Product Description

The No-Work Garden provides you, whether a novice or experienced gardener, with a wealth of labour-saving tips for every aspect of the garden as well as no-nonsense advise on choosing what you want and how hard you are prepared to work for it. If you so desire a bowling-green lawn then obviously you will have to work diligently, but you can gain a near perfect lawn for much less effort. With practical advice on issues such as making mowing easier and why you don't need to spend your life digging, and common-sense tips on the benefits of choosing plants that thrive locally, welcoming wildlife and trusting in nature to aid the upkeep of your garden, this is the invaluable must-have for gardeners who want to see spectacular results with minimum effort.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #87336 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Pippa Greenwood, You Magazine, Mail on Sunday
great to dip into... strong opinions, some extraordinary ideas and yet also more than a bushel of sound advice

About the Author
Bob Flowerdew has gardened organically for over 20 years and is Britain's foremost authority on organic gardening methods. He is constantly experimenting with new methods and ways of saving labour. In addition to his own books, was recently a co-author of The GQT Plant Chooser (see opposite).

Customer Reviews

Not just advice, but an education!
If you want to improve your garden while maintaining organic practice and common sense, you will love this book. It is unique: although I've seen some of the advice within elsewhere, I've never been told WHY you are supposed to do these things. Until now.

Here is an example: I read elsewhere that when you plant a tree, you should not add compost or manure. Why? Flowerdew explains: you want the tree to put down long roots, and it will do so if it can't get all the nourishment it needs from the immediate vicinity. Feed your newly planted tree, and you are actually making it weaker (in the long run). I value this sort of information because I can then figure out when to follow the advice, and when not to. For example, if I am going to be re-planting the tree in the near future, I might be better off with a smaller root-ball, so I may as well go ahead and improve the "nursery" soil. Similarly, this explains why you improve the soil for short-lived plants like vegetables.

In other respects this is a good gardening book for a general audience. It covers a broad range of topics, including indoor plants and wildlife. The photographs are excellent for sharpness and relevance, with useful captions. There is a guide to garden jobs by season at the back.

Flowerdew is of course opinionated. If his opinions don't suit, then you may still find useful information here, but you may be a bit annoyed about disagreeing. For example, he does explain how to deal with close-cropped lawns of fine grass, but he insists that these should only be for bowling greens and the like, and that the rest of us are wasting our time if we're trying to get a general-purpose lawn to look like this.

The only defect I've noticed is the index. It is much too short. Most major topics are there, of course, but it has been kept brief. For example, he proposes a watering system based on syphoning, discussed over two pages with illustrations. However, you will not find "syphon" in the index. It is referenced only as "watering systems".

I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for new ideas and less work in their garden, provided that they are open-minded about organic approaches to gardening.

"YOU CAN'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS AUTHOR"
I've been converted. Which is a bit of a shock as I wasn't a fan of Bob Flowerdew and have never read any of his books - until now!
It's the first book I've read from front to back that I've not only found its content fascinating and sometimes unorthodox but have understood and appreciated Bobs way of thinking. He is forthright in his opinions about how he thinks things should be done and explains the reasons in depth,(sometimes too much at times). Bob sometimes uses his past experiences to elaborate on the subjects, which I felt brought it to life.
This book covers a wide range of topics that are usually in a majority of gardening books, but this one is different. I felt the content, photos and illustrations were laid out in a easy to follow fashion and it didn't bog me down with too much gobbledygook!
By reading this book (by accident), I have changed my opinion about Bob Flowerdew - and Bob Flowerdew has changed my opinion on gardening!
I am looking forward to reading more of the same.

My new gardening hero!
This is a brilliant gardening book. Bob goes straight to the point and puts back the fun into gardening - it's inspirational. Using Bob's advice I found an excellent nursery to buy plants instead of just getting them from a DIY centre - which not only supports a local business, I also got to speak to someone who knew their plants and I've come away with the healthist looking plants I have ever brought! I'm new to gardening and I'm finding the book a tremendous help and even my Mum, who has been gardening for years wants her own copy for Christmas!