Gardening book recommendation
 

I'm looking for a good book for the wife's birthday next week - can someone
recommend a good gardening book for a keen/novice gardener.

As she's especially interested in house and garden plants would this book be
suitable or should I go for another one?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...8987/sr=1-1/re
f=sr_1_2_1/202-5232472-6658252

Thanks

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...469391-9768650
My favourite books are the RHS encyclopaedia of gardening & RHS
encyclopaedia of plants/flowers.
Check out the link above,I got mine from a book club offer.
My books get hammered with use!
I wished I had bought these in the first place instead of loads of cheaper
books!

--
Thanks Keith,England,UK.
"Scooby Doo" wrote in message
...
I'm looking for a good book for the wife's birthday next week - can
someone
recommend a good gardening book for a keen/novice gardener.

As she's especially interested in house and garden plants would this book
be
suitable or should I go for another one?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...8987/sr=1-1/re
f=sr_1_2_1/202-5232472-6658252

Thanks

PS scroll down the page to see both books together offer.

--
Thanks Keith,England,UK.
"keith ;-)" wrote in message
...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...469391-9768650
My favourite books are the RHS encyclopaedia of gardening & RHS
encyclopaedia of plants/flowers.
Check out the link above,I got mine from a book club offer.
My books get hammered with use!
I wished I had bought these in the first place instead of loads of cheaper
books!

--
Thanks Keith,England,UK.
"Scooby Doo" wrote in message
...
I'm looking for a good book for the wife's birthday next week - can
someone
recommend a good gardening book for a keen/novice gardener.

As she's especially interested in house and garden plants would this
book
be
suitable or should I go for another one?


http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...8987/sr=1-1/re
f=sr_1_2_1/202-5232472-6658252

Thanks

Scooby Doo wrote:
I'm looking for a good book for the wife's birthday next week - can
someone recommend a good gardening book for a keen/novice gardener.

As she's especially interested in house and garden plants would
this
book be suitable or should I go for another one?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...8987/sr=1-1/re
f=sr_1_2_1/202-5232472-6658252

That one is confined to house plants, so, though it may be good, it
won't expand her horizons as much as a more general book. I still
haven't found a general gardening book fit to tie the shoelaces of
_The Reader's Digest Encyclopedia of Gardening_. It's clearly and
simply written by experts (not just media make-over stars), and has
colour pictures of every plant most mortal UK and Ireland gardeners
will ever meet; it has short and sensible descriptions of all the
usual amateur gardening techniques; it's big enough to feel like a
worthwhile present, but not too big to feel frightening for a keen
novice, as long as she's happy with books. I'm on my second copy,
having worn out the first. It's so good that nobody should be ashamed
of picking it up in a charity shop (that's where I got my sister's
and my mother's treasured copies!).

I've just done a very quick web search, and it seems to have been
replaced by a similar title: I hope this one is as good as the old
one. If it is, it's insanely good value at under twenty quid (Amazon
said 13.99): worth a hundred.

Have a look also at the _RHS Encyclopedia of Gardening_. Be careful:
there's an RHS book around with a similar title which is no help at
all to anybody who wants to learn the craft. I have reservations
about RHS books, as they often deliver less than they promise (why,
for Heaven's sake? They're the world's premier gardening outfit, so
there's no excuse). But an earlier version I have is the best
introduction to gardening techniques I know. (Sorry, I've moved
house, and it's in a box somewhere so I can't be precise about the
details.) Mine has no colour pictures, just very clear line drawings,
and is in six separate horizontal-format spiral-bound A4 volumes: not
for the absolute beginner, maybe, and the indexing is poor. Maybe the
new version has cleaned it up; but maybe the version I mention isn't
the same thing.

If in doubt, go for the Reader's Digest book: the magazine may be a
joke this side of the Atlantic, but their how-to books are always
impeccable.

--
Mike.