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Happy gardening!

Thursday 16 April 2009

Growing Stuff....

Amidst trying to keep our own garden and clients' gardens maintained at an extremely busy time of year I had to share the details of a fantastic gardening book which I've been reading recently.

As a gardener and a lover of books especially on the subject of anything to do with gardening and planting I really couldn't resist this one! It is definately a "must have book" and would make an ideal gift as there really is something in there for everyone - for the experienced gardener or for people just starting out and wanting to learn more - it's even got ideas that would appeal to children too.
It has been so refreshing to find a book that doesn't just regurgitate what we find in gardening magazines and the latest in gardening books - there really are some interesting, original and quirky ideas even for those with little resources and a small growing space!

We're always looking for ways of re-cycling used water bottles - especially in France and one of their suggested projects is creating a mini window garden using half a plastic bottle along with some unwanted newspaper - an ideal base for growing your sprouting seeds to add to tasty summer salads! There's no reason why this idea couldn't also be adapted further for general seed growing too - put a few holes in the water bottle for drainage and fill with compost!

Growing Stuff covers subjects such as the basics of sowing seeds, pest control, pruning and caring for plants as well as giving you ideas on vegetable and herb growing, including some delicious recipes. It's got pages on wildlife gardening and details on how to create your own worm farm and also a ladybird house. There's so much in this book, I could go on...

There are quite a variety of contributors to this book which makes it more interesting including both Richard Reynolds and Elizabeth McCorquodale. If you've read this posting and keen to find out more click on their website.

If you would like to order a copy you will get a 40% discount as a reader of this blog and you should email Jessica Atkins mentioning that you found the details on my blog site.


I really hope you enjoy this book as much as I did....

I understand tha anyone wanting the book posted to France that the costs are as follows:
Surface Mail - £4.65 (2-4 weeks)Airmail - £5.22 (1-2 weeks)Astro Air Economy - £8.20 (up to 5 days)

4 comments:

Cheryl said...

Hi Miranda.......I love gardening books...I have so many the oak shelves in the sitting room are bowing slightly.....

This one will be on my must buy list......

Miranda Bell said...

Hi Cheryl - lovely to get your comments - as you'll gather I think it is a great book - I think you'd probably enjoy this one and maybe there'll be some stuff in there Poppy might enjoy too!

Every day I keep hoping to have enough time to post all the lovely Cornish photos I took and also of my own garden too - this week has been so full and busy I've hardly had time to sit down... parents arrive tomorrow so hopefully some restful moments ahead!

Hope everything is going well with you Miranda

A wildlife gardener said...

This sounds really worthwhile, Miranda. I am into cookery recipes at the moment. I seem to be interested in using my herbs more than I used to, because they were mainly for decorative purposes in previous years. Life is always interesting, n'est-ce pas?

Miranda Bell said...

Hi Wildlife Gardener - really sorry to take so long to reply to your message - not enough hours in the day right now - to catch up with our garden let alone anyone elses!! I'm sure it's the same with you. If you're interested in Herbs - Jekka McVicar has some really interesting books on herbs, how to grow and how to use - if you're ever down Bristol way - her open days are well worth a visit - the varieties she stocks are unending!! She also sells herb seeds too. I'm sure you've come across her details but just incase you haven't! http://www.jekkasherbfarm.com/

Hope you're having fun in your garden right now... it's such a fab time of year!