GARDENING – DECEMBER.qxp_Layout 2 23/11/2022 10:10 Page 1
Gifts for
GARDENING
gardeners
It’s a cold and quiet time in the garden so what better excuse to curl up indoors and take a look at some of the best gardening books that have recently hit the shelves? They also make excellent Christmas presents for green-fingered loved-ones. Elly West suggests... The Gardeners' Yearbook by Martyn Cox; published by Mitchell Beazley, £18.99 A great handbook for new and experienced gardeners alike, this almanac is friendly in tone and clearly laid out with month-bymonth checklists, tasks and helpful tips. Life-long horticulturist and garden journalist Martyn Cox sets out to make gardening “fun, thought-provoking and entertaining”, scattering the text with bite-size facts, trivia and gardening lore alongside sound advice. There are also lots of plant lists of tried-and-tested varieties. It’s basically a ‘what-to-do-now, and how-to-do-it’ gardening reference bible that you can refer to over and over. The attached ribbon bookmark is a useful finishing touch as well. The Hedgerow Apothecary Forager's Handbook by Christine Inverson; published by Summersdale, £10.99
Mushrooms aren’t my favourite food, and Percy Bysshe Shelley sums it up for me in the opening quote of this book: “Pale, fleshy, as if the decaying dead with a spirit of growth had been animated.” But this is what makes them so fascinating. They appear as if by magic in all their wonderful forms, and have the power to both heal and kill, so unsurprisingly are the subject of superstition, folklore and magical beliefs around the world and throughout history. This accessible book is packed with stories of fungi in multiple aspects of human life, including witchcraft, art, literature, food and medicine. We learn of mushroom dyes used in fashion, the ‘black diamond’ truffle – one of the most sought-after delicacies in the world, and the ‘zombie-maker’ fungus that infects ants and controls their behaviour, causing them to climb a plant and hang there by their jaws, leading to their death. It’s a dip-in-and-out book, each story or topic is given just a page or two, with beautiful illustrations sourced from the archives at Kew.
Sustainable Garden by Marian Boswall; published by Frances Lincoln, £18
With the current costof-living crisis, and the increasing popularity of vegetarian and veganism, this hot topic of free, foraged food will appeal to many. The handbook begins with sections on foraging etiquette and a tool-kit list to get you started, and is then organised seasonally, so you know what to look out for at different times of the year. Photographs for plant identification are helpful, as are the extra pages where you can make notes on your findings and their location. Each plant includes a photograph along with how to identify it and its common uses, then there are recipes at the end of each seasonal section for more ideas on how to use your findings. A walk in the countryside will never look quite the same again.
70 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE
The Magic of Mushrooms by Sandra Lawrence, in partnership with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Welbeck, £14.99
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DECEMBER 2022
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No 217
The ethos of this book is encouraging rather than preachy, the author accepting that there is often angst around being time-poor, yet still trying to garden sustainably and do the right thing for the environment. Boswall’s attitude is one of making small changes and shifting to a slightly different mindset, working with nature and planning ahead. She has a rustic, slightly spiritual approach, and the book is packed with simple, practical projects that mainly use recycled materials and encourage wildlife. From composting leaves to making a wormery, a rain garden or a willow dome, this book is both inspiring and realistic in its expectations, ideal for those who want to make small changes to their gardens without breaking the bank. Beautiful images are provided by Bristol-based photographer Jason Ingram.
