"Top Tips" is a charming accompaniment to a new daytime "Gardeners' World" strand which collects the most fascinating and useful hints and tips from 40 years of "Gardeners' World", to help you make the very best of your garden. Divided into chapters covering Flowers, Food, Containers, Design and a miscellaneous 'Something For the Weekend' section, "Top Tips" will teach you how to make the most of classic British blooms, how to propagate exotic plants in our cool climate, the pots to plant them in and the food they'll need to help them grow. It will help you make the most of small city plots and tackle wide open spaces, to attract ladybirds and slugs as an organic army to fight flies and aphids, and to grow the plumpest, juiciest fruits and vegetables on your doorstep.

All this is presented in a classic, elegant format, with fine line drawings illustrating the snippets of invaluable gardening know-how that will make the perfect gift for your green-fingered friends to dip into.

Spiders are the most obvious group of animals - they share with us our houses and gardens. They also have some of the most fascinating colours, behaviour and biology. This book is designed to aid identification of these animals, without using any complicated keys or equipment.

Each of the 450 species covered is illustrated in colour, with paintings of all the common colour variations and differences between the sexes, and described in detail in the text. The general features of each family are also described, with information on courtship, hunting and web-making behaviour. A key to spiders' webs is also included in the introduction.

Each species has illustrations of its genitalia - to allow conclusive identification of the species.

Mushroom collecting is becoming increasingly popular, and while a comprehensive identification guide is essential, the folklore, facts and fables, recipes and stories that have accumulated since ancient times create part of the charm of these strange organisms. Oddly, these facts have never been compiled in one book. Collins Mushroom Miscellany is a compilation of all of the fascinating biological facts -- a mushroom holds the record for the largest spreading single organism covering nearly 3km --e -- the folklore -- there is a widespread belief that mushrooms arise from falling stars -- the uses -- tree moss lichen is found in most modern perfumes -- and the history -- the Neolithic Ice-Man found in Europe in 1990 carried two types of fungus; one for use as tinder, but another mounted on a leather thong remains undecided.

Additionally, the book features the most widely used recipes for cooking mushrooms from around the world. Mushroom Miscellany is a veritable treasure trove of fascinating facts -- a perfect introduction to the third kingdom of fungi and an essential companion to every mushroom field guide.

This is a gourmet's guide to foraging and cooking mushrooms. From common puffballs to golden wax caps, morels to chanterelles, find out how to forage, prepare and cook delicious mushrooms that are wild, fresh and free. Superb photographs show edible mushrooms in their natural habitats, so you know exactly what to look for, where, and when.

Once you've reaped your harvest, there are over 50 fantastic recipes to transform fungi into mouth-watering dishes - from hearty meals for hungry hunters to delicious soups, salads, and exotic specialities.

Many of us dream of a place in the country and this book tells of one particular story. Polmoodie was a derelict sheep farm in the Scottish borders when Alan Tait bought it, piece by piece in the 1980's. Twenty years later it has become an oasis in an otherwise desolate landscape, with poor soil, a hostile climate, and in the twentieth century blighted by the Forestry Commission's blanket planting of conifers.

This book tells the story of how one man, with limited funds, created this garden in the hills, and it will inspire and captivate anyone who has shared the author's dream.

In the writings collected in this book, the stories of gardening unfold in the full palette of color, and character, wild imagination, and hard work, fabulous growth, sometimes humbling failure. Filled with wit, warmth, a compensable engagement with the land in all it's moods and seasons, this wonderful book will see any start-up gardener or seasoned veteran through the most riotous summer of growth or coldest months of waiting and dreaming about what to plant next. Contributors include Michael Pollan, Anna Pavord, Jamaica Kincaid, Diane Ackerman, plus renowned garden designers Vita Sackville-West, Beverly Nichols, Ann Lovejoy, Tovah Martin, all sharing their experiences with passion and humor.

No month-by-month journal has ever made it so easy for the gardener to get the most from their veg plot. Carol Klein and the RHS experts consider every stage in the process. From buying seed, sowing, planting and feeding, to harvesting and effective storage.

It is one thing to produce tomatoes or pumpkins - or any other fruit or vegetable for pleasure, or for the table, as it comes into season, but it becomes another when you realise that most crops in the garden arrive in gluts with no more to be had for another year - unless you do something about it. This book is about how to make the best use of your home-grown produce. The first part begins in the garden, showing you how to achieve a more continuous crop as well as how to extend your harvest. Then Bob steps into the kitchen to show you the best way to preserve and cook your crop by bottling, drying, jamming, smoking as well as how best to store. Bob uses his intimate and comprehensive knowledge of each crop to advise you on how best to treat them - how, for example, the natural sweetness and acidity of fruit means that you retain more moisture when drying them than vegetables as well as tips on how to maximising flavour, for instance, by rehydrating pulses in herb-flavoured water.

The creation of gardens was among the first achievements of early civilizations, and garden design was already highly developed in antiquity. Pictures of gardens are a reflection of the social, historical, and aesthetic context in which gardens were conceived. The focus of this captivating book is not the gardens themselves or the different concepts of the garden, but rather the representation of gardens in paintings.

The author examines why artists paint gardens by covering the varied and lively 2,000-year history of the garden picture using 180 masterpieces of gardens as examples.The text begins with a look at ancient Rome, when paintings of gardens, as found in villas in Pompeii, were already valued as works of art. The wide-ranging coverage also includes pictures of charming medieval gardens in books of hours; Botticelli's masterwork La Primavera, set in a grove of orange trees; views of well-known historic gardens, such as those at Versailles; painter's gardens, as for example, Monet's Giverny; and modern gardens depicted by Frida Kahlo, Andy Warhol, and David Hockney, among others. For collectors of art history books and garden books, this lovely volume should appeal to a broad audience.

The culmination of over thirty years' work, this authoritative and superbly illustrated reference work is packed with the most up-to-date information and original photographs. Set to become the essential illustrated mycological encyclopedia for the next 25 years, this book is also clear, user friendly and will appeal to a wide range of readers. Unsurpassed in both illustrative and descriptive detail, "Mushrooms" contains over 1,250 photographs, often showing the specimens in various stages of growth, and including all the latest botanical and common names as well as current ecological information on endangered species. Having sold more than 750,000 copies in Europe of his previous title on mushrooms, Roger Phillips' new book once again sets the benchmark. Quite simply, nobody with an interest in the subject can afford to be without this book. 'Roger Phillips has written the best mushroom book I know: the sublime taxonomic accuracy of his descriptions and photographs, combined with an evangelical and infectious passion for the subject, will make an instant mycophile of anyone who picks it up.' - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. 'A masterpiece of identification.' - David Bellamy.

David Austin has an international following as a rose grower with an intimate knowledge of his chosen flower. In this wide-ranging book, he examines the historical development of the rose and discusses its place in the garden scene. He then selects and describes the best and most beautiful roses for today's gardens in chapters on Old Roses, Hybrid Teas and Floribundas, Small Roses, Species Roses, Shrub Roses, Climbing Roses and Rambling Roses.The English Roses that he has developed over fifty years of painstaking hybridisation are discussed in an especially highly illustrated and updated chapter that includes the best roses bred by David Austin up to the present day.

The English Roses, which combine the charm, form of flower and gorgeous fragrance of the Old Roses with the disease resistance and the free and continuous flowering of Modern Roses, have influenced the way roses are used in gardens worldwide. Chapters on roses in the garden scene and on cultivation complete the book's comprehensive coverage. The opinions and recommendations of a leading rose grower, plantsman and gardener are combined with sumptuous photographs of roses in gardens and close up to make Roses irresistible for rose lovers and a must-have book for every rosarian.

The exquisite symmetry of the star-shaped blooms of saxifrages has captivated gardeners for centuries. Close observation of their fine markings, artful color combinations, and graceful presence makes it eminently clear why they attract such an enthusiastic following. Many saxifrages come from mountain habitats that make them well-suited to rock gardens, troughs, and containers, but the diverse genus includes a huge range of garden worthy plants that deserve to be better known and more widely grown.

This book brings together accounts of garden and wild saxifrages, their botany, history, cultivation and propagation. All sections of genus Saxifraga are described, first discursively for the general gardener and then from a botanical viewpoint. There are the dwarf cushion saxifrages whose perfect domes of foliage are studded with jewel-like flowers, the silver saxifrages whose distinctive rosettes and fountain sprays of white flowers associate well with ordinary garden plants, and the mossy saxifrages whose highly prized cultivars have enhanced gardens since the end of the nineteenth century. Malcolm McGregor's advice on using saxifrages in different parts of the garden and his list of the top 100 saxifrages will be invaluable to gardeners new to the genus and to experts who wish to diversify.

This is the fascinating story of a true enthusiast's search for saxifrages in the wild, his techniques for successful cultivation, and his continuing quest for information. It will increase understanding of this plant, inspire everyone to grow more saxifrages in their gardens, and satisfy specialists and enthusiasts for decades to come.

Native to every continent except Antarctica, palms are most closely identified with tropical regions and one species in particular, Cocos nucifera, the coconut palm, is the universally recognized symbol of all things tropical. Yet, many palms can withstand freezing and thus can be grown in mild temperate climates where the average low temperature does not drop below 5°F (-15°C). In addition, palms thrive in a wide range of habitats from swamps to deserts, rain forests to plains and grasslands. Some prefer full sun, others deep shade. Some are stemless shrubs, others are solitary or clustering trees, and still others are vinelike, but all are evergreen.

Given such diversity and versatility, it is surprising that palms are underutilized in landscapes and gardens, even in tropical climes. Several reasons account for this, including misconceptions about the plants' growing requirements and unfamiliarity with their ornamental qualities. This pocket guide remedies both problems. It unlocks the keys to successfully growing 200 of the most common and easily obtainable palm species and hybrids, and it highlights botanical characteristics that are of interest to gardeners and landscapers.

Each description includes details of trunk, crownshaft, leaf, flower, and fruit to assist in plant identification and selection. The extensive cultivation notes include details of mature tree size, cold hardiness, and light, soil, and water requirements. Suggestions for using the plants indoors and out will help even novice gardeners know where to start, and succinct information on seed germination will assist anyone who wants to grow their own palms from seed.

Illustrated with more than 300 color photographs, this guide is a valuable complement to An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms and an ideal reference for taking to the nursery or garden center.

Water is a soothing and delightful addition to any garden, and water features - streams, waterfalls, and bog gardens - continue to be popular design elements in the modern garden. And now, gardeners finally have a practical and handy place to turn for information about water garden plants. In the "Timber Press Pocket Guide to Water Garden Plants", gardening gurus Greg and Sue Speichert provide information on a full range of plants that can be used in ponds and wet soils, from the widely popular waterlilies and lotuses to the often-overlooked submerged, floating, and bog plants.The newest edition in the popular "Pocket Guide" series focuses on 300 of the best plants for use in large and small water gardens.

Each description includes detailed information on choosing, planting, and caring for plants. Notes on cultivation address the question of how much water each plant needs to grow and provide information on cold tolerance and how to overwinter plants. Suggestions for use in the landscape offer design ideas for gardeners of all levels.