Waterwise Gardening – Water, Plants and Climate – a practical guide by Ian Cooke.  New Holland Publishers UK Ltd 2008   ISBN 978 184537 985 8  Hardback £12.99

If you are at all concerned about the next inevitable hosepipe ban, or simply want to use your precious water supply more wisely in your garden, you will find this book indispensable. Professional horticulturalist Ian Cooke has produced a very timely book, in spite of last summer’s torrential storms!  The practical issue of conserving soil moisture by using a variety of mulches is discussed, plus there are planting schemes for different styles of dry border including gravel gardens, Mediterranean gardens and prairie borders using real gardens – Beth Chatto’s and Derek Jarman’s for instance – for inspiration.  

Lastly, almost half the book is an excellent list of plants that adapt well to the drier conditions we are increasingly experiencing.  Illustrated throughout with excellent photographs.

Plants in Pots and City Garden by Andi Clevely Frances Lincoln 2008 ISBN 978-0-7112-2749-1; ISBN978-0-7112-2785-9 Both £10.99

The joy of all Andi Clevely’s books is that they are straightforward and practical while still being beautiful.  Those gardeners who are short of space could find inspiration in these volumes both in the text and the stylish photographs. Both books have an easy to read yet informative style and between them they cover a wide range of topics.  City Gardens provides a taster to subjects as diverse as creating a hanging garden, including water in a small garden or the practicalities of creating driveways and children’s play areas.  Information on attracting wildlife to a city garden is also included.  Plants in Pots covers every type of container, suggests suitable subjects from bulbs to vegetables, plus outlines essential maintenance.  Both books have superb photographs to inspire novice or experienced gardener.

Nature by Night – a Guide to Observation and Identification by Vincent Albouy   New Holland Publishers UK Ltd 2008  ISBN 978 1 84773 114 2 Softback with colour illustrations  £14.99  

Most people who are interested in wildlife find themselves out in the hours of darkness at some time, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the night.  The obvious things that attract our attention are the bats, owls and moths but so much more is happening between dusk and dawn.  This new paperback book is the first to be published that devotes itself to the watching and identification of nocturnal wildlife.  But before you rush out and buy this wonderful little book, be aware that it covers Britain and Europe – there are precious few brown bears in the UK!  In spite of that it is absolutely fascinating and has wonderful quirky illustrations, full of character, of everything we associate with the night time including some moth species, mammals, birds and amphibians.  There is also a specific chapter on flowers that attract nocturnal insects.  This two part book has general information about watching wildlife at night and a beautifully illustrated identification guide. 

The Tiny Garden by Jane McMorland Hunter   Francis Lincoln Ltd 2008  ISBN 978-0-7112-2813-9 Softback with colour photos throughout  £12.99

Very few of us are fortunate enough to own a large garden - indeed most people prefer to have a tiny space to cope with.  But if you are one of the latter, this book could be a really useful addition to your bookshelf.  Beautifully laid out with lovely photos of real, small gardens, this book would fill anyone with inspiration.  Chapters cover ideas for all small outside spaces including front gardens, patios, balconies, passageways and roof gardens and there are additional sections on planning, lighting, and growing in containers.  There are recommendations for plants of all kinds, including trees that thrive in small spaces, chapters on maintenance and planting, and ideas for creating additional interest including water features and suitable garden furniture. This is a complete gardening book dedicated to small spaces.  Add a bird box, some feeders, good small nectar plants and a tiny pond, and you could have the perfect small wildlife garden.

The Little Book of Garden Villains   Allan Shepherd   Centre for Alternative Technology 2006  ISBN 1 90217 532 8  Small softback  Line drawings  £4.99

Allan Shepherd is well known for his no nonsense yet imaginative approach to gardening and this little book in the ‘Little Book Of’ series is another foray into the world of pests and how to deal with them.  Written in the most fun and entertaining way imaginable, this book goes into great (hilarious) detail about the different types of pests you are likely to find in your garden and how to deal with them.  There is also information about each pest (slug, aphid, leather jacket, caterpillar to name a few) their life cycles and how they operate to reduce your garden seedlings to stunted stems.  A section on predators – the natural way to deal with garden pests if you are gardening organically – is equally entertaining and informative.  I also loved the quiz to find out what sort of gardener you are – commander, soldier, defender or pacifist – depending on your attitude towards pests. I was an interesting combination of (organic) soldier and pacifist if that’s possible.   All sounds delightfully silly, but what better way to learn about organic pest control?

The Self-Sustaining Garden - the Guide to Matrix Planting  Peter Thompson Frances Lincoln Ltd  2007 (revised from 1997 version)  ISBN 978 0 7112 2718 7  Hardback Colour photos and line drawings throughout  £16.99

This book is a revision of the original published in 1997 and to quote the introduction ‘This book looks at unorthodox ways of gardening which allow the plants in our gardens to form self-sustaining communities similar to those in which wildflowers live naturally – a system of gardening known as matrix planting.’   This might sound a bit complicated but it is really about establishing what seems to work best in your garden to make self-sufficient communities of plants.  Gardening within your own garden’s conditions makes sense especially in terms of available water, and matrix planting involves putting together plants that establish a balance together, producing a community that blends and spreads, excluding weeds and reducing the need for weeding and hoeing.  There is quite a bit of emphasis on using native wildflowers and other ‘weeds’ especially in grassy communities such as lawns and meadows so this system should attract plenty of wildlife.  There are reviews of individual problem gardens and detailed explanations of how they were adapted to this low maintenance and natural looking style of gardening.  The lists of suitable plants are excellent, especially those for ponds and other wet areas, and shrubs that work well in this style.  All in all an interesting and thought provoking book although some might find it a little complicated or academic.  Worth having for the photos of lovely plant communities and lists of plants, as long as you are happy with Latin names.

Birder’s Pocket Logbook  Papworth Publishing 2007  ISBN 978 1 906247 16 4   £8.50 including postage.

This little logbook is described as ‘The essential handy pocket size logbook designed by birders for birders’. Most people who are interested in wildlife and particularly in birds, like to keep records of the species they encounter. If you are just starting out along this road and wish to record the birds you see when you are on holiday, out on a day trip or even in your garden, a notebook or log book is an essential item.  This little hardback book is perfect for beginners or more experienced birders having a waterproof cover, elasticated divider to prevent pages flapping about while you are writing, pages for sketches and a complete checklist of British birds.  It also lists a few recommended bird guides, magazines and websites.   

If you would like to be more organised about recording the birds you see, this little pocket sized logbook would be a very useful tool.  Available from www.birderslogbook.co.uk  

A Year in the Life of an English Meadow Andy Garnet and Polly Devlin  Francis Lincoln 2007   ISBN 978-0-7112-2722-4  Hardback, large format 128 pages.  Illustrated with colour photographs throughout.

This is the account of how a wildflower meadow was acquired and of the plants and some of the wildlife that are found there throughout the year.  Sadly it has very little text - it really is just a rather brief account of the habitat and its acquisition, followed by a little information about the butterflies that have been seen there.  With the exception of one or two more professional photographs, the majority are very poor quality and the bulk of the book (over 70 pages) is made up of photographs of pressed flower specimens from the meadow.  All in all rather a disappointment as the cover is enticing.  A coffee table book of little interest to the wildlife gardener or anyone wanting to know more about meadows.