Gardening - nov.qxp_Layout 1 23/11/2021 14:41 Page 1
GARDENING
Baby it’s cold outside
As our gardens begin to weather the winter months, Elly West suggests eight brilliant reads that will illuminate the green world in fresh ways while it’s too cold to cultivate...
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hen it’s cold outside, you can’t beat curling up indoors and catching up on your reading list, so why not treat yourself – or a green-fingered loved one – to one of these garden-related books? With Christmas around the corner and not too many shopping days left, a book makes the perfect gift. The Secret Lives of Garden Bees by Jean Vernon Somerset-based Jean Vernon is a self-confessed bee addict, fascinated by these remarkable creatures from a young age, and it’s hard not to share her passion once you start delving into their world. There are 276 different bee species in the UK, just one of which is the well-known honey bee, and 25 of which are different types of bumblebees. This book is an accessible guide to bees, their habitats and behaviours, and is packed with large photographs to help with identification. We learn that male bees can’t sting, that buzzing helps release pollen from a flower, and that bees have smelly feet, which leave traces of a pheromone behind them to tell other bees they have visited. There is also an important message within this book – that our natural balance totally relies on bees, and that we can all make a difference by ditching pesticides and growing bee-friendly plants. Anyone interested in finding out more about these weird and wonderful creatures will enjoy this guide. Pen & Sword Books; £16.99 Love From Kew by Sophie Shillito This unique book is close to my heart having lived near the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for many years, and anyone interested in the gardens, history, or just people’s lives in general will enjoy flicking through. Sophie Shillito has collated old postcards and put them together to create a type of scrapbook, perfect for dipping in and out of, all showing images of the famous gardens, along with the messages and half-stories on the backs. These are evocative and spark the imagination about the lives of those who visited, providing small slices of history, many sent during the ‘golden age’ of postcards in the early 1900s, when a record 926 million postcards were sent in a year in the UK. No longer is the Temperate House just a building, it’s the place where a man once sheltered from the rain, while the Rhododendron Dell connects us with Nellie, who applied for a passport to return to New York, and we can’t help wondering if she made it and what became of her. Kew Publishing; £15 88 TheBATHMagazine
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Gardeners’ World Almanac: A Month-By-Month Guide To Your Gardening Year
This book is simply brilliant if you are looking for a straightforward guide that tells you what to do now in the garden. Organised clearly month by month, there are lists of plants that are at their best, tasks to do – whether in the flower borders, veg patch, greenhouse or pond – plus tips to help wildlife, alongside seasonal recipes and more. It's a clear and concise book you'll refer back to time and time again to keep your garden on track, and includes advice from gardening television personalities including Alan Titchmarsh, Adam Frost, Carol Klein and Frances Tophill. BBC Books; £16.99 The Little Grower’s Cookbook by Ghillie James and Julie Parker One for budding gardeners and cooks, this children’s book offers activities to choose from throughout the seasons, with simple planting projects, recipes and making projects including a wormery, bug hotel and bird feeder. With an emphasis on recycling, wholesome living and healthy eating, this book will help children feel connected to nature and hopefully get them outside and away from those allpervading screens. Reluctant veg eaters may well enjoy the involvement of growing and cooking their own produce, and the recipes are familyfriendly with tasty delights such as Hedgehog Potatoes, Squeaky Salad, and Mint and Raspberry Lemonade on the menu. Lettuce Publishing; £20 The Flower Yard by Arthur Parkinson This beautiful book is a joy to flick through, with sumptuous photographs taken by the author, immersing you in his own tiny garden, a floral world of plants grown in pots, plus the odd freerange chicken. Anyone lacking in outdoor space can gain inspiration from this book, along with those looking to create container displays as part of a larger garden. It shows what's possible, presenting a lack of space as a pro not a con. Practical issues are addressed –
