I received a copy of the updated, paperback version of the RHS Nature’s Gardener – How to Garden in the 21st Century last week. The author, Matthew Wilson, has worked for the RHS, managing 2 of their gardens, at Hyde Hall and Harlow Carr. These gardens have very different climates and will suffer in different ways from future climate change. Using this experience he has written a book that shows how gardeners can minmise their impact on the environment and adapt their space to cope more successfully with the changing climate.
For me gardening is about working with nature so I was particularly interested in reading this book.
As you would expect from a RHS book this is very comprehensive, covering all the topics you would want if you were new to gardening; from working out your soil type and pH, to how to make compost and how to plant a plant properly. Where this book differs is the emphasis on conserving resources, minimising damage to the local and wider environment and ultimately gardening in a more sustainable way. I particularly liked the chapter ‘Reuse, Recycle and Sustain’. The author shows how choices are not always straight forward. For instance, quarried stone would probably be seen as a bad choice by most people. However, if it is sourced from a local quarry, so has low transport miles and the quarry provides jobs in an area where employment opportunities are small and when the stone is in place it will be hard wearing and around for a long time, in this context it compares well with other choices.
I thought the section on understanding the importance of climate, both macro and micro was very useful and will certainly make me look at my own garden in more detail.
The emphasis of this book is very much on understanding what your growing conditions are and planting plants that will thrive. Rather than adapting your conditions to the plants you want to grow. Matthew uses examples of gardens with sustainable planting at their heart such as Piet Oudolf’s Millennium Garden at Pensthorpe in Norfolk and the Dry Garden at Hyde Hall in Essex. Ultimately this new approach is good for all concerned, plants, the environment and gardeners. Who has time to spend on plants that need mollycoddling?
I loved the ideas for greening garden structures but would have liked some examples of these in small, what I call ‘normal gardens’, rather than from an RHS garden, just so the average gardener could be inspired to try something in their own garden.
The book finishes with a selection of plants grouped into different growing conditions and different growing heights. I loved the choices and if you had a new border to fill you could easily use these as the basis of your planting plan.
I think this a great book for someone new to gardening. It manages to distill a lot of the information you would get in a much bigger RHS book and combine that with being a more environmentally aware gardener. As a slightly more experienced gardener I would have liked a bit more on how I could impact less on the environment. It would have been nice if the use of plastic and finite resources such as vermiculite and perlite had been covered, their environmental impacts and what gardeners could do as alternatives. Having said that it is an interesting read, there is no doubting the author’s passion for his subject and it is good to see the RHS embracing a more modern approach to horticulture.
Thanks to Karen at Octopus Publishing.
It sounds like an interesting book. I think as gardeners, we’re aware of how we impact on the environment and we’re always looking for ways to reduce that impact. Climate change is another concern, especially after the topsy turvy year we’ve just had with the weather and suffering many losses because of it.
Good review, I’m glad garden writers are beginning to write with the environmental issues of the day in mind, although like you say we all face more challenges than just choosing peat free compost or being careful where we source our hardscaping materials.
This sounds like a book I’d enjoy. Although not new to gardening, the section on grouping plants for height and growing conditions sounds useful. And you have to respect the knowledge of an RHS gardener! Nice review of the book with personal asides that made it relevant to me (gardening with nature, not forcing plants to adapt). Thank you!
A good review sounds like a book I would enjoy for another perspective on things. (I wish you’d stop reviewing books – you’re costing me a fortune) ha ha.
I’ve always enjoyed watching him on TV so this is a book that I’ll put on the list. I also agree with the other comments! xx
I enjoyed your review very much; since moving to Italy I have become even more aware of how important it is too plant the right plant in the right place (it was always an important part of my approach). I think many gardeners in the UK are not always very aware of how ‘garden favourable’ conditions are in the South of England. The tempeatures rarely fall far below zero and the summer heat is nearly always broken by rain and of course night time temperatures in summer are lower than daytime temperatures which helps plants enormously. Its not all about temperatures though, all the conditions in our gardens should help us choose the correct plants. Christina