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Books you may like to hear about

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Paddy Tobin:
Presumably you have all indulged in some book purchases following the Christmas benevolence of family and friends. It seems that after buying plants, buying books is the next best thing for most gardeners. I thought I would give a note on three books I have read since Christmas:

The first is simply a beautiful book which is certain to appeal is ‘The New Garden PARADISE – Great Private Gardens of the World’ by Dominique Browning and the editors of House and Garden. This is a large format book, 34cm X 26cm and runs to 460 pages so at £30 is represents the best value in beautiful horticultural printing that I have seen available this season. The past twenty years have seen a boom in interest in gardening and in gardening design particularly. In this book the author sets out to display the very best of garden design and has chosen from among the most talented designers of our time. Christopher Lloyd, Piet Oudolf, Sarah and Monty Don, Sarah Raven, Dan Pearson, Penelope Hobhouse, Dan Kiley, Martha Schwartz, Fernando Caruncho and Topher Delaney are the familiar names among others of international reputation. The publicity blurb puts it very well, ‘Here on display are 35 private gardens designed for the rich and famous by the talented and creative.’ This is a lavish production, full of outstanding photographs – what you would expect from House and Garden –of exceptionally beautiful gardens from North America and Europe, with one from Japan. They are simply stunning in themselves but are also a great indication and record of present day horticultural design. This is the one you will want for yourself! [The New Garden PARADISE – Great Private Gardens of the World,  Dominique Browning and the editors of House and Garden, W.W. Norton and Company,  New York & London, 2005, HB, 464pp, £30, ISBN 0-393-05939-1]

Dorling Kindersley has a deserved reputation as publisher of books of the highest quality with excellent illustrations and photographs, well organised, clear and user-friendly layouts all on sale at very reasonable and competitive prices. When such an organisation combines forces with the Royal Horticultural Society to publish a book, such as Perennials, it scarce needs praise or recommendation from me. You will be familiar with these encyclopaedia-type books and so it is important to point out the differences in this volume. More usually, I have had books of this nature covering all manner of plants between one pair of bookends: trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, biennials etc. This book deals purely with plants which may be considered herbaceous perennials in our climate. As it does not set out to cover the whole gamut of garden plants the authors/contributors are able to give a more in-depth coverage to the type under consideration. Because of this the range covered is excellent; there is room for many outstanding photographs and the text accompanying each entry is fuller than found in other similar publications. Why do I not sound terribly enthusiastic? It can only be that I expected no less. Dorling Kindersley and the Royal Horticultural Society have a tried and trusted history of high quality horticultural publications and they have done it again with this book. This is an excellent book, a solid reference book for someone gone past the beginner stages of their gardening interest and extending their interest in a wider range of plants. [Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Perennials, Dorling Kindersley, London, 2006, HB, 495pp, £25, ISBN-13: 978 1 40530 600 3]

Finally, allow me to recommend a beautiful book about a group of people who have created beauty for our enjoyment through the art of flower painting. This is A History and Dictionary of British Flower Painters 1650 – 1950 by Josephine Walpole. The author initially gives a short introduction to floral art from around the world before confining her attention to British flower painters in the period selected. This section occupies slightly over half of the book and is so beautifully illustrated that one is loathe leaving it to continue to the dictionary section. Many of the illustrations are of plants in their natural setting, others of material obviously picked and brought to the studio and others still of the most beautiful floral arrangements – these will certainly appeal to the flower arrangers among you. All are beautiful and many stunningly so; truly something to feast the eyes upon.

The second section of the book is a dictionary of British Flower Painters born between 1650 and 1950. The entries, in their length or lack of it, no doubt illustrate the standing of the artists but sufficient detail is given to satisfy the reader. Illustrations in this section of the book are in black and white and are smaller than those in the earlier chapters, yet allow the author to include a greater number than might otherwise be possible. This section is reference material and though valuable has neither the visual interest nor beauty of the earlier part of the book. This is a beautiful and very enjoyable book. [A History and Dictionary of British Flower Painters 1650 – 1950, Antique Collectors’ Club, Suffolk, 2006, HB, 236pp, £35, ISBN 10: 1 85149-504-5]


I have attached images of the covers below but in greyscale as this is how I had them stored on my computer in preparation for a book review for a garden society newsletter which I edit here in Ireland.

EDIT: Apologies. I am working on a slow internet connection at the moment and have posted the images in a low resolution to allow me to post them. Hope they appear reasonably well for you. P.

Paddy

Maggi Young:
Paddy, I am sure the images are sufficient to allow readers to get a "feeling" for the look of the books when they go shopping. I know we should all be making life easier for ourselves by using the ISBN numbers to ID what we're searching for, but  in a shop, I'm sure I'm not the only one who begins by using my eyes to see if I can spot the target!!
Thanks for this new page, Paddy, we hope you will be adding to it as time allows you.

Paddy Tobin:
Thank you, Maggi.

Hope it is of interest to forum users.

Paddy

Geebo:
Hi All
Is there anyone who has a copy available of Brian Mathew A Gardners Guide to Hellebores,Please send me an @mail,I would like to purchase.The book is out of print.
Gheers,
Guy. ;)

Maggi Young:
Alpine Plants, Ecology for Gardeners

A new book of interest to many of us here!
'Alpine Plants, Ecology for Gardeners' by John E G Good and David Millward, is an authoritative and practical guide to understanding alpines for all gardeners. Co-published with the Alpine Garden Society, the book studies in detail the ecology of alpine plants for the benefit of the keen alpine gardener.

The authors are well known to this Forum, of course! Since the book is co-published with the AGS we'll forgive the fact that the membership of both authors of the SRGC isn't stated! ;)
See this page at the Reckless Gardener site for a review:
http://www.recklessgardener.co.uk/books/book20.htm


Book details:
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: B.T. Batsford Ltd (4 April 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0713490179
ISBN-13: 978-0713490176

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