Product Description

For the gardener who has never used a screwdriver as well as the DIY fan, this book deals with choosing, using and maintaining all the non-living things in the garden.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7964 in Books
• Published on: 1993-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

From the Back Cover
A complete guide to non-living things in the garden for the home enthusiast.

* Step-by-step advice on everything from patio laying and making pools to lighting, furniture and fountains. * Chapters on choosing and maintaining the non-living garden.

About the Author
Dr. D.G. Hessayon
Dr D.G. Hessayon's Expert books have made him the world's best-selling author on gardening. Born in Manchester, he was variously a horticulturist research scientist, university lecturer, artist and newspaper editor before launching the Expert series in 1959. In 1999 Dr Hessayon was awarded a Guinness World Record Certificate for being Britain's best-selling living author of the 1990s. He lives in Essex, and has two daughters and four grandchildren.

Excerpted from The Garden DIY Expert by D.G. Hessayon. Copyright © 1992. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Other Expert books are bout the living things which are planted in the garden. Flowers and lawns, fruit and roses … all the major groups have been covered to some degree. But a garden is not just a collection of these things – from earliest times there has always been a permanent skeleton provided by non-living objects. In the ancient gardens of Islam it was water, paving and tiles which dominated the scene, with plants playing little or no part. The opposite picture can be seen in some of the suburban front gardens and rural cottage gardens of today – a path with some fencing, but it is the plants which almost completely fill the site. Our average garden lies somewhere between these two extremes. Flowers, fruit, vegetables, trees and a lawn share the plot with a range of non-living things such as paths, walls, greenhouse, furniture, pots, patio, shed etc.

This wide collection of non-living items poses a problem for the author who wants to write about them as a whole. It is easy to group together flowers, fruit, vegetables and so on under a single and simple heading – plants. But what single and simple heading is there to encompass the pond and the patio, the path and the plastic cloche? There isn’t one. However, even though there is no single satisfactory term for these items they are all sold in a single type of outlet – the large DIY superstore or the DIY section of a large garden centre. Many of these non-living items have to be erected at home, and so the all-encompassing term used here is garden DIY.

A simple term, but not fully satisfactory. The reason is that this book deals with items that can be bought in a DIY store, but is certainly not restricted to items requiring do-it-yourself activity. Some of the features in the following pages involve no construction work for anyone – shop-bought items include furniture, containers and portable barbecues. With some other items you have a choice – when you want a fence, pool lining or garden seat it is necessary to decide whether to buy a ready-built version or to start from scratch in the garden. Finally there are the items where there is no choice to make – there is no alternative to building or laying paths, patios and flights of steps on site.

Which brings us to two fundamental questions. Is it better to buy ready-made items or to buy the materials and make them or have them made at home? Secondly, if there is building or erecting to do, is it better to do the work yourself or call in a professional?

The basic approach in this book is to recommend that most features, such as sheds, fences, gates and furniture are better bought than made from scratch, unless you are an experienced do-it-yourself fanatic. Some of these items come as easy-to-erect bits rather than in fully finished form, but they are designed for the ordinary garden owner and should not pose a problem if you have an able bodied and willing helper or two.

The real problem arises when the work has to be done at home and it calls for both some skill and hard work – examples include laying a path with paving slabs, erecting a fence, putting up a shed or greenhouse and building a wall with reconstituted stone blocks. There are two obvious advantages in doing the work yourself – you can save money and you also get the satisfaction of having created something. Other advantages include the ability to do the work when the weather is just right, which is important for jobs like concreting and outdoor painting. You also have complete control of the quality of the materials used, which means that the nightmare of the ‘cowboy’ contractor is avoided.

But don’t rush for the saw or the bag of cement just yet. First of all, you must be strong enough and fit enough for the job. Standard-sized paving slabs weigh about 35 lb. each and pushing a barrowload of concrete is not for the infirm. Next, have you the necessary skill and the helpers? Obvious examples where skill and help are required include fence building and patio laying. If physical condition and/or lack of skill are a problem, do go to a professional contractor if you can afford it – but choose with care. The best method is to use someone who has done satisfactory work for you with others – failing that make sure that the company belongs to a relevant trade association. Get several quotes, if practical, and never give a job to a man who casually calls and ‘just has a load left on the lorry’.

Customer Reviews

Excellent value for money with clear instructions
If you are new to DIY in the garden then this is the book for you. Although a little old fashioned in its style, its instructions are clear and helpful. For this price you won't find a better book on the market.

The Garden DIY Expert
A great book to have with you in the garden, very easy to read and understand and if not a competent gardener.
Good basic instructions to follow with some useful information and hints and tips backed up with diagrams.
This book doesnt contain in depth knowledge for the profesional gardener but like I have said a must have collection of books for the keen gardener.

The Garden DIY Expert
Great book, information inside is just what we were looking for to help us plan our face lift in our back garden.