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1...ref=sib_rdr_dp

Applied Principles of Horticultural Science by Laurie Brown
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Applied-Prin.../dp/0750653426

RHS Pruning and Training by Christopher Brickell
http://www.amazon.co.uk/RHS-Pruning-.../dp/1405300736

As the garden she works in is Victorian there's also the option of books
from that period. Any recommendations on that front?

Thanks for any help

Tim
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lusername/
http://www.timdenning.myby.co.uk/
If she is working for the National Treust, the most relevant one is the Gertrude Jekyll.

A nineteenth century reference work I have always found interesting and helpful is "The Cottage Gardener's Dictionary". It may be out of date on some plantnames and growing methods, but it is a good comprehensive dictionary of 19th century practice. It is usually fairly findable on Abebooks, and xshould not be expensive.

A