We love books about gardening and plants at Plant Heritage and here are some of our favourites.
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Reviewed Books
Mary McMurtie's Country Garden Flowers
Timothy Clark
185 pp Garden Art Press ISBN 978-1-87067-360 RRP £25
Reviewed by Richard Gant
Christopher Brickell in the Foreword endoses the relevance of this publication to Plant Heritage. The text describes the life and work of Mary McMurtrie, the influence of her husband the Reverend John McMurtrie, her gardening experiences, correspondence and botanical art. Primary infomation sources are letters to and from Margery Fish of East Lambrook Manor, Gladys Emmerson, nee Peto and the author. Throughout, the book is beautifully illustrated with Mary's watercolour botanical art.
Early on, Mary's training, philosophy and perspectives are explained. These extend from being a successful nurserywoman distributing plants of previous generations, to her writing articles, her interest in heritage architecture to her botanical art. Her work was incliduded in the Royal Horticultural Society's 'Glory of the Garden Exhibition' in 1987 and in 1992 she illustrated
Plantas do Algarve for the University of Lisbon. She published three books,
Scots Roses,
Old Cottage Pinks and
Scottish Wild Flowers.
Chapters are dedicated to a range of plants, including Mary's passion for Primroses and Auriculas, Daisies, Pinks and Carnations and Roses. The author embellishes his subject with historical, social, horticultural and botanical information, carefully thought out and relevant, in so doing maintaining a fluidity and lightness of touch without compromising technical detail. The result is a highly readable text charting the conservation work, plant exchange and writing by a generation of passionate gardeners before the creation of Plant Heritage. Their legacy is our inheritance.
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Directions for the Gardiner and other Horticultural Advice
John Evelyn, edited by Maggie Campbell-Culver
310pp Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-10-923207-9 RRP £14.99
Reviewed by Pat Huff
The horticultural writings of the 17th Century John Evelyn have hitherto been overshadowed by his Diary. Indeed, until this edition,
Directions for the Gardiner has only existed in manuscript and a transcription privately published in 1932. Maggie Campbell-Culver has brought together the three texts most likely to be of interest to gardeners today and edited them with a light but scholarly touch. She has chosen to alter the original manuscript text very little, and it crackles and fizzes with 17th Century brio. Grocer's apostrophes and neologisms abound; spelling and punctuation are subject to Evelyn's preferences at the moment. There is, however, a very comprehensive and informative appendix of footnotes in which Campbell-Culver makes all clear.
Although some of the attraction for modern audiences lies in the book's quaintness - e.g. apples with wonderful names like 'The Ladies Longing' and 'Sheeps Snout' - it is more than just a period piece. So many of the techniques we consider modern were known to Evelyn, from the use of dwarfing rootstock for fruit trees, to drip watering, to cavity wall insulation. His prescriptive instructions in the
Kalendarium Hortense prefigure all the "Tasks for This Week/Month" columns in the horticultural press (and reminded me of Christopher Lloyd's mischievous assertion that the best time to do any garden task is when you get round to it).
Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets firmly establishes Evelyn as the great-grandaddy of all the current gardener-cooks like Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. (Hugh, adventurous enough to cook road-kill in his rooms as a schoolboy at Eton, might actually try all of the 73 different plants Evelyn considers adding to his "sallets"). Evelyn's profound mistrust of mushrooms and unceasing war on earthworms distinguish him from his 21st Century heirs, but his enthusiasm for grow-your-own makes them brothers under the skin.
This is a handsomely produced and reasonably priced book that will appeal to gardeners and garden historians both.
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Forgotten Fruits
Christopher Stocks
304pp illus. Random House, ISBN 978-1-9052118-0-7 RRP £16.99
Reviewed by Maggie Campbell-Culver
This book is a treat to read; it is both well written and well researched, and although this is Christopher Stocks' first book, words are his trade as he is both a journalist and a poet.
In the past few years vegetables and fruit have achieved cult status, we have been urged by the government to eat 'five a day' for our own good, and 'growing your own is, we are told, exceeding that of cultivating flowers. There are apple days, and potato days, as well as supermarkets stocking many more varieties of both, for us to buy and enjoy.
Of the thousands of vegetable and fruit varieties, Stocks has cleverly chosen to write about those which are still available for us to grow. Of the nineteen vegetables and seven fruit species chosen, each has its own chapter, beginning with a succinct overall history, followed by the individual stories of several old varieties, This is where the real meat of the book lies, and where the author's research comes to the fore - who has heard of, for instance, a Fat Lazy Blonde? She is a lettuce and we are introduced to her floppy yellow green leaves and soft tender heart. With such a descriptive name there is an irresistable temptation to obtain the seed and grow it as soon as possible!
Reading about strawberries is rather a disappointment - there seem to be few of the delicious flavoured older varieties which have survived, flavour is all with this fruit, as it is with raspberries, another fruit whose heritage has drifted into the compost bin. It makes one realise the hazardous nature of what survives and what disappears, and is at the core of what this book is all about.
From having your taste-buds titillated to growing and buying the desired fruit or vegetables, all the practicalities for so doing are contained in the Supplement, from places that specialise in the growing of rare or unusual greengrocery, helpful organisations, seeds merchants and growers, all is clearly laid out. The author could not have been more explicit in his passion for encouraging the diversity of our vegetables and fruit, and in writing this book he has given all of us the opportunity of participating in this crusade of conservation.
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WOOD & INGRAM
A Huntingdonshire Nursery 1742-1950
John Drake
Published by the Cambridgeshire Gardens Trust
Copyright John Drake 2008 ISBN 978-0-9538542-1-9
260 Pages
Price £12 (with postage & packing £14) Copies available from the Cambridgeshire Gardens Trust, The Grange, Easton, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE18 0TU
Reviewed by Richard Gant
The early pages succinctly outline the essence of this informative publication. They convey the breadth and diversity of research undertaken, the sources of information and where they were found. The range of material from primary sources is extensive, ranging from diaries, correspondence, catalogues, local newspaper reports to reminiscences from past employees. Throughout, this information forms the backbone of the text, whether 18th Century ledgers, 19th Century invoices or 20th Century correspondence. Interwoven between these statistical and factual sources, is a supportive commentary reflecting the wider social, political and horticultural world for each era covered. The effect of these influences on the nursery trade is discussed; examples include two 18th century factors, the Enclosure Act and the employment by local estates of Lancelot (Capability) Brown and a 19th century influence, the rise of Florist Societies.
The text decribes the changes in ownership of the nursery through the generations with sufficient information on each era. The evolution of the nursery is charted, from the production of newly introduced ornamental plants in the 18th Century, to the breeding of apples in the late 19th Century and extensive rose production during the early decades of the 20th Century. The book engagingly discusses the early major aristocratic patrons of the nursery; later the patronage of some of the leading nurseries in the country, Bees, R. Harkness & Co, Hilliers & Son, T.Rivers & Son and R. Veitch & Son testify the importance of Wood and Ingram as a major production nursery. Throughout, the author inserts pockets of information, which fascinate including the introduction of the Huntingdon Elm by the nursery. Later, he observes that the landscape at Burghley House is the most complete Capability Brown commission today because Lime trees rather than Elm trees were planted as the dominant tree in the park.
The author and the Cambridgeshire Gardens Trust are to be congratulated on the publication of this highly readable and informative book. It will be of interest to many, gardeners, historians and Cambridgeshire people who have an interest in our rich heritage.
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Phlomis: the neglected genus, a guide for gardeners and horticulturalists
Jim Mann Taylor 88pp illus. 1998 ISBN 0-9532413-0-0
Available to download or print on demand
Reviewed by Peter Barnes
Considering that members of the genus
Phlomis are known to have been culitvated in Britain since the time of Philip Miller and even Gerard, the word 'neglected' seems quite appropriate, for the genus is under-represented in most gardens. Perhpas it has been neglected in other ways too, for it is clear from this guide that there is still much confusion in its taxonomy. The author is well-placed to help resolve some of the problems and also to wave a flag for the genus, for he holds the National Collection, in which he attempts to represent some of the natural variability of the species in the wild.
The authority inevitably makes some taxonomic judgements and he acknowledges advice received from Ian Hedge at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. This is not a monographic treatment in the botanical sense, but seems likely that its main use will be in checking the identity of garden plants. Even gardeners. then, may be disappointed at the absence of any key to aid identification, and this is something that I feel should be mandatory for serious horticultural monographs of this sort.
Some sound and interesting introductory matter includes notes on the etymology of the generic name, on classification, distribution and pollination of the genus, propagation, cultivation and a summary of the medicinal uses of its species. A short list of published illustrations (nomenclature corrected where necessary) complements the generally excellent photographs which illustrate the book. The main part, however, is taken up by descriptions of the species, hybrids and cultivars, arranged alphabetically under the headings: Shrubs, Perennials, and section Phlomoides (which differs in corolla shape and in chromosome number). These are rather terse botanical descriptions and make little attempt to 'sell' the plants; a brief appraisal of the garden value of each would have been welcome.
Concise horticultural monographs appeal to me when, like this, they are written with the authority of practical experience. I would recommend this book to anyone who already grows more than one or two species, and to any gardener who might be won over by the evident attractions and surprising diversity of the genus. It should alsow be a useful source-book for botanists involved with
Phlomis.
Weeds
Richard Mabey
324 pp Profile Books Ltd IKSBN 978-1-84668076 2, RRP 15.99
Reviewed by Pat Huff
Since the expulsion from Eden, weeds have symbolized humanity’s struggle against nature.
God in fact gives them special mention when He outlines to Adam what banishment from the Garden will mean. The beneficent, prelapsarian earth will turn grudging and spiteful: “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee…”
While acknowledging the dark side of weeds, Richard Mabey’s delightful book also celebrates their unsinkable exuberance. The development of agriculture divided plants into good and bad, the wheat and the tares of the Parables, but for millennia afterwards there existed alongside this classification a belief that all plants had special powers, if only they could be discovered.
Mabey’s chapters on the place of plants in European folklore and the ‘bokes’ of the 17th century herbalists explore a fascinating period when the beginnings of scientific classification of plants combined with magic, witchcraft and astrology. His treatment of the history of weeds and European man is at once erudite and light of touch, but this is not only an academic study. He argues most persuasively that man and weed are inextricably interdependent.
Tilling of the soil, whether in agriculture or horticulture, actively encourages weeds. There is a constant arms race, with neither side pulling ahead for long. The grass weeds of South-East Asian paddy fields, for example, resemble rice so closely that farmers can’t distinguish them. Plant breeders developed rice with a purple tinge to make it easier to tell the weeds from the food crop. “Within a matter of years, the weed grass had turned purple too.”
Every gardener has experienced the mixture of rage and chagrin elicited by the realization that the backbreaking labour of weeding out the ground elder has only helped it to spread. We help the weeds, but the weeds also help us. The help is practical, in terms of holding the soil together, but also spiritual in that they are a constant reminder of Nature that cannot be controlled or confined. Mabey quotes the Jesuit poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins: “
Oh let them be left, wildness and wet:/Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet”.
Practical Bamboos
Paul Whittaker
176 pp Timber Press ISBN 978-1-60469-056-9 RRP £14.99
Reviewed by Rollo Snook“
Due to its wildly aggressive rhizome behaviour, this is not a plant for the timid or a small garden unless religiously contained.”
It is words like these that terrify many a potential bamboo-grower, and put them off ever investing in one of these glamorous grasses. This book is intended for bamboo novices. It’s like having experienced nurseryman Paul Whittaker at your side at the garden centre, gently steering you in the right direction.
The redoubtable species described in the sentence above, for instance, is Chimonobambusa tumidissinoda, the Giong Bamboo or Walking Stick Bamboo. Its “swollen, saucer-like nodes” are its USP and, amazingly for a thug that can grow to 11 feet tall, it can be grown quite happily in a pot. So long as you keep dividing and repotting every few years, it will accept domestic confinement. Forget about it, on the other hand, and it will burst the pot and run amok in your garden.
The fifty bamboos Whittaker describes are all designed for the beginner to grow outside. Some will benefit from being given a bit of shelter in the winter, but none requires greenhouse treatment or lots of coddling. The author’s boundless enthusiasm for the genus – at one point he confesses, “I know about the perils of addiction because it happened to me” – impels him to suggest all sorts of ways in which they can be used, from large-scale plantings in big gardens, to strategically placed clumps concealing surburban eyesores or neighbours, to potted specimens in elegant roof-gardens.
The book is beautifully illustrated, with each of Whittaker’s choices being photographed as a whole and its special features or characteristics shown in close-up. Everyone knows about Phyllotachys nigra, the Black Bamboo, but there are others with equally beautifully-coloured culms.
The chapter on “Practicalities for Success” also has useful illustrations on plant and constructing the all-important rhizome barrier. The author would rather see the right bamboo in the right place, but accepts that there are circumstances where the barrier is indispensable. If you are considering letting a bamboo into your life, this book is equally indispensable.
Gardening for Butterflies, Bees and other beneficial insects: A how-to guide
Jan Miller-Klein
262pp Saith Ffynnon Books ISBN 9780955528804 RRP £19.95
This book is distributed through the author's website:
www.7wells.co.uk
Reviewed by Pat Huff
Jan Miller-Klein’s boundless enthusiasm for bees, butterflies and dozens of other invertebrates is balanced by the realisation that she is writing primarily for gardeners. However much we might want to encourage our creepy crawly chums, most gardeners are not prepared to sacrifice several square metres of garden to a patch of stinging nettles, nor to embrace creeping thistle because the Silver Washed Fritillary finds it “irresistible”. Ms Miller-Klein knows that it is a balancing act and offers in this book a list of insect-friendly plants and do-able projects that combine them in attractive and unusual ways.
Her chapter on brownfield sites in particular is a revelation. The pressure to both house and feed and ever-expanding population means that developers are given incentives to use brownfield sites, which are considered to be already degraded, rather than encroach upon agricultural land. The surroundings of abandoned factories and disused mines, are however, often rich in biodiversity. Even the rundown corners of cities, eyesores full of dumped shopping trolleys and old mattresses, can be habitats rich in endangered species. The actions of ‘guerilla gardeners’ who tidy them up and replace the weeds with attractive plants may have unintended and unwelcome consequences.
One way of reproducing the Spartan conditions of a brownfield site is to make a green roof, and Ms Miller-Klein gives simple directions on how to do it. She has a great grasp of the possible. Although the sight of wildflower meadows is beautiful in the mind’s eye, in practice they require constant management and, usually, heavy earth-moving equipment. A flowering (i.e. weedy) lawn is much more within the grasp of most gardeners, and will be as beneficial to butterflies, bees and other insects.
She gives plans for Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens and Moth Gardens, and suggests that you “photocopy the one you want and put in a plastic pouch to use in the garden so that your book doesn’t get wet and muddy”. She is honest as well as practical: no matter what you do, or what you plant, if you don’t live near the Norfolk Broads, you are never going to get Swallowtail Butterflies in your garden.
As National Collection Holder of Eupatorium, Ms Miller-Klein is already a major player in conservation. This book is just as she describes it: a ‘How-To Guide’ to get the rest of us involved.
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