Blog Book News

Another quick breeze through the garden book bits and pieces that I have happened across recently.

The big news is of course the free books up for grabs at VP's Virtual Open Garden.

Meanwhile Emma Townshend is still reading anything with a vaguely horticultural link - this time strawberries.

Again more groovy stuff from my fellow vintage book fan Amanda - although the featured garden looks quite contemporary.

I am in a total green eyed frenzy over a new book R Pete Free has acquired, less so about the gay Alan Titchmarsh book.

And finally a blog I found that has a free E-book for download, and some book reviews [plus a certain measure of cat-nutterdom]
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Handbags and Gladrags

What’s your funniest garden book moment - if indeed you have one.

Mine was seeing a pile of one of Diarmuid Gavin's books - I think it was Outer Spaces - in Poundland, alongside boxes of Colgate toothpaste with Turkish writing and packs of 48 AA batteries.
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We the people...

Like Jane Perrone I'm working my way through (and aquiring) the complete works of Christopher Lloyd.

Last week I saw his Exotic planting for adventurous gardeners” in an Oxfam bookshop for £6.99. As the retail coverprice is £20 I thought "Way-hey!" and bought it straight away.

But now I find that The Book People have it for £6.99. I know that is what I paid for mine, but hell, I could have got a brand new one.

Still it was for charity.

Blue Remembered Hills

I know this is a mug, but it has the picture of a book on it.

I think it’s rather fab. I want one.

Available from Tree House Blue.

To Dave...

Following on from the previous post - there is a hazard to buying book from say eBay, which have been signed by the author. What is described as a signed copy might also have a dedication the vendor failed to mention. This might limit it’s potential as a gift.

Of course “Best Wishes” is fine whatever the case, but if it’s a newish book that you are trying to pass off as a first hand-purchase then “To Jim” might necessitate a lie of two about the author getting the name wrong and you being too embarrassed to point it out.

However there is no way in the world that you are going to be able to bullshit your way out of a book bearing the inscription “To Betty , good luck with the geraniums”

How do I know this you ask?

Well it’s absolutely not because I bought a signed copy of Kim Wilde’s "Gardening With Children” for a female friend with small kids, only to find it was signed “To Dave.."

Signed Copies

Gardening writer Martyn Cox has sent me some photos of books from his own bookshelves, which feature the authors signature and wonders has anybody else got any signed copies to beat these?

I have a few myself, but one less that I would like. You see, last year I bought a Graham Stuart Thomas book from eBay for a friend who loves roses. It wasn’t till it was delivered that I realised that it was signed by the great man. Needless to say my friend very nearly didn‘t get her present.

Blog Book News

Just a quick trot through some of the garden book things cropping up lately.

Firstly an article from last weekend's Telegraph about David Wheeler, the editorial brains behind Hortus, staving off the worst of horticultural deprivation with the books of Margery Fish.

That author, along with Christopher Lloyd, forms a pair of writers whose complete works Jane Perrone is working her way through.

Emma Townshend is (temporarily one hopes) eschewing such worthy stuff in favour of charity books that simply have garden in the title.

And finally, I hope I'm not giving away too much of a secret when I tell you that there may be the odd garden book to be had at VP's Virtual Open Garden shortly.

Vintage ads

These pics of some vintage adverts were kindly supplied by VP from one of her Penguin Handbooks.

Since my last post on the subject I have been looking at Penguin Handbooks in an "Oooh, what a great idea for a collection" sort of way, and will be doing a post on them soon. VP, what have you started?

A blog I can recommend for vintage stuff from books and magazines is Kiss My Aster.

The author, Amanda, has 3 issues of a book from the 60s called Better Homes & Gardens New Garden Book, which she posts on from time to time and which I covet deeply.
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Thin as a rake

I must apologise for the rather thin number of posts here in recent weeks.

Life has been a bit mad, to say the least.

I shall do my best to rectify the situation.

It's only money

The book shown in my previous post was The Week-End Gardener by C S Goodman, FRGS, and like another book featured here, published by Crowther and subject to “War Time Productions and Costs”.

(I didn't actually click on to this when I bought it. )

It was “Written specially for the National Allotments Society, this book contains may hints for the amateur gardener and people whose permanent interest is horticulture.”

The reason I asked how much the book was, was because I think I paid too much (£12.50).

I am hearted by VP’s comment that it is going for between £5 & £40 on Amazon, although my copy is the 1945 fifth issue and so probably not at the top of that scale, even though it in good condition..

Mind you, I can’t believe that Monty Don’s book of the same name goes for so much. I can’t believe that anything he has produced (excluding his children) is worth anywhere near 76 quid.

Whilst in my heart of hearts I thought the Goodman book was a bit steep, it was one of those occasions where I picked it up and put it down several times.

In those sort of situations it seems, to me at least, that if you don't buy the item then you always regret it afterwards.

But I suppose if one were to take that line of logic to it's conclusion, I'd nip over to Ivelet Books and buy the copy of John Evelyn they have for sale.

Can anybody lend me £2,750?

How much?

Do you like this book?

How much do you think it's worth?

Guerrillas across the water

Now while I try and organise a copy of Richard Reynolds’s book On Guerrilla Gardening for Alex to review, I thought you might like to read a write up of another book on the subject - Guerrilla Gardening by David Tracey.

This was featured on Melanie Rimmer’s Bean Sprouts blog, which has quite a few booky bits.

I must ask her if she wants to join the Flange.
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Tie me up, tie me down

On the subject of a previous post - it seems that James the Hat was nearly "Trussed".

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You say Guerilla, I say Gorilla...

Does anyone fancy reviewing Richard Reynold's "On Guerilla Gardening" for the Flange?

I have it, but even am less impartial than normal where GG is concerned.

If you don't have a copy, I could probably organise one for you.

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A sign of madness

It seems to me a sign of obsession with a subject, when you have items relating to it, which are of no possible use to you.

I have a number of garden/gardening/horticulture books, which I am sure I will not derive the slightest practical use from.

That is not to say that they are without any use - they give pleasure.

This is, I think, the book I own which is the least useful, but I love it.

It is by E St Clair Morford and is the 1946 reprint of the 1926 original.

It bears the following heartrending inclusion in the revised foreword:

“Since 1926, when this book first appeared, much has happened. The writer returned in1945 to a garden completely destroyed; borders turned into sweet potato beds, lawns a waving sea of lalang and “forestry”. Fern and plant houses pulled down; shrubs and trees cut down by vandals, who cut the trees to get the fruit!…standard hibiscus and orchids - the collection of 30 years - thrown on the rubbish heap!…”C’est la guerre”!...

Penguin Handbooks

VP has sent some more pictures for posting, of some more vintage books, saying:

“It's actually a set of 3, all by the marvellously named Raymond Bush. 'Soft Fruit Growing' + 'Tree Fruit Growing Part I (Apples)' and II (Pears, Quinces and Stone Fruits). They all bear the classic Penguin cover that's now gracing many a literary mug. I think these must have been the first 3 books in the Penguin Handbook series as they have the serial numbers PH1, PH2 and PH3 on their spines.”

She adds that she has Penguin Handbooks S146 and S147 - The Vegetable Growers' Handbook Vols I & II.

Now this fired my inner trainspotter. Why did some Penguin Handbooks have the serial number PH and others S?

So I dug out three Penguin Handbooks of my own.

I have Tree and Shrubs (and how to grow them) - which is definitely a Penguin Handbook, but is S145 [pub October 1944]

And 2 others
PH9 - The Penguin Handyman
PH13 - Your Smallholding.

They are published 1945 & 1947 respectively, and so the PH numbering must have started in late 1944/1945.

This still raised a number of questions, such as when exactly did the S pre-fix change to PH and why?

And also what is the full list of the PH series?

If you haven’t yet fallen asleep, I can report that I spent an hour and a half searching the net for answers to these questions. I did discover a wealth of fascinating information about Penguin Books, but drew a total blank on the answers that I was after. maybe someone will read this and enlighten us.

I should have known better really, I had a similar fruitless quest for the definitive list of Wisley Handbooks a while back.

Blog Book News

Here's another brief round up of some garden book goings on from the internet.

Alex continues with his Shedworker’s Bookshelf each and every Friday (get ready for tomorrow’s) and this week had a post on the Art & Artisan bookshop.

Also from a shed source is a review of Growing in the Community by Simon Kirby, who is the chap with the rather wonderful shed built entirely from pallets.

The last review is rather preconceived one of Richard Reynolds’s book On Guerrilla Gardening
from a little while back. As a supporter of Guerrilla Gardening I had to stick my oar in.

There’s news of a couple of new books are in the pipeline one from Emma Cooper and another from Gayla Trail.

And finally some photos of Lloyds of Kew (as recommended by EmmaT). Sadly the shop doesn't seem to have it's own site.

With One Lousy Free Packet of Seed

I only recently discovered that Lynne Truss had written a book with a horticultural theme.

In fact, in my ignorance I did not know that she had written anything other than Eats Shoots & Leaves.

I found this information recently, whilst perusing a 1994 copy of Gardens Illustrated, in which she was interviewed. Yes, as well as old books, I read old magazines as well - I should get out more.

Such is the power and wonder of the internet that I was able to get hold of a copy not only very quickly, but also very cheaply, although I got stung a bit on the postage.

The book itself (a 2004 reprint of the '94 original) is an amusing comic novel, ideal for a holiday and was a welcome piece of froth when I had some dead time to fill and wasn’t in the mood to concentrate intensively.

It's not perhaps as good as the master of the field Carl Hiassen (what is?), but it put me in mind of the books by that author, being populated as it was by all sorts of loonies, which is quite surprising since it revolves around the staff of a gardening magazine.

Ooh hang on, I must go and check if Lynne Truss ever worked for Amateur Gardening.

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Gardeners’ Brains Trust

VP’s photos of her wartime book reminded me of this little hardback I have on my shelves.

I bought Wild Flowers and Weeds by G.H. Copley N.D.H., Gardeners’ Brains Trust, etc, largely because of the cover, but also because inside the dust jacket it states “War Time Productions and Costs 8/6” - which seems a bit steep to me.

All of which reminds me - I must look up what the Gardeners’ Brains Trust was.

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Dig For Victory

VP has supplied these pictures of her copy of Practical Gardening & Food Production In Pictures, a book clearly intended to help the wartime Dig For Victory campaign.