Product Description

An essential guide to small-scale organic gardening which will particularly appeal to anyone gardening with limited space, in window-boxes or roof terraces

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34104 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-06
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Synopsis
Penelope Bennett's roof terrace garden, measuring just 9ft by 16ft (2.74m X 4.28m), supplies all her vegetables and is crammed with every kind of vegetable, fruit, herb and flower - from salads, potatoes, parsley, strawberries and cherries to honeysuckle and jasmine. She shows how any enthusiastic beginner can achieve the same, whether old or young, disabled or able-bodied, poor or wealthy. There is a month by month guide on what to sow, plant and look out for, and special sections, including growing your own tomatoes, developing the 'orchard', scented shrubs, scented annuals, sowing for brilliance, hanging baskets, creating a wormery to supply compost, making a compost heap, a roof-garden pond and recycling newspapers into 'logs'.

About the Author
Penelope Bennett is a writer whose work has appeared in The Weekend Financial Times, Harpers & Queen, Contemporary Review, Modern Painters, Macmillan's Winter's Tales, The Atlantic Monthly, Mademoiselle, Encounter. Her novella and short stories were published by Hamish Hamilton and a children's book by Walker Books and Candlewick Press, USA. Despite having no formal training in horticulture she has learnt from the experts over the years and now teaches at the Battersea branch of the charity Horticultural Therapy. Her cousin is the landscape gardener Harold Peto.

Customer Reviews

A brilliant book - really inspirational.
I love this book. It has no pictures but you don't miss them because it's such an inspirational read. It's perfect for the nervous/beginner gardener - organised on a month by month basis with lists of what can be planted where/when. But also, it reads more like a diary than a conventional 'how-to' book - which makes it really readable (with lovely diversions into areas such as anteries and saffron growing as well as personal stories). But there's also loads of really basic stuff which other books don't cover (like seed germination diaries) which really inspire you to have a go at growing things from seed and makes it all seem very easy (whether it actually is or not remains to be seen - I've only just planted my first seeds as a result of this book).

The best thing is that it really genuinely is about gardening in tiny spaces - unlike loads of other books which purport to be on the same subject but are then packed full of suggests to install huge ponds, hedges etc. ect. This is the business - even if you've only got space for a window box it will inspire you to get sowing!

A Good Present ...
This book makes a wonderful present for mothers, grandmothers, or aunts who are keen on gardening! Although it doesn't contain lots of glossy pictures and detailed step-by-step instructions, it is a personal, cosy book that contains lots of good ideas and common-sense approaches to making the most of window-boxes. The recipient of this book, in my case, says that it is quite charming - almost like reading a diary about one person's pleasure in window-box gardening. It is a good book to 'dip-into' and read before bedtime or while waiting for an appointment, rather than one for taking into the garden shed. Just make sure you have lots of markers ready to stick into the pages with the especially good ideas on!

An original, totally absorbing and funny!
A small book which proves wonderfull things can come in diminuitive sizes. This encapsulates Bennett's whole philosophy. She may not have rolling acres, but her enthusiasm and knowledge is charming and subtle, alerting us to the small but significant choices we make everyday. Even if you only decide to grow some Italian plain-leaved parsley it will leave you with a feeling of quiet smugness! I particularly delighted in her description of the goings on in the antery she bought or was the best bit the saffron spice festival or the eating habits of worms?