Page 10 - ALG Issue 4 2019

book reviews
Grow Your Own Botanicals
Guide to Garden
Wildlife (2nd edition)
By Richard Lewington Bloomsbury Publishing, £12.99 Paperback, 224 pages
ISBN: 9781472964830
Even the smallest garden can
be an important haven for
wildlife, and this authoritative guide enables everyone to explore this wealth on their back doorstep. It covers all the main animal groups
– including pond life – likely to be found in a garden in Great Britain and Ireland. Detailed descriptions and information on life history, behaviour and occurrence are provided for more than 500 species, as well as practical information on creating a pond for wildlife, making nest boxes and feeding birds.
Richard Lewington, acknowledged as one of
the finest natural history artists in Europe, has teamed up with his brother Ian, one of our most respected bird artists, to provide nearly 1,000 superbly detailed colour artworks to complement the text. Presented in an accessible, easy-to-use format, this fully updated and expanded edition covers everything from blue tits to bumblebees and hedgehogs to hawkmoths.
By Cinead McTernan Octopus Publishing, £18.99 Hardback, 208 pages ISBN: 9780857837677
Grow Your Own Botanicals brings together an inspirational collection of plants that add beauty, structure and interest to a garden as well as providing an exciting harvest that can be used in innovative ways in the kitchen and home. If you're buying seed kits and botanical plant gifts or like to experiment with making your own drinks, remedies or skin care, this handbook is the must-have companion gardening guide. Now you can make your hibiscus cordial for cocktails, herb and spice mix for your roasts or calendula face cream with your own garden produce.
Cinead offers general advice on
getting started - soil, composting, borders, containers, seed saving, cuttings, intercropping, wildlife and biodiversity - before moving on to the botanical garden. From plants that might traditionally be recognised as
a botanical, to more unusual exotic varieties, this collection of 80 botanicals don't need huge space to grow but harvest meaningful amounts to
use to flavour food, drinks and oils. Experiment with herbs like juniper,
balm or nigella, grow evening primrose or liquorice with their pretty flowers, and try out fruits like Chilean guava or yuzu. This is gardening at its most fun and fanciful!
lemon
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06/12/2018
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10 Allotment and Leisure Gardener