Product Description

Professional gardeners share their many years of experience at the head of some of Britain's leading gardens such as Penhurst Place, Tatton Park, Gresgarth Hall, Crathes Castle, Barton Manor, Highgrove, Great Dixter and Wisley. This anthology of topical tips and advice, taken from the weekly "Telegraph" column, includes how to make a simple cold frame, combating leginess in pelargoniums, reviving tired evergreen shrubs and growing kniphofias.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #853874 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

Review
A popular column in Saturday's "Daily Telegraph" gardening section, "Seeds of Wisdom" offers tit-bits of invaluable advice from Britain's top gardeners. From National Trust gardens, private homes, castles and manor houses, all the contributors look after beautifully maintained gardens or run nurseries producing top class plants and are thus in an admirable position to dispense top class horticultural advice. Divided into seasons, editor Val Bourne has produced a dip-in-and-read book, ideal for the bedside of any gardener. Every tip is valuable - some commonsense, some quirky, some obvious, all useful to gardeners in every situation. Green gardening, houseplants, pruning, seed sowing - every imaginable topic is covered within its attractively illustrated pages. A wonderful, frequently amusing book which would be an ideal gift for gardeners of all abilities. - Lucy Watson

This is a small treasure trove of horticultural lore passed on by some of the country's foremost gardeners, full of useful tips on how to get the most from your garden over the year, whether it be several acres or a humble backyard. We all have a need to maintain our own area of natural beauty, but often are left disheartened by our failures, and this book acts as a kindly friend, passing on knowledge inherited through generations of gardeners, from all corners of the country. Even the most green-fingered of readers will not fail to learn something new and interesting. One head gardener urges us to brush seedlings every day, to make them stockier, whilst another advises that keeping large seeds in a gritty coat pocket scratches their surface, making germination easier. Many of the contributors manage extensive grounds for the National Trust, but there is something for those of us with more ambition than space; by pruning the lower branches of shrubs, valuable ground space is cleared for smaller plants. Cold frames can be expensive to buy, but here we find simple instructions for building your own, using an old drawer and a sheet of glass. And there are myriad solutions for attracting butterflies and birds, as well as deterring more unwelcome visitors, including the ever-present slug. The delightfully droll illustrations that accompany the generously laid-out text make this an attractive gift for anyone who has the smallest interest in gardening. One of its strengths is that it does not seek to dictate a set of 'must-do' rules, but gives pointers that will not fail to inspire the most reluctant of armchair gardeners to arm themselves with secateurs and trowel and venture forth to put their new-found knowledge into action. (Kirkus UK)

Synopsis
Professional gardeners share their many years of experience at the head of some of Britain's leading gardens such as Penhurst Place, Tatton Park, Gresgarth Hall, Crathes Castle, Barton Manor, Highgrove, Great Dixter and Wisley. This anthology of topical tips and advice, taken from the weekly "Telegraph" column, includes how to make a simple cold frame, combating leginess in pelargoniums, reviving tired evergreen shrubs and growing kniphofias.

About the Author
Val Bourne is a freelance writer and regular contributor to the Telegraph's gardening supplement. She has her own entirely organic garden in Hook Norton, Oxfordshire where she has a staggering collection of snowdrops. She has been gathering these seeds of wisdom for over a year.