The Ward Lock Encyclopedia of Practical Gardening [Paperback]

Anita Pereire (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1997

A comprehensive gardening directory of garden plants and guide to gardening techniques, this book covers over 4000 garden flowers, plants and shrubs, with notes on cultivation and uses in the garden. It also offers advice, with step-by-step instructions, on garden design, construction and planting: pools, rock gardens, pergolas and other structures, plant propagation and pests and diseases. The book explains many other gardening skills from making mulch to grafting a fruit tree.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Sterling Pub Co Inc (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0706376390
• ISBN-13: 978-0706376395
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,714,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An All-Round Winner, October 29, 2000

By 

"pure-swallow" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ward Lock Encyclopedia of Practical Gardening (Paperback)

I kid you not - I looked through 2 shelves worth of gardeningbooks and went cross-eyed without finding anything as good as this.

It of course depends on what you are looking for - if you wantdetailed information about how to grow waterlilies, this is not foryou. It is best suited for someone who is beginner to intermediate -although I think even the expert will appreciate having this fantasticreference to all the major (over 4000) flowering plants, shrubs andtrees, climbers, and fruit.

Advantages of this book over thecompetition:

1) There is a picture for every plant that ismentioned. It is amazing that not all gardening books have picturesand the description is just another plant name. Pictures also meanthat if you see a beautiful flowering bush as you are driving, you cancome home, check its name, and go to your local nursery to ask for it,rather that say "Uh, I think its got pink flowers, and greenleaves." Save your nurseryman from a headache and yourself fromembarassment! Oh and the photos are stunning as well, if you like toenjoy reading your garden books for pleasure.

2) There are a few'encyclopedic' reference books around that give very detailedinformation about the plant, up to the history of its development -but no tips. Not so here. Each plant come with a short descriptionof the plant, useful hints for growing, and recommendations ofvarieties.

3) There is a section on gardening techniques - coveringall the essential steps: planning (beautifully illustrated plans forthe garden to suit your needs eg. garden for family with children, forthe elderly or disabled, how to make a square garden look less angularetc. I love this section, it is so creative and the author has goodideas); there are also buying tips (how to choose); constructiontechniques (yes! actually teaches the easier methods of building aflower beds, fences, paving, steps, rock gardens and also coversthings like drainage, watering etc); propagation techniques; improvingsoil quality; maintainence and more.

4) The author has thoughtfullyand very usefully compiled all the information in quick referencetables at the end, tabulating soil requirements, aspect/hardiness,foliage, flowering season, problems, etc. Basically everything youneed to know when planning which plants to put with what, what to growso you have flowers all year round, how to get plats to flowersimultaneously. It's amazing how many gardening books fail to dothis.

5) ... I couldn't believe it. It's one third of the nextbest 'encyclopedia'-type book. You get so much out of it, consideringyou can buy a book just on planning and designing for that price.

...

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Misleading about the author, April 28, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ward Lock Encyclopedia of Practical Gardening (Paperback)

I am a great fan of Alan Titchmarsh. When I looked for garden books by him this book came up. I read the reviews and it sounded good. So I ordered it. It is very good but it is not by Alan Titchmarsh! He simply wrote a very short foreward to the book. I don't think books not actually written by the person should be listed as they are the author! This is nothing against Ms Pereire. Her book is good. It is misleading! Mr. Titchmarsh had nothing to do with this book!! Naughty, naughty!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good sources on most plants for your garden., July 31, 2000

By 

Robert Eaton Jr. - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ward Lock Encyclopedia of Practical Gardening (Paperback)

Read and reviewed most what I have in my garden and found it very sourceable with all information on what I should do and prevent errors from occurring. I should have done my own planting AFTER buying this book to read to learn more on how my plants thrive on and give you a better GREEN THUMB knowledge. It's an excellent book for those who cannot afford a more expensive book and budget wise...