Looking for a new gardening book to read this summer? We’ve reviewed some new gardening books for summer 2017 that will cater for different tastes. If you want to discover secret British gardens, help bees or do a bit of patio DIY then there is a summer read for you!
New gardening books for summer 2017
By the Xerces Society
Storey Publishing, £12.99 (out now)
If you want to get serious about attracting bees to your garden then this book won’t let you down. After an introduction explaining the intricate the workings of a bee – for example, did you know that bees can’t see red and are most likely to be attracted to colours in the ultraviolet range? – the main body of the book is a profile of each of the 100 plants.
The detailed analysis of each plant is impressive. Each profile documents which pollinators are most likely to be attracted to the plant (in North America) and how they pollinate them. An explanation of the sugar content in the nectar of some of the plants is explained too.
If you keep asking yourself ‘where have all the bees gone?’ and want to do something about it, then reading this book is a great place to start. Information on the ideal soil and aspect for each plant is also included, which is an important point to consider when planting for pollinators. If the plant is given unsuitable growing conditions then it won’t be as desirable to pollinators as a plant in the ‘right place’.
The plants in the book are North American natives but there are enough readily available plants for the book to appeal to UK readers too.
Potted – Make Your Own Stylish Containers
By Annette Goliti Gutierrez and Mary Gray
Timber Press, £14.99 (on sale July 13 2017)
Have been shopping for containers for the patio recently? If so do you agree with the claim in this book that ‘many of us are turned off by the idea of having the same thing as everyone else’? If so, it’s time to get out your toolbox and give some of these ideas a go. There are 23 projects in the book each one starting with a handy layout of the tools and materials needed to do the job.
The depth of explanation for each project is impressive, taking a ‘recipe book’ approach of going through each project step-by-step and not assuming that you know how to cut corners. Some of the ideas are very simple, with painting containers in different styles featuring heavily; from how to create a marbled effect, to painting on ceramic tiles. But if you believe in the ‘create something new’ ethos behind the book, you’ll probably want to follow the steps up to a point and then go off-piste and do your own thing.
Very much about the containers and not the plants in them, this is a good starting point for making your patio quirky by filling it with unusual containers rather than settling for ones ‘off the shelf’.
By Claire Masset
National Trust Books, £14.99 (out now)
“For me the best gardens are those that give you that delicious illusion of discovering a place as if you were the first to do so,” says author Claire Masset. And this is a useful guide for the garden visitor who has long had all the classics ticked off their bucket list and is in search of some hidden gardens that receive little fanfare but not because of lack of substance.
The secret gardens are split into five categories, ‘Gardens on the Edge of the World’, ‘Town Gardens’, ‘Arts and Crafts Gardens’, ‘Writer’s Retreats’ and ‘Modern Masterpieces’. Many of the gardens give the impression of being hidden, with wonderful photography of gardens nestled among imposing tree lines and boundaries.
There are also some delightful stories, including that of Otto Overbeck, whose dubious invention – the age-defying, electro-therapy ‘rejuvenator’ – allowed him to collect a vast range of plants in his Devon garden, now called Overbeck’s.
The range of styles of garden covered ensures a broad appeal – although it is worth noting that there are no gardens from Scotland – and sub-sections on orchards, childhood haunts, walled kitchen gardens, garden rooms and contemplative spaces, make this a handy guide to leave in the car when out and about.
For more book reviews from The English Garden click here.
The post Gardening books for summer 2017 appeared first on The English Garden.