|
Best resources for plant info?
Looking for extremely comprehensive plant information on mainly
British species of pretty much everything, from fungi to oak trees, and everything in between, both wild (so-called weeds) and domestic. I'd prefer electronic form, since there is significantly more space available on my hard drive than on my bookshelf. Type of info required: .. Positive identification .. Common and Latin names .. Soil and environmental conditions .. Life cycle and reproduction .. Common pests, diseases and cures (organic) per species .. Productivity tips, esp. WRT fruit and vegetables .. General care advice Need to identify and revive the contents of my garden, and improve a section of common land. Also looking to grow my own fruit and veg. I'm not in a hurry to learn everything on day one, but I'd feel more comfortable with an authoritative and comprehensive reference, esp. WRT British wild plants, that seems lacking in literature (that I could find anyway). -- K. |
Best resources for plant info?
"[H]omer" wrote in message ... Looking for extremely comprehensive plant information on mainly British species of pretty much everything, from fungi to oak trees, and everything in between, both wild (so-called weeds) and domestic. I'd prefer electronic form, since there is significantly more space available on my hard drive than on my bookshelf. Type of info required: . Positive identification . Common and Latin names . Soil and environmental conditions . Life cycle and reproduction . Common pests, diseases and cures (organic) per species . Productivity tips, esp. WRT fruit and vegetables . General care advice Google is probably your best friend once you know the name of a plant................. "~) Plants general: http://www.horticopia.com/hortpix/ - Useful if you know the name of the plant http://www.perennials.com/search.html Search perenials by height,colour etc - USA but still useful http://www.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantselector/default.aspx Similar to above but from the RHS http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/D_search.html Search by latin name, region (world) etc http://www.pp.clinet.fi/~mygarden/diction2.htm Dictionary latin/common name Veg - when to plant what : http://www.exeter.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1710 Trees: http://www.native-tree-shop.com/ Need to identify and revive the contents of my garden, and improve a section of common land. Also looking to grow my own fruit and veg. I'm not in a hurry to learn everything on day one, but I'd feel more comfortable with an authoritative and comprehensive reference, esp. WRT British wild plants, that seems lacking in literature (that I could find anyway). try : http://www.reticule.co.uk/flora/ http://www.ukwildflowers.com/ http://www.naturescape.co.uk/ I have lots of links on my website, but they are more for roof gardens, pots, cacti ...: http://www.ljconline.nl/garden/indexgarden.htm Jenny |
If you can spare the space for just one book, I recommend the Encyclopedia of Gardening from the RHS. It's authoritative and comprehensive in my humblest opinion.
Rachel |
Best resources for plant info?
rachel wrote:
If you can spare the space for just one book, I recommend the Encyclopedia of Gardening from the RHS. It's authoritative and comprehensive in my humblest opinion. Hmmm yes, I've been looking at the RHS books on Amazon; they always seem to get rave reviews. Thanks. -- K. |
Best resources for plant info?
JennyC wrote:
Veg - when to plant what : http://www.exeter.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1710 Nice concise reference. Thanks. -- K. |
Best resources for plant info?
In message , "[H]omer" writes
rachel wrote: If you can spare the space for just one book, I recommend the Encyclopedia of Gardening from the RHS. It's authoritative and comprehensive in my humblest opinion. Hmmm yes, I've been looking at the RHS books on Amazon; they always seem to get rave reviews. If you have a Sussex bookshop near you, they have it at a very reasonable price. (I bought my book a couple of years ago in Enfield but they seem to be all over the country AFAIK). -- June Hughes |
Best resources for plant info?
On 11/7/06 17:07, in article , "June
Hughes" wrote: In message , "[H]omer" writes rachel wrote: If you can spare the space for just one book, I recommend the Encyclopedia of Gardening from the RHS. It's authoritative and comprehensive in my humblest opinion. Hmmm yes, I've been looking at the RHS books on Amazon; they always seem to get rave reviews. If you have a Sussex bookshop near you, they have it at a very reasonable price. (I bought my book a couple of years ago in Enfield but they seem to be all over the country AFAIK). The RHS encyclopedia is excellent but I wouldn't call it comprehensive, or not entirely. Quite a few plants or their varieties are not in there - especially the more unusual ones which are hardy in this country. One of the best sources of info is Google and the Image search is extremely useful. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon (email address on website) |
Best resources for plant info?
In message , Sacha
writes On 11/7/06 17:07, in article , "June Hughes" wrote: In message , "[H]omer" writes rachel wrote: If you can spare the space for just one book, I recommend the Encyclopedia of Gardening from the RHS. It's authoritative and comprehensive in my humblest opinion. Hmmm yes, I've been looking at the RHS books on Amazon; they always seem to get rave reviews. If you have a Sussex bookshop near you, they have it at a very reasonable price. (I bought my book a couple of years ago in Enfield but they seem to be all over the country AFAIK). The RHS encyclopedia is excellent but I wouldn't call it comprehensive, or not entirely. Quite a few plants or their varieties are not in there - especially the more unusual ones which are hardy in this country. One of the best sources of info is Google and the Image search is extremely useful. I believe you are correct but for mere amateurs like me, the RHS encyclopaedia does the trick and it is well illustrated - If we need any more, we ask he) PS Have just passed grade 6 flute, after learning for four years, so am in a merry mood and think I am worthy of being excused:) -- June Hughes |
Best resources for plant info?
On 11/7/06 22:13, in article , "June
Hughes" wrote: In message , Sacha writes On 11/7/06 17:07, in article , "June Hughes" wrote: In message , "[H]omer" writes rachel wrote: If you can spare the space for just one book, I recommend the Encyclopedia of Gardening from the RHS. It's authoritative and comprehensive in my humblest opinion. Hmmm yes, I've been looking at the RHS books on Amazon; they always seem to get rave reviews. If you have a Sussex bookshop near you, they have it at a very reasonable price. (I bought my book a couple of years ago in Enfield but they seem to be all over the country AFAIK). The RHS encyclopedia is excellent but I wouldn't call it comprehensive, or not entirely. Quite a few plants or their varieties are not in there - especially the more unusual ones which are hardy in this country. One of the best sources of info is Google and the Image search is extremely useful. I believe you are correct but for mere amateurs like me, the RHS encyclopaedia does the trick and it is well illustrated - If we need any more, we ask he) I most definitely see myself as an amateur too but sort of bridging the world between the expert - my husband - and the amateur who joined urg originally - me. I'm absolutely NOT talking down the RHS Encyclopedia but for the sake of newcomers to gardening, I did think it worth mentioning that it doesn't have every plant ever found or bred in it. We get customers here who believe it does and that if a plant isn't in there, it's incorrectly labelled, either by us or by others. We use it a LOT, either to show customers photographs of plants they're interested in but don't know, or to check some detail or other. I doubt a day goes by without it being used in our busiest months. PS Have just passed grade 6 flute, after learning for four years, so am in a merry mood and think I am worthy of being excused:) Well done! As one who has 3 musical children but who cannot play loo paper and comb, I salute your efforts. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon (email address on website) |
Best resources for plant info?
In message , Sacha
writes On 11/7/06 22:13, in article , "June Hughes" wrote: In message , Sacha writes On 11/7/06 17:07, in article , "June Hughes" wrote: In message , "[H]omer" writes rachel wrote: If you can spare the space for just one book, I recommend the Encyclopedia of Gardening from the RHS. It's authoritative and comprehensive in my humblest opinion. Hmmm yes, I've been looking at the RHS books on Amazon; they always seem to get rave reviews. If you have a Sussex bookshop near you, they have it at a very reasonable price. (I bought my book a couple of years ago in Enfield but they seem to be all over the country AFAIK). The RHS encyclopedia is excellent but I wouldn't call it comprehensive, or not entirely. Quite a few plants or their varieties are not in there - especially the more unusual ones which are hardy in this country. One of the best sources of info is Google and the Image search is extremely useful. I believe you are correct but for mere amateurs like me, the RHS encyclopaedia does the trick and it is well illustrated - If we need any more, we ask he) I most definitely see myself as an amateur too but sort of bridging the world between the expert - my husband - and the amateur who joined urg originally - me. I'm absolutely NOT talking down the RHS Encyclopedia but for the sake of newcomers to gardening, I did think it worth mentioning that it doesn't have every plant ever found or bred in it. We get customers here who believe it does and that if a plant isn't in there, it's incorrectly labelled, either by us or by others. We use it a LOT, either to show customers photographs of plants they're interested in but don't know, or to check some detail or other. I doubt a day goes by without it being used in our busiest months. That is encouraging for people like me who sometimes have a job remembering Latin names and types of soil best suited to plants we may or not buy. I am not surprise you are busy. PS Have just passed grade 6 flute, after learning for four years, so am in a merry mood and think I am worthy of being excused:) Well done! As one who has 3 musical children but who cannot play loo paper and comb, I salute your efforts. Thanks, Sacha. ( I take it you mean Jeyes and not Andrex :) -- June Hughes |
Best resources for plant info?
In message , "[H]omer" writes
Looking for extremely comprehensive plant information on mainly British species of pretty much everything, from fungi to oak trees, and everything in between, both wild (so-called weeds) and domestic. I'd prefer electronic form, since there is significantly more space available on my hard drive than on my bookshelf. Type of info required: . Positive identification . Common and Latin names . Soil and environmental conditions . Life cycle and reproduction . Common pests, diseases and cures (organic) per species . Productivity tips, esp. WRT fruit and vegetables . General care advice Need to identify and revive the contents of my garden, and improve a section of common land. Also looking to grow my own fruit and veg. I'm not in a hurry to learn everything on day one, but I'd feel more comfortable with an authoritative and comprehensive reference, esp. WRT British wild plants, that seems lacking in literature (that I could find anyway). Clive Stace, New Flora of the British Isles. You should be able to find a copy in a library near you. -- Stewart Robert Hinsley |
Best resources for plant info?
Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
In message , "[H]omer" writes an authoritative and comprehensive reference, esp. WRT British wild plants, that seems lacking in literature (that I could find anyway). Clive Stace, New Flora of the British Isles. You should be able to find a copy in a library near you. Impressive, and only 26 quid from Amazon. "bringing the total number of taxa covered to over 4500" I wonder if there's anything as comprehensive as this for domestic plants, from the RHS for example. Anyway, that's on my WishList now :) Thanks. -- K. This message has not been photoshopped in any way. |
Best resources for plant info?
Sacha writes
I most definitely see myself as an amateur too but sort of bridging the world between the expert - my husband - and the amateur who joined urg originally - me. I'm absolutely NOT talking down the RHS Encyclopedia but for the sake of newcomers to gardening, I did think it worth mentioning that it doesn't have every plant ever found or bred in it. We get customers here who believe it does and that if a plant isn't in there, it's incorrectly labelled, either by us or by others. We use it a LOT, either to show customers photographs of plants they're interested in but don't know, or to check some detail or other. I doubt a day goes by without it being used in our busiest months. You don't have to be a particularly knowledgeable amateur to start finding gaps in the RHS books - it's not just that they don't have all the varieties (no book of such wide coverage possibly could) but sitting down with Chilterns catalogue in one hand and RHS catalogue by your side reveals a lot of missing genera too. (Mind, not everything in Chiltern is 'gardenworthy' by conventional standards). This isn't a criticism, just an echoing of Sacha's point that it won't be that long into your gardening career before you start wanting specialist books on the groups of plants that particularly take your fancy. -- Kay |
Best resources for plant info?
Stewart Robert Hinsley writes
In message , "[H]omer" writes I'm not in a hurry to learn everything on day one, but I'd feel more comfortable with an authoritative and comprehensive reference, esp. WRT British wild plants, that seems lacking in literature (that I could find anyway). Clive Stace, New Flora of the British Isles. You should be able to find a copy in a library near you. That is the definitive guide to wild plants, but difficult to cope with unless you are a good botanist as it is basically a giant key with very few illustrations. You can easily fall off the key early on and never get near an identification. I've learnt an awful lot from the Fitter books. Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Ireland is more compact, and covers just 'flowers.' Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland is larger, includes grasses, ferns and horsetails. It also has distribution maps, which is incredibly useful - if the species you're looking at isn't found where you are, then you've got the identification wrong - and if the species is rare, you are probably wrong too! Chris Baines 'How to make a wildlife garden' is good for growing wild flowers. Alan Mitchell for trees. Roger Phillips for fungi coupled with a guide with a better key and drawings rather than photos - I have the one by marcel Bon, and another which i can't lay my hands on atm. -- Kay |
Best resources for plant info?
In message , "[H]omer" writes
Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote: In message , "[H]omer" writes an authoritative and comprehensive reference, esp. WRT British wild plants, that seems lacking in literature (that I could find anyway). Clive Stace, New Flora of the British Isles. You should be able to find a copy in a library near you. Impressive, and only 26 quid from Amazon. "bringing the total number of taxa covered to over 4500" I wonder if there's anything as comprehensive as this for domestic plants, from the RHS for example. Anyway, that's on my WishList now :) Thanks. You'll have to decide whether it is suitable for you. There's very few pictures, so you have to be able to recognise plants by descriptions. (I use a combination of Stace and Keble-Martin for identification.) -- Stewart Robert Hinsley |
All times are GMT +1. The time now is 07:12 PM. |
|
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
GardenBanter