Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1525 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-24
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 312 pages

Synopsis
Best-selling author Alan Titchmarsh brings us the definitive guide to gardening throughout the year. This ideal gardening companion will be released to coincide with a BBC2 6 x 30 television series to be broadcast in early 2006. "The Gardener's Year" is not about quick fixes, design makeovers or hard drudge, but simply about knowing what you should be doing in your garden, when, and why. Month by month Alan gives us the low-down on how to keep your garden looking its best. In-depth and packed full of useful tips, it includes advice on everything from what seeds you can plant out in your vegetable plot in May, to how to keep your hanging baskets looking stunning in September. Alan's most recent gardening books "How to be a Gardener 1 & 2" were the fastest selling gardening books ever with sales of over 1 million copies to date.

Customer Reviews

Ideal if you have just bought your first garden.
I have to agree with "bookworm1973" that it "will need supplementing". But this is not a bad thing or a fault with the book. This is not a "what to plant where" type book or a comprehensive list of Latin named plants. No, it is a yearly garden maintenance manual.

It is a very easy book to read. There are no individual chapters on planting, lawn care, pests, vegetables etc. There are just twelve chapters. Each chapter is a title of a month. So you don't read the book from cover to cover, instead you turn to chapter "June" on the first day of June. Each chapter has a one-page checklist of garden tasks covering lawn care, pests, planting, vegetables etc. for just that month. The rest of the chapter covers the checklist in more detail. What to do in the month and how to do it. It may seem obvious to the experienced gardener but not to the novice. There is a friend of mine who is mystified that I am preparing for spring in September and October.

It's a big tome. But if you need more info you may need "How to be a Gardener" by the same author or an equivalent. But I must confess of the two books I refer to "The Gardener's Year" most of all. It's quick and easy reference.

A surprisingly good read, but will need supplementing
This book is great fun to read because it is written so much in Alan's own voice - you can just hear him reassuring, joking and encouraging. I'm really glad I bought it, but I warn you that you are likely to need a more encyclopaedic book too, as a back-up to this. At first it seems pretty comprehensive, until you try to use it as a reference. For example, I've just bought some freesias, and some anemones (bulbs), but when I looked for them in the index there was no mention. If you are a keen gardener, I strongly recommend you try to get hold of AGL Hellyer's "Your Garden Week by Week" which is very old, and bossy, but covers more. (Of course for a non-calendar approach there are lots of good reference books to choose from .)

From a gardening numpty!
Really! When it comes to gardening i truly havent got a clue.
Having spent vast amounts (now having an actaul whole real life garden now, and large one at that!) on gardening books trying to figure out what i'm supposed to do and when and with what i got this book from that lovely bloke....Uncle Alan.
I now have a rough idea when spring is!
The detailed check lists of monthly task's is a real brilliant for your average gardening plonker, fantastic pictures and how to's. Uncle Alan reasurringly pats you on the back all the way through and supplies you with the how to's, when's and why's including ideas etc.
I will be combining this with Cassells gardening encyclopedia i think it's called, and have all the information me, your garden plonker information she can really work with.
Go on, get the book, you know you want it!