Gardening Reading, Reference, Help and Expanding Your Knowledge.

When I decided that Gardening was something I was going to do, alot, I thought I should read up a little before I even started. Grounding myself in some basic gardening knowledge through books and the internet has helped and made my first attempts more successful than if I had just jumped straight in. The purpose of this post then I guess is to share the books and websites that I found helpful and some that I use now. 

There are many many many books on gardening and it can be extremely hard to choose one that you think will help you. Though in my opinion most books convey the same information just some do it better and in a more interesting way. My top tip when looking for a gardening book is get yourself down to a second hand shop or jumble sale, nearly always there is some gardening book of some kind for sale for no money at all. Here you can have a look through and see if it is something that will help. The internet of course has shops like Amazon were you can get second hand books at a great price too and there is always a huge variety to choose from. 

The first book I bought from Amazon was John Harrison's Essential Allotment Guide.

This small paperback edition I found as a complete newcomer to growing, good. It gave me an idea (though a vague one) of what I needed and what I would be up against when I started out. I read it through several times and I am sure it retained some of the information contained within. I would say it is a good beginners book, I have since gone back to it and found that now it is a little to basic and lacking in the more complex information that I was looking for.

As the gardening bug took hold and my Family noticed this it was then inevitable that come Christmas I would get some Garden related presents. What I got from my loving mother was Alan Titchmarsh's Kitchen Gardener and Carol Klein's Grow Your Own Garden. 

Well both these books I have found extremely helpful, especially Carol Klein's Grow Your Own Garden. Propagation in all its forms can be complex and this book really breaks it down into all its forms and really explains the processes needed for results. Alan Titchmarsh's book I have to say it not one I would have bought with my own money. That said Kitchen Gardener is excellent with detailed information on fruit and vegetable growing, and I often use it as a reference book when I am planning out what I am going to grow. I would recommend both highly as books useful for the beginner but also as reference books later down the line,

Whilst trawling through the charity shops I came across The Vegetable and Herb Expert by Dr D. G. Hessayon. 

 As far as Vegetable growing books go, for me this is the ultimate reference. Any information you could possibly want to know is contained with in, from seed germination time to disease and pests. It is  utterly comprehensive. I think possibly the most valuable book I have acquired so far. 

As far as websites go, there are millions and there are few that I regularly go to. I tend hunt around them all and read what I find relevant. The one I go to most of all is the BBC Gardeners World site . I do love the TV Show and the website is a great add on to that. The What To Do Now section I have found very helpful. 

I am sure that I will probably pick up more books and find better websites as time goes on, I know at some point I will get one Of Monty Don's books as I am becoming slightly obsessed with him!!