What magazines/books do you read AND actually use
ighten
Posts: 184
I don't subscribe to GW I must admit - I seem to buy it quite randomly (lots of train travel) and looking back over the last issues purchased its dawned on me it would have actually been cheaper to subscribe,
Books are a different matter though; I cant think there's been a presenter or contributer of GW whose books I haven't bought.. Sadly most seem to end up as door stops. I seem to hate technical books and enjoy those which have a story or personal touch.. Monty Don and C Kleins diary types being the most recent (I have enjoyed) though I still think Montys old DK book was the best... Hell I even enjoyed a couple of Alan Ts books until I realised I was reading in his voice and threw it at the cat in horror.
I'm a sucker for "gardens Illustrated" for the same reasons - Its un technical but seems to have more ideas and inspiration in two photos than GW ever offers, but then again it didn't give me half price entry to some of the best gardens in the country and more inspiration than could ever be captured in pics..
Just wondering then ..
What do you like
Posts
The series of books by Martyn Rix and Roger Phillips, Shrubs, Early Perennials, LatePerennials and lots more including the splendid Mushrooms which has helped me ID lots of the fungi around the garden, Very good for a browse if you're looking for a new plant.
Christopher Lloyd wrote some good books early on but some of the later ones were rather empty. Lots of pretty and not many words. A shame as CL was a master of words.
.Rather the opposite from you.I don't think there's a single TV presenter whose books I have bought
In the sticks near Peterborough
I have far too many gardening books! A result of living too close to RHS Wisley.
Alan Titchmarsh's 'The Complete How to be a gardener' probably comes off the bookshelf more than any other for my day to day gardening.
For inspiration, I love Penelope Hothouse's books 'On Gardening' and 'Garden Designs.' Also really liked Stephanie Cohen & Nancy Ondra's 'The Perennial Gardener's Design Primer.'
A lovely client gave me Nigel Slater's 2 volume 'Tender' which talks about growing and cooking fruit and veg; brilliant, though I do find his manner slightly odd on television. 'How does your garden grow' by Chris Beardshaw.
I didn't know at the time that C. Beardshaw was a t.v. person; but it hasn't turned me against his book
I won't buy a book simply because it's by a TV presenter but I won't snub them either. Just depends what the books about and if I think there's a better book on the same topic available.
I subscribe to GW, garden news and amateur gardening (which sometimes seem like the same mag) but garden answers is my favourite.
I also took the limited offer on gardens illustrated but I'm binning that one.
Books wise I've got the Alan Titchmarsh 'how to' ones and the rhs encyclopaedia and I feel like I should like them...but I don't
My favourite books are the rspbs gardening for wildlife, plants for bees and Collins British wild flowers which is the best guide I've ever seen.
I don't snub them, it's just that none of them have written my book yet
In the sticks near Peterborough
Not suggesting you would snub them, Nut. Just saying that I don't deliberately avoid them myself.
In the sticks near Peterborough
Monty don the jewel garden and the complete gardener carol Klein's grow your own veg anything by alys fowler and the cottage gardener Geoff Hamilton you can't go wrong with these tombs of horticultural excellence
Delightful Freudian slip there - or shall we blame Auto-correct?
I have Christopher Lloyds's The Well-chosen Garden and Alan T's more recent book, which was a prize on one of the GW competitiions, but I've not read it yet and the name escapes me. I've also got an elderly vegetable book by Percy Thrower and an even older one which belonged to my gardening granny - most of the rest are plant reference books - RHS etc. and piles and piles and piles of The Garden and GW.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.