09 Dec 2011 at 09:44
Karen Platt
Gardening, New Holland
No Comments
Herbs and Spices by Linda Gray, softback published by New Holland Publishers. ISBN 978-1-84773-775-5, price 7.99 available from www.newhollandpublishers.com
This is a compact book full of information on growing herbs and spices. It concentrates on providing the information you need rather than dazzling you with images of things that you know you can never get to look just like the one in the picture. Practical and useful. I do believe everyone should grow herbs and spices as near to the door as possible. How much this contributes to self-sufficiency as splashed across the front cover I’m not sure – man cannot live by herbs and spices alone. Includes all the herbs and spices you could ever want to grow including fennel, chilli, saffron and more with detailed information on each. Also has brief information on designing a herb garden.
08 Dec 2011 at 14:11
Karen Platt
Gardening, New Holland
No Comments
Salads Year-Round by Dennis Greville, softback published by New Holland Publishing. ISBN 978-1-8696-6328-5, price 12.99 available from www.newhollandpublishers.com
Hats off to Dennis, his photography should win prizes if it hasn’t already. Of the numerous garden books I have read, this has some of the best photography. I also love the fact that, like me, Dennis encourages people to grow year round. The book is divided into seasons with all you can grow in each one. You’ll find characteristics, when to plant and growing requirements for each plant. Compact, straight to the point and downright useful. Increase the productivity of your allotment, backyard or windowsill with this handy book.A great growing book for any gardener.
02 Dec 2011 at 10:53
Karen Platt
Frances Lincoln, Gardening
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Great Gardens of Spain by Anneli Bojstad, hardback published by Frances Lincoln, ISBN 978-0-7112-2671-5, price 30.00 available from www.franceslincoln.com
I am a lover of beautiful gardens. I also lived in Spain for some time and know quite a few of its gardens well. For anyone who loves Spain, its gardens or wants to get to know them better, this is a great book to own, read and then visit the gardens. It is a coffee table book with coffee table photos but the sumptuous photography and descriptions go beyond coffee table. Big tomes are rather difficult to carry around and equally difficult to take to bed. This one has therefore stayed on my work desk, where I cast furtive glances of longing. I can feel the heat burning the pages, days in Sevilla at 46°C. I know I belong in quiet courtyards with tricking water and peace. I can touch the history, the lush growth, the aristocratic nature that belongs to many of these gardens. Spanish gardens are far too overlooked. So I was so pleased to wallow in 40 Spanish gardens and to be able to keep a small piece of each of them, lovingly on my work desk. The photographer is Eduardo Mencos, whose book Hidden Gardens of Spain should be familiar to anyone looking at Spanish gardens. This book made me long to visit each garden, even the ones I knew well, to re-discover them. If that is not possible, I’m grateful to the author and photographer for bringing Spanish gardens into my home. The publisher has done an excellent job with this.
01 Dec 2011 at 08:51
Karen Platt
Gardening, Wiley
No Comments
Dream Gardens Across America, softback published by Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-87843-9, price 13.99 available from www.wiley.com
This Better Homes & Gardens Book is full of sumptuous pictures of fabulous gardens or at least they look fabulous captured in that moment of time. It’s another thing to maintain an immaculate garden. However, for those who can’t or don’t travel or who love looking at pics of gardens, and why not, here are 45 gardens looking their very best and let’s face it no-one would want to see them any other way, so enjoy. No matter what your preferred style, it’s covered. There are several photos of each garden showing areas of the garden, key plants, key features. Therefore this is a good ideas book. You’ll no doubt find things that can be used in your own garden or see plants and plant combinations you would like to try. The photos are fantastic and there is abundant planting with accessories that only Americans know how to do. This is a great book for people who love plants, colour and are searching for ideas on how to ‘decorate’ their garden. The text is decorative, well written grammatically speaking, also punchy but not always that accurate. The book opens with a Pennsylvania garden of 8000 tulips (think about planting those) with incredible photos yet the text says ‘tulips must be planted in fall’ when it would be far better to advise planting in November – any earlier and your bulbs might succumb to tulip fire. I like this book for its photos. I’d like it even better if the gardens were to visit, but this is not possible as other than giving the US State where the gardens are, sadly it gives no further information.
Jaume Plensa Yorkshire Sculpture Park by Peter Murray, Claire Lilley & Jaume Plensa, hardback published by YSP. ISBN 978-1871480863 available from www.jeremymillspublishing.co.uk
I first saw Jaume Plensa’s extraordinary work at the Sotheby’s annual exhibition which takes place at Chatsworth House. Over the years he has become a favourite. As a writer I love words and Jaume Plensa uses words in his sculptures in a fascinating way that seems to speak to the very soul. The solo exhibition of his work at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park was a must see and I thoroughly enjoyed it. What better way to celebrate the exhibition than to remember it through this book.
The text talks about the works in the exhibition and includes an interview with the sculptor. This large format book offers full page colour photographs of the exhibited pieces. The transparent nature of many of the pieces show the beauty of the landscape. Plensa himself welcomed the dialogue between his work and the Yorkshire landscape since his works are usually viewed in an urban setting. As a background the landscape is stunning, the interplay of light on the sculptures mesmerizing. The photography by Jonty Wilde is excellent, capturing not only the sculpture but the background of its beautiful setting. I almost felt like I was walking through the park once more. Spiegel, House of Knowledge and the Heart of Trees, known in my household as the treehuggers are my favourite sculptures. The book also features Plensa’s words offering an insight alongside quotations from well known people like Blake and Goethe. This book encompasses Plensa’s varied work and his use of varied media. It is a beautiful catalogue of Plensa’s work that I would recommend to anyone interested in modern sculpture.